Arts, culture and heritage

Introduction

A core component that underpins Jersey’s unique Island identity is its distinctive cultural landscape, including its arts sector and heritage sites/museums. This paper provides an overview of the Jersey Government’s current policy approach to both supporting and protecting the Island’s arts sector and heritage sites/museums, summarising available Government and consultancy reports, States Assembly proposals, legislation, and news articles.

Summary

• Jersey’s arts, culture, and heritage (ACH) are a key part of the Island’s distinctive identity.
• The Government of Jersey currently has developed several strategies to help support and promote the Island’s cultural sector, namely the 2022-2027 Arts Strategy, 2022 Heritage Strategy, and 2024 Music Manifesto. An annual report is published on the collective delivery of these strategies – the Arts, Culture and Heritage Delivery Update – with the most recent update covering 2025.
• The Government of Jersey currently allocates 1% of its net revenue expenditure to ACH. The longevity of this commitment is uncertain.
• Legislation governs aspects of Jersey’s arts and heritage.
• Other jurisdictions with similarities/cultural ties to Jersey also significantly invest into their arts and heritage, though most lack a formal ring-fenced net revenue expenditure target like Jersey.

Strategic Context

Although reference to the arts and heritage is not explicitly referenced in the 2024-2026 Common Strategic Policy, their potential to attract tourists, establish and promote Jersey’s unique Island identity, as well as contribute towards building a “vibrant and inclusive community” (one of the Island Outcomes from the Future Jersey 2017-2037 strategy) means the support and promotion of the Island’s culture something receives broad political favour from States Members, especially since 2022.

Governance Framework

The ministerial responsibility for the governance of Jersey’s arts and heritage lies chiefly with the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development. This ministerial office holds policy responsibility for culture, arts funding, heritage strategy, and the public collections.

Other Government departments also play a key role in delivering the Island’s Heritage Strategy (p. 19):

• Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance – Responsible for the development and maintenance of the legal and planning policy framework that enables the designation and protection of heritage assets.
• Infrastructure and Environment – This department is legally responsible for both the designation of listed buildings and places, and the regulation of change that might affect their special interest.
• External Relations – The Government of Jersey is party to those international heritage conventions that have been extended to the Island and must comply with any international obligations arising from those conventions. There may also be obligations and responsibilities from associated legislation that ensures Jersey can comply with its international obligations.
• Children, Young People, Education and Skills – The partnership between Children, Young People, Education and Skills (‘CYPES’) and Jersey Heritage functions across different levels. On a departmental level, Jersey Heritage has worked with CYPES to develop focused, creative cultural projects in collaboration with other arm’s-length organisations. Front-facing work with schools, supports meaningful and engaging visits to local heritage sites, developing knowledge and skills for both pupils and staff. Support is also offered to teachers to enhance their delivery of the history and wider Jersey Curriculum in classrooms.
• Justice and Home Affairs – The Jersey Customs & Immigration Service (‘JCIS’) controls the export of heritage goods by way of an export licence by virtue of the Customs & Excise (Import & Export) (Jersey) Order 2006.

The Jersey Government also relies on a number of arm’s-length bodies to deliver its arts and heritage strategies, which are also overseen through the ministerial portfolios. The two largest grant recipients are:

• Jersey Heritage: The Island’s primary heritage organisation, responsible for preserving and managing historic sites, museums, and archives. Its work includes education, community engagement, conservation, and promoting Jersey’s cultural identity nationally and internationally. It is funded by an annual grant by the Government of Jersey along with generated income from visitors, members, sponsors, and commercial opportunities. Jersey Heritage also acts as the Government’s principal adviser on the heritage value of buildings and places in the Island, using criteria established by the department to recommend whether a building or place has special heritage value.
• ArtHouse Jersey: Supports contemporary arts and creative practitioners across the Island. It provides grants, residencies, exhibition spaces, and projects to help local artists develop and showcase their work. The organisation also fosters cultural engagement through events, workshops, and collaborations with schools and communities. Alongside Government funding, ArtHouse Jersey also receives funds from project and programme grants alongside its self-generated income.

Additionally, the Creative Island Partnership (CIP) is a Government-established forum for individuals interested in working together to deliver the objectives of the Arts Strategy and the Music Manifesto. The CIP is a network that includes:

• regularly funded arts and cultural organisations,
• lead partners in sport, education, business, health, tourism and environment,
• independent expert arts and cultural advisors (who may be working internationally), and
• a wider group of leaders, creative practitioners and entrepreneurs whose work is connected to the creative sector.

Arts Strategy

In March 2022, the Government commissioned The Creative Island – an Arts Strategy for Jersey 2022-27 that was developed by Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive strategic framework for developing and supporting the arts in Jersey so that creativity contributes to education, wellbeing, the environment, and economic growth across the Island. It sets out the following vision –

In Jersey, the arts draw on […] natural and historic resources to contribute to prosperity, social cohesion, and sustainable well-being; and they reinforce Jersey’s image and influence in Europe and the world. As a small Island with a population of close to 100,000 people, Jersey has a scale where the impacts of the arts are tangible and measurable. This opens up the opportunity to pioneer new ways of working, to innovate and trial approaches which position the arts to the heart of the Island’s long-term prosperity, health and wellbeing.

There are four themes to deliver this vision –

• Arts, education and personal development
  • Ensures that people, especially young people, have access to arts education.
  • Encourages creativity in schools and lifelong learning through the arts.
• Arts, health and sustainable wellbeing
  • Uses the arts to improve mental and physical wellbeing.
  • Encourages community participation and reduces social isolation.
• Arts, environment and placemaking
  • Uses the arts to improve mental and physical wellbeing.
  • Encourages community participation and reduces social isolation.
• Arts, economic prosperity and inclusive growth
  • Uses the arts to improve mental and physical wellbeing.
  • Encourages community participation and reduces social isolation.

The Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy recommended a “Governance and Partnership Model” to help deliver the strategy:

• Creative Island Partnership
  • A Network and Leadership Group for Arts, Inclusive of key arts organisations and lead partners for each of the Priority Themes. Presents Strategic guidance to Government and is tasked to work with Government in the delivery of the Arts Strategy. Independently chaired with Government active participants
• Task & Finish Groups
  • Taking a leadership role to develop the detail, leverage investment and activate the key recommendations for each of the 4 themes. Each Group involves additional key partners with a relevant role in delivering the specific theme.
• New Arts Investment Plan
  • Activation of priority themes and recommendations is supported by a new investment plan which enhances the stability of key organisations and introduces project and programme funding to seed and grow new arts activities across Jersey.
• Review and Adapt
  • A Theory of Change evaluation which measures outcomes and reviews progress. This is pegged to the Government Performance Framework (which needs adapting to include arts and culture). Essentially, this is a logic model for arts investment and development.
• Communicate and Celebrate
  • Annual Creative Island Forum Ministerial Statement. A re-vamped Culture Jersey website and social media drive. New brand alignment for the arts with Visit Jersey, Business Jersey, Digital Jersey & Global Markets Team.
• Government Arts Unit
  • A Micro Arts development unit of maximum 3 people which provides capacity and expertise to coordinate Investment and mobilise partnership – within Government and with partners across the arts, education, health and wellbeing and economy.

Given that this strategy was developed by a consultancy company and not formally agreed by the Government, its recommendations’ acceptance and implementation by the Government has been only partial thus far. The Government seems to be proceeding predominantly with its own key actions in the Arts Strategy 2026/27 Implementation Plan that is appended to the 2025 ACH Update Report.

Heritage Strategy

In May 2022, the Government published A Heritage Strategy for Jersey to guide how the island protects and promotes its cultural and historical heritage. The report is divided into two main sections – Part A (Longer term strategy) and Part B (First steps, including heritage programmes 2022-2025).

The paper acknowledges the context of Jersey’s heritage landscape, notably:

• The Government of Jersey’s obligations under international conventions,
• the importance of Jersey’s environment and the pressure it is under from a changing climate,
• a lesser developed funding framework/administration than elsewhere in the British Isles, and
• the level of popular support Jersey being high though uneven across socioeconomic groups.

A summary of Part A’s strategy from the document comprises:

Strategic Objectives:

• Continuous research and understanding of Island history
• Protection and management of heritage assets to be passed down to future generations in better condition
• Public participation in cultural heritage preservation
• Broad and inclusive access to and understanding of Jersey’s heritage

Strategic Activities:

• Develop and support research programmes on Island heritage to expand historical knowledge
• Monitor, analyse, and report on heritage to improve public understanding of its value
• Acquire, conserve, and manage heritage assets, building specialist expertise for their care
• Collect and preserve both tangible and intangible heritage, including international collaboration where relevant
• Maintain accessible public records and support research into heritage materials
• Provide guidance on preservation and retention of public records and archives
• Strengthen community engagement and cultural partnerships to increase local participation in heritage
• Develop new tools and methods to improve access to and communication of heritage knowledge
• Prioritise conservation and preservation where resources and expertise have the greatest impact
• Integrate climate action into heritage management, including reducing carbon emissions and adapting to climate risks
• Improve accessibility through physical access, digital platforms, inclusive content, and international networks to enhance visibility and engagement.

The extent to which these suggestions are being accepted and actioned by the Government remains unclear as there has been no specific Government response published following the original strategy. In addition to this strategy document, other documents that notably mention the heritage sector’s strategy include the 2024 ACH Delivery Update as well as the 2022-2025 Heritage Statement which is appended to the 2025 ACH Delivery Update.

The 2022-2025 Heritage Statement affirms that the Government sought and will continue to seek to “maximise the cultural, environmental, social and economic value of heritage, ensuring that everyone can enjoy, benefit from and contribute to Jersey’s shared story”. The statement also outlines the Government’s strategy for preserving and developing the Island’s heritage sector going forward. It consists of the following four-stage model:

• By understanding – Efforts are to be focused on supporting ongoing historical research and archaeological discovery, underpinned by the Heritage (Jersey) Law 2026 to ensure protection, recording and improved public access to knowledge.
• By valuing – Heritage research is to be shared in accessible and engaging ways to increase public understanding, strengthen community connection and enhance its value locally and internationally.
• By caring – Jersey’s historic sites, landscapes and collections are to be actively preserved through conservation work, funding, planning controls and education to safeguard them for future generations.
• From enjoying – The Government is to ensure that heritage sites remain accessible, inclusive and sustainable, evolving as engaging cultural spaces for both local communities and visitors.

Within the Arts Strategy 2026/2027 Implementation Plan, the only explicitly heritage-linked key action mentioned is the development of an Island-wide ‘Heritage & Culture Challenge’.

Music Manifesto

In May 2024, representatives of the Jersey music sector, in partnership with the Government, the Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, and Martha MacDonald, produced the Music Manifesto. Its purpose was to set out a shared commitment to improving access to music education and opportunities for all young people in Jersey through collaboration between schools, musicians, and cultural organisations.

The manifesto sets out three key areas (p. 4) where it wanted to see change, with a number of recommendations being made for each respective area:

• Government,
• Infrastructure and Regulation, and
• Programming and Education.

Though the CIP states that the report “is not the end but the beginning”, again, the extent to which these suggestions are being accepted and actioned by the Government of Jersey remains unclear; there has been no Government response published following the original report. In 2024, £49,346 of the Government of Jersey’s 1% spend target on ACH was allocated towards music grants and £13,198 towards the Music Manifesto. A further breakdown for the latter is not publicly available, though it is known that £9,651.77 was spent on producing the report. Combining the total funds allocated towards music grants and the Music Manifesto, 0.56% of the 2024 ACH budget was spent on the development of Jersey’s music scene. In 2025, the only music-related expenditure was allocated towards music grants; this figure stands at £33,686, or approximately 0.29% of the total 2025 ACH budget.

Notably, not all funding for services/initiatives that are ostensibly arts/heritage-related are included as part of the ACH 1% budget, with funding for the Jersey Music Service being one such example. Therefore, Government support for Jersey’s music scene may appear smaller in certain reports/budgets than actuality.

Current ACH Funding Strategy

As stated in the Island Identity Report, the “role of Government in culture can take many forms, and in an open and democratic society the amount of resources and support given to the arts by Government can be a contentious issue” (p. 61).

Government expenditure on Jersey’s culture, arts and heritage currently comprises approximately 1% of its annual net revenue, with capital expenditure importantly being excluded from this figure (e.g., on sites like Hamptonne, Elizabeth Castle, etc.). The majority of this spending is managed by the Local Economy Team within the Department for the Economy, though the Bailiff’s Chambers (for Liberation Day celebrations) and the Children, Young People, Education and Skills Department (for the promotion and support of Jèrriais provision and events) also hold some responsibility.

On the latter, Jersey notably had a Jèrriais Plan 2017-2019 and a Jèrriais Language Strategy 2022-2025, and currently a 2026 CYPES Jèrriais plan. Effective from 1 January 2026, Ministers approved the reallocation of a recurring revenue budget totalling £670,000 – along with its related expenditure – from the Education and Lifelong Learning expenditure to the Department for the Economy. This transfer pertains to the provision and support of Jèrriais initiatives (MD TR-2026-257).

The 2019 proposition P.40/2019 committing the Government to the 1% expenditure target followed the 2018 report Jersey Culture, Arts and Heritage Strategic Review and Recommendations which reaffirmed the commonly held view of the time that Jersey’s unique cultural and heritage landscape lacked sufficient governmental support and utilisation. Despite the net revenue expenditure on arts, culture and heritage being roughly 1% across the European Union in 2016, in the same year, Jersey’s budget was 0.68%. The review concluded that financial support had failed to keep up with rising costs and noted that by 2018, the real value of annual funding was approximately £500,000 lower than it had been in 2010. Subsequently, the arts, culture, and heritage (ACH) budget increased significantly, rising from £4.7 million in 2016 to £8.7 million by 2022.

This budget is principally invested in five major grant recipients. In 2025, Jersey’s ACH expenditure totalled £11,476,000 million. Table 1 uses figures from the Arts, Culture and Heritage Delivery Update 2025 to provide a breakdown of this expenditure.

Table 1 Major grant recipients totalling over £300,000 awarded during 2025

Major grant-recipient	Grants received	Percentage of total ACH expenditure
Jersey Heritage	£6,283,185	54.76%
Jersey Heritage – Free Entry to Jersey Museums	£284,000	2.48%
ArtHouse Jersey	£1,231,586	10.73%
Jersey Arts Centre	£735,000	6.41%
Jersey Opera House	£630,000	5.49%
Jersey Opera House – Essential Works for Building	£24,021	0.21%
Ballet d’Jèrri	£370,000	3.22%
Total	£9,557,792	83.3%

 

Of the approximate £946,178 (8.25%) of the Department for the Economy’s budget that was not allocated towards the five above-mentioned recipients, the main project-types that received funding were:

• Festivals
• Arts and Education
• Heritage Grants
• Admin and Consultancy
• Vibrant St Helier

Despite the clearly heavy dependence on its strategic partnerships, The Creative Island: An Arts Strategy for Jersey 2022-2027 expresses a desire to diversify its funding flow towards more ‘middle tier’ arts organisations as a means to enrich the overall arts system in Jersey (p. 20).

The Future of Jersey’s Arts and Heritage Funding Strategy

Given there is no formal outline of what ACH spending composes, Government expenditure on initiatives that would ostensibly fall under ACH’s ambit surpasses its 1% target. In the Arts, Culture and Heritage Delivery Update 2024, when other areas of Government spending that are not currently included under the ACH’s budget are taken into account (e.g., funding for the Jersey Music Service), the total spending reaches approximately 1.2% of the Government’s net revenue (p. 75).

This, in combination with growing political pressure surrounding Jersey’s perceived excessive public expenditure and over-commitment to arm’s-length bodies, makes the likelihood to which the Government will maintain its 1% target in the coming years appear uncertain.

Relevant Legislation

Legislation that relates to the governance of Jersey’s arts and heritage comprises:

• Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002: A law that establishes a planning system to guide sustainable land development, regulate building standards, protect Jersey’s natural environment and heritage, preserve public amenities, and grant authorities powers to enforce regulations and acquire land where necessary.
• Public Record (Jersey) Law 2002: “A law relating to records concerning States functions and other public functions in Jersey, relating to access to those records when they become archives and conferring various functions on the Jersey Heritage Trust, an Archivist and a Records Advisory Panel.”
• Customs and Excise (Import and Export Control) (Jersey) Order 2006: An order relating to imports and controls upon imports/exports, to make general provision in relation to customs and excise and for connected purposes.
• Charities (Jersey) Law 2014: “A law to establish a commissioner and register of charities, to impose duties on governors of charities, to regulate use of the term “charity” and for related purposes.”
• Heritage (Jersey) Law 202- : “A law to provide for the securing of Jersey’s archaeological heritage, the reporting, recording and preservation of objects of archaeological and historical significance to Jersey, and for connected purposes.”

Approaches to Arts and Heritage Policy in Other Relevant Jurisdictions

Guernsey

• ‘A Plan for the Arts’ is the principal strategy document for outlining Guernsey’s approach to the arts and culture.
• The strategy was developed by Guernsey Arts, the “umbrella organisation which supports the arts on the Island”, and is endorsed by the States of Guernsey’s Committee for Education, Sport & Culture. Guernsey Arts is a charity which, though independent of the States of Guernsey, remains under its oversight through a service level agreement – this relationship was renewed for a further five years from the 1 January 2025.
• Unlike Jersey, Guernsey does not have a fixed percentage commitment for ACH, relying instead on discretionary budgeting.

Isle of Man

• The National Development Strategy for Culture and The Arts 2017 – 2027 was approved by Tynwald in July 2017.
• The strategy, which sits principally under the Department of Education, Sport and Culture, is delivered through two main arm’s-length organisations:
  • Isle of Man Arts Council (IOMAC)
    • Established by the Isle of Man Arts Council Act 1965, it focuses primarily on funding artists and creative projects, developing the creative industries, and supporting professional artistic practice. Its governance model is in many ways similar to Arts Council England.
  • Culture Vannin
    • Focuses on preserving and promoting Manx culture and heritage through research, education, and cultural programmes, including the language revival of Manx Gaelic.
  • Unlike Jersey, the Manx government does not have an expenditure target for ACH.

United Kingdom

• The UK lacks a single comprehensive UK-wide strategy. The closest it has is the 2016 Culture White Paper which sets out the government’s ambition and strategy for the cultural sectors.
• The UK’s approach to ACH, the delivery of which falling under the remit of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, largely relies on devolved, arm’s-length bodies, including:
  • Arts Council England
  • Arts Council of Wales
  • Arts Council of Northern Ireland
  • Creative Scotland
• Unlike Jersey, the UK government does not have an expenditure target for ACH, though has launched numerous initiatives to fund the UK’s cultural sectors. Recent examples under the current Labour government include its 2025 £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund for arts venues, museums, libraries and the heritage sector, with this receiving a further £1.5 billion in 2026.

The European Union

• According to Eurostat, despite increased fiscal strain in recent years, the European Union has maintained its average of approximately 1% of annual government expenditure being allocated to cultural services (as of 2023).