James Blunt missed the point – the arts does need more opportunities

Earlier this week James Blunt’s open letter to shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant went viral, in which the musician hit back at the MP’s assertion that the arts was dominated by those from privileged backgrounds. But Jonathan Wakeham of Arts Emergency and The London Comedy Film Festival believes James’ (admittedly amusing) letter missed the point. As ever you can add your thoughts using the comments thread below.

I don’t hate James Blunt. He served his country as a soldier, and his music has made many people happy, not all of them by switching it off. But he should be questioning the value of his expensive Harrow education if he honestly misunderstood the point that shadow culture minister Chris Bryant made this week.

In a thoughtful and wide-ranging speech Bryant praised the success of young British stars, but argued that that while: “I am delighted that Eddie Redmayne won [a Golden Globe] … we can’t just have a culture dominated by Eddie Redmayne and James Blunt and their ilk.” In other words, arguing that the arts would benefit from greater diversity of talent. Blunt managed to interpret this as a personal attack, calling Bryant “a classist gimp” and a “prejudiced wazzock”, proving that Harrow does at least provide its old boys with a rich vocabulary, but entirely missing the point.

The arts are one of Britain’s glories. We have an astonishing range of talent, producing work that, at its best, is richer, more varied, more challenging and yes – like James Blunt’s songs – more popular than anywhere else has to offer. But the range of talent we’re producing isn’t reflected on our screens, in our theatres, or in our arts organisations.

People with disabilities, people from BME groups, people who don’t come from middle class backgrounds and women are all under-represented, both as performers and as managers in the arts. 96% of faces on TV are white, the proportion of women working in the arts has actually declined in the past decade, and David Morrissey and Dame Judi Dench are just two of the many actors who have spoken of their concern that acting is becoming an increasingly middle class profession.

James Blunt derided Bryant’s speech as the politics of envy. It’s not. It’s the politics of opportunity. It’s not about the seven per cent of children who go to fee-paying schools; it’s about the 93% who don’t, and how we can help to give them the same chances to learn, to practise and to develop their talents as their more privileged peers.

It’s about building an education system that encourages young people to pursue degrees in the arts and humanities rather than telling them, as Education Secretary Nicky Morgan did, that they’re wasting their time (like the – er – 34 of the FTSE 100 CEOs who have an arts degree). And it’s about giving them access to people who can give them the advice and contacts that they need to make the most of their abilities.

A more diverse cultural sector won’t just benefit the artists and workers themselves; it will benefit all of us. As Arts Council England boss Peter Bazalgette argued last month, many of the greatest works of art about Britain have been made by artists who were either not born here, or who come from beyond the middle class white arts establishment: Hanif Kureishi, Zadie Smith, Steve McQueen, Paul Cummins, FKA twigs, Yinka Shonibare and many more.

The Arts Emergency Service was established in 2012 by Neil Griffiths and Josie Long to, in Chris Bryant’s words, level the playing field a little. Is this an attack on James Blunt? No. It’s a support network and mentoring programme for hundreds of young people whose voices might not otherwise be heard, whose talents might otherwise lie undiscovered and who might not otherwise get the chance to make all our lives a little richer. At its heart is the Alternative Old Boys Network: more than two thousand arts professionals offering information, support and guidance to the next generation of British talent. Perhaps James Blunt would like to join?

Arts Emergency is funded solely by personal donations, so we can remain entirely independent. If you like the sound of what we do please visit www.arts-emergency.org, where you can make a donation, join the Network or look into becoming a mentor.

The LOCO London Comedy Film Festival is hosting a unique live Social Class Gameshow to support Arts Emergency this Saturday 24th January at Hackney Picturehouse. Panellists include Shaun Keaveny, A.L.Kennedy, Viv Groskop, Suzanne Moore, Helen Zaltzman and Chris Coltrane, and the host is Neil Denny. Information and tickets www.locofilmfestival.com.