Yet in the past 14 years,
they have suffered immensely due to Tory-led austerity measures.
I've witnessed firsthand the closure of theatres, galleries, arts centres and museums.
I've seen the financial strain on creatives forced to abandon their careers due to a lack of opportunities.
For five years I was a producer and performer for a theatre company that had been nominated for twenty five awards....
Only to see the venues that we'd nurtured relationships with forced to shutter due to lack of support.
The relationship between business and art is frequently an odd one.
Every day, I see the tools of 'storytelling' commodified almost as a grudging justification for creativity.
𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 = 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 = 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆
Indeed, that's how I often pay my own bills with VO! 👀
But to see art 𝘖𝘕𝘓𝘠 as that is where things get dangerous.
A large part of that attitude is down to the policies of the outgoing government.
So regardless of what you may think of this week's result, all I can hope for is change.
By Chris Tester - British Male Voice Actor