Citizens' jury decides how to spend £100k arts cash

The jury of 30 people will consider how arts in West Cumbria should be supported

A citizens’ jury will be set up to determine how money is spent on arts and culture.

The 30 people from West Cumbria, chosen to represent the area's demographics, will help tackle “disaffection with democracy”, arts organisation Everyone Here said.

They will consider how the arts should be supported, including how £100,000 of Arts Council England money should be spent.

Everyone Here co-director Sam Hunt said the "experts of a place are the people who live there".

"What better, richer resource is there than the collective imagination of those people to help shape what that place could be and how money could be invested in culture in a place?" he said.

The jury's deliberations will take place later in May and they will carry out a similar exercise every six months.

Everyone Here said it aimed to raise more funding for future years.

Sam Hunt from Everyone Here believes the experts of a place are the people who live there

Known as the Jury for Joy, the residents will consider existing arts and culture in the former districts of Allerdale and Copeland to help them choose the kinds of projects they could support.

Mr Hunt said he believed there had been a "slight disaffection" with democracy in the area.

"This idea that bringing the power back to citizens and having them genuinely enabled to make decisions on where money is spent is one way to begin to address that," he added.

Organisers said the jury’s decisions would be implemented as soon as possible after they had been made.

The arts group chose jurors by sending an invitation to 9,000 households in West Cumbria and selecting 30 people from those who replied. Those who take part will receive £200 in shopping vouchers.

Everyone Here is one of 39 Creative People and Places projects backed by Arts Council England in areas where people are thought to have less involvement than average in the arts.