Munira Mirza Quotes

As an artist I have an even more abiding interest in the compact between the Arts and Government.

The arts are an integral part of the city's economic progress.

I have written favourably in support of subsidy for the arts since the 1960s, and I continue to believe absolutely in subsidy, as I do in the BBC licence fee.

It is not true that I oppose government funding of the arts.

All across America, through the promotion of the arts, neighborhoods create job growth and development.

In 1997, the Labour government set out to strengthen funding for the arts - and achieved it.

Like university science departments, the arts have shown how they can earn their way and point to an economically newborn future for this country. They show that the U.K. could be a prime provider of imaginative riches and intellectual adventure, which I think are the two great prizes of the 21st century.

Our cultural industries are our biggest export, our biggest manufacturing base. Every pound spent on art education brings disproportionately large returns. It's the biggest bang for our buck. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. In fact, the more you put in, the greater the successes for the U.K. economy.

China has set its cultural industries as pillar industries.

Must we be put to shame by much smaller and poorer countries, by Ireland, France, Austria or Sweden, who have understood that a nation's support of its arts is a matter of both national pride and cultural survival?

Public money should be spent on art but through individuals not committees.

I want to promote the introduction of art history in primary schools and to convince the general public that, even in a period of economic crisis, arts funding is an absolute necessity at the federal, state, and local levels.

When I became the chair of the British Film Institute, I didn't understand how much of my time would be taken up with trying to make a case for the British Film Institute: what it's for, why it exists, why it needs its money.

Everyone town of 100,000 in the United States should have a Classical Theater supported by the town, or the state of the county, or the Federal Government, as they have in every civilized country.

Anytime you look at anything that's considered artistic, there's a commercial world around it: the ballet, opera, any kind of music. It can't exist without it.

We need more theatres, more art and more culture in this country.

Lillian Gish thought that there should be a cabinet position for the arts and I think she was right. I think she was right.

In Europe, unlike the States, they have a cultural policy.

Invest in arts, culture and people, and the big name companies will follow and bring with them well-paying jobs.

The success of the arts has come through a mix of public subsidy, substantial private support, and good box-office receipts, but central to Labour's post-1997 programme has been a determination to increase access as much as excellence.

I feel like Canada is really good at nurturing their artists, and America's not so good at that. The artistic community is so important to a country.

I have been very lucky, and I think it all goes back to state subsidy for the arts. I gained my training and confidence and credentials in the not-for-profit world, and in England, that does not mean on the fringe of things. It means right at the centre.

I have long argued for the arts to have the recognition and funding they need, not only because they brighten our lives, but also because they make a tangible contribution to our national economy.

Why is London particularly attractive for artists? It's partly this incredible concentration of organizations that have a long history but also the spontaneous and informal culture and the opportunities in London.

If the arts are in peril, we must do our small part to to fight the good fight and protect and preserve.