Abstract

This chapter argues that any cultural policy must address both the small-scale local economies and the large-scale corporate cultural industries. Many working in arts and culture have long been sceptical about "cultural and creative industries", certainly after the global financial crisis and the austerity that followed. The chapter makes the case for a robust assertion of the role of state funding for culture as part of local development, and how we might reframe this social investment. A local SME economy will necessarily be trading outside the local area, and, especially in the cultural sector, with very dispersed partners and clients. The vision for growing a cultural infrastructure should be seen as social investment in public wealth building, one that requires a new set of principles, procedures, and policy tools. The revival of a flourishing professional cultural sector would add to local prosperity and liveability on social, cultural, and economic registers.