Art on our doorstep

METRO Mayor Dan Norris brought together 150 regional creative and cultural organi-sations to launch a £3 million scheme to help children in the West of England access culture.

Mr Norris said many youngsters were missing out on the region’s cultural offerings on their doorstep. 

One  in three children say they have not visited a museum in the past year. This rises to nearly 50 percent of less privileged pupils, according to a recent study carried out by UK charity, the Art Fund. 

Determined to change this, Dan Norris’ West of England Combined Authority and the Arts Council UK have come up with a scheme that will enable schools to organise trips to theatres, galleries and museums. Plus, musicians, painters and poets will head to the classroom for a series of “artists residencies” with local school pupils.