Culture Sussex has worked with Dr Josh Siepel and Research Fellow Dina Abdelhafez from University of Sussex to evidence the vital role of culture in the region.

• Culture contributes £3.5bn* annually to the Sussex economy, including more than £650m** of benefit to hospitality and retail — creating jobs and helping sustain high streets and local communities across Sussex.

• Culture creates £200m*** a year of health and wellbeing benefits for the residents of Sussex and forms an essential component in our health infrastructure through pioneering work spanning dementia, social care and supporting young people with complex needs.

• Sussex has the creative energy to power a new wave of economic growth. Creative Industries in the UK are growing 2.5 times faster than the economy as a whole and the region has 50% more creative businesses than the national average, accounting for 8% of all businesses across Sussex and rising to 13% in Brighton and Hove.****

• Culture, art and heritage motivates up to 64% of international tourists to the UK which in the Sussex context could provide £1.6 billion of the regional visitor economy growth target for the next decade.*****

• Larger than Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leeds, Sussex’s creative clusters form the fifth-biggest creative economy outside London and the Heathrow corridor, supporting over 30,000 jobs.*****

• National research shows that 49% of people say attending cultural events helps them feel a stronger part of their community. Sussex has a particularly rich cultural landscape with 1,100 museums, libraries, theatres and grassroots festivals strengthening civic participation and belonging. With nearly three in four Sussex primary schools within walking distance of a cultural asset, and 5.9 cultural assets per 10,000 residents, culture is within every Sussex postcode.*****  

About University of Sussex Research

Dr Josh Siepel has analysed existing public data to evidence the vital role of culture in the region. Siepel is an Associate Professor of Management at the Science Policy Research Unit, his research focuses on the intersection between entrepreneurship, skills and innovation, with particular reference to the role of creative industries and creative skills in the economy. University of Sussex’s Science Policy Research Unit is one of the world’s leading centres of research on science, technology and innovation policy and management. Dr Josh Siepel was supported by Research Fellow Dina Abdelhafez. 

For questions related to data calculations please email J.Siepel@sussex.ac.uk

Data Sources

*Calculation from DCMS GVA estimates and Business Register and Employment Survey

**Calculation from CEBR/Arts Council England, 2020

***Calculation based DCMS Culture and Heritage Capital evidence base, value pro rata per Sussex population 

****Data Source Nomis

*****Data sources include: Nomis BRES, Nomis UK Business Counts, Creative PEC Self-Employment dashboard, Visit Britain (2022), MIDAS: A Global report, Belong Network, The Value of Arts and Culture in Place-Shaping. 

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England