Artists protest looming cuts to UK culture budget

[September 10, 2010]  LONDON (AP) -- Some of Britain's best-known artists are opposing planned government cuts that could slash arts funding by 25 percent.

More than 100 artists including David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Tracey Emin say they fear deep cuts could hobble the country's creative economy.

Artists rallied outside London's Tate Modern gallery Friday to launch a campaign that includes an online petition and a video by cartoonist David Shrigley extolling the social and economic benefits of the arts.

The flourishing of culture is considered a major achievement of Britain's previous Labour government.

Now the new, Conservative-led coalition says government departments will see budget cuts of up to 25 percent to slash the country's recession-swollen deficit.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.