Jersey’s £10m Cultural Investment Sparks Creative Boom
Jersey’s £10m arts funding in 2024 turned into record visitor numbers, new jobs, and a cultural revival proving creativity pays back beyond money.
Jersey’s ten-million-pound bet on the arts is starting to show its worth.
Last year, the island poured 1% of its government spending — just over £10 million — into creativity. That money, stretched across museums, theatres, festivals and classrooms, has done more than decorate gallery walls. It’s pulled people in, lifted participation, and made art part of daily life again.
Jersey Heritage, the biggest recipient at £5.8 million, scrapped entry fees to its museum — visitor numbers jumped 89%. ArtHouse Jersey brought art into schools. Ballet d’Jèrri opened its doors to 8,000 people for free performances. The Jersey Arts Centre broke attendance records with nearly 37,000 visitors. Across the island, from surf festivals to poetry readings, culture wasn’t just observed — it was lived.
Visitors explore Jersey’s bubble sculpture — one of many projects funded through the island’s £10m arts investment.
This wasn’t charity. It was strategy. The return came in motion — hotels filled, jobs created, children inspired. Art became an engine for tourism and identity, not an accessory to it.
Deputy Kirsten Morel called it “the power of public investment.” It’s also proof that when a small island believes in its own creativity, it multiplies — in economy, in community, in pride.
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