The arts are a cornerstone of the British Council’s mission to create a friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and the wider world. We find new ways of connecting with and understanding each other through the arts, to develop stronger creative sectors around the world that are better connected with the UK.
Our expert teams partner with the UK’s most exciting established and emerging artists to curate innovative programmes and present them to a global audience. We work at the forefront of the UK’s world leading arts sector, helping the next generation of artists break new ground. Our programme attracts a diverse and wide-ranging audience, and we continually work to extend and deepen our dialogue and engagement with them. We create new opportunities for artists and organisations to work internationally, and introduce audiences around the world to the best of UK creativity.
We do this by:
- Fostering collaboration and networks: we help the world meet the best of UK arts by creating spaces in which meaningful creative dialogues can take place, informing and benefiting international relationships between the UK and countries around the world at every level.
- Supporting arts for social change: we extend safe spaces for culture, creative exploration and exchange; building trust, enabling dialogue and presenting marginalised voices.
- Building capacity: we strengthen the arts sector worldwide by developing its capacity to innovative, to reach new audiences, to develop skills and support livelihoods.
- Supporting cultural policy development and research: we aim to better understand and shape cultural policy through our programmes.