THE importance of Cornwall’s arts, culture and heritage has been recognised as national cultural organisations sign a commitment to work closely together to promote Cornwall’s growing creative sector.

Representatives from Cornwall Council, Arts Council England and Historic England have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, committing to work together to the end of the decade.

The agreement was initially signed in 2019 when it was the first of its kind in the UK. The 2024 Memorandum of Understanding renews that commitment to work together to the year 2030. 

The Memorandum of Understanding commits the organisations to cooperating on three main themes: improving places in Cornwall, developing the resilience of the creative economy and fostering Cornwall’s cultural distinctiveness. This builds on the Devolution Deal for Cornwall which was secured in 2023 and included £500,000 for Cornish cultural projects.

Together with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the organisations meet through the Cornwall Culture Investment Board and have supported projects such as:

Redruth High Street Heritage Action Zone where £1.6-million of Historic England funding has refurbished derelict buildings and attracted further investment for projects like the Ladder in the old library and the Buttermarket.

Royal Cornwall Museum where £1.5-million of Arts Council England funding will improve the windows and roof of the building, and £2.1-million from the Cornwall Council Good Growth Programme will renovate the main gallery and entrance. These are part of a wider programme to transform the museum in Truro.

Cornish Caretakers – a project by Edward Rowe/Palores Productions to tell Cornish history through the eyes of two museum caretakers. This production has toured schools, colleges and recently, using Arts Council England funding, libraries across Cornwall. 

Cornwall’s creative sector is growing, particularly in digital media, film and video games. There are over 6,000 creative businesses and freelancers across Cornwall, providing local jobs and helping to regenerate some of our towns. 

Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, said: “We’ve invested £19.5-million across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly over the past three years, helping people across the county to enjoy the creatively excellent work of our artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries.”