Economic Perspectives On Cultural Heritage - Research Paper Example

The novel sentiment expressed in the above quotation is quite appreciable; however when seeking public funds, the concept of ‘art for my sake’, maybe not go down too well with the very ‘public’ that are paying their hard earning money into the preservation and maintenance of social art and culture. A close look at the nature of public funding used for supporting arts, artists, and the various artists’ organizations, will show us that it is less than 1.5% of the total expenditure incurred by the UK government (Galloway, 2004, 10).

Yet this topic never fails to create a large controversy, as to why money from the public purses should go towards maintaining something that does not have much applicability (as regards getting public/civic utility services from the government through the public funds). Though various surveys have shown that quite a large number of people to support the government’s initiative in disbursing money from public fund towards the maintenance of arts; there are however certain reservations pertaining to some works of art considered by the general public as ugly (and a waste of money), and some are located in such remote places that it remains hidden from the public eye, while some ‘arts’ are considered to be offensive by a certain section of the general public.

Thereare also certain preconceived notions, that perceive that the economic benefits allocated for the preservation and maintenance of arts are more concentrated on attracting and entertaining foreign tourists; while others feel that owing to most of the cultural centers being built in urban centers, it is only the city people who get the cultural benefits.