Celebrating and recapping 25 years of art news reporting with Arts Professional

DACS looks back at the last 25 years of stories and breaking news reported by Arts Professional upon their silver jubilee.

For 25 years, Arts Professional has played a vital role in informing, questioning and connecting the UK’s arts and cultural sector. As they mark this milestone, we’re reflecting on the moments where visual artists and DACS have been part of that story - and to thank Arts Professional for consistently bringing the topics we care about into sector-wide conversation.

Initial conflict over the Artist’s Resale Right despite its early success

Back in 2008, in one of the first news articles to mention DACS that you can read online today – Arts Professional reported on the delay of extending ARR for deceased artists and their beneficiaries. The law was later added in 2012, but DACS were keen to push for this addition as soon as possible, claiming that the art market had “continued to flourish since the introduction of the resale right” two years prior.

This February marked the 20th anniversary of the Artist’s Resale Right, a reminder of how far the art market and the relationships with art market professionals have come since the publication of this news. 

Introducing The Smart Fund, a call for device tax to generate arts funding

2021 saw the launch of The Smart Fund, a proposal by creative industry organisations to invest in the UK’s arts and culture, without cost to the government or taxpayer. Arts Professional reported on our estimated £300m a year that could be generated through the scheme based on international examples, highlighting that the UK is falling behind the curve.

The Smart Fund which is backed by DACS, ALCS, BECS and PICSEL, continues to gain momentum, especially following CISAC’s latest report on private copying. 

DACS and other sector leaders call for a freelance commissioner from the Government

In 2023, Head of Policy and International, Reema Selhi gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in favour of the government appointing a freelance commissioner, with Arts Professional covering the session. DACS were joined by other sector leaders and emphasised that more joined-up thinking is required to address precarity of creative freelancers.

As a result of such campaigning, a Creative Freelance Champion was subsequently promised in DCMS’ Creative Industries Sector Plan in 2025. 

DACS member Adelaide Damoah expresses the need for artist protection in face of AI

Following the results of the ‘Artificial Intelligence and Artists' Work’ survey by DACS in 2024, member Adelaide Damoah wrote a piece for the Arts Professional calling on the government to act to safeguard artists’ rights.

The article voiced widespread concern about the rapid adoption of AI and its growing impact on the creative sector, highlighting strong anxieties among UK artists about the unauthorised use of their work and lack of fair compensation. It emphasised the need for government action to balance innovation with robust protections, transparency and safeguards for artists’ rights and livelihoods. 

AI and copyright concerns voiced at the Labour Party Conference

In 2025, Reemi Selhi joined representatives from BPI and the Publishers Association in Liverpool to speak on a Creative UK panel at the Labour Party Conference. Arts Professional touched on Selhi’s point, that people risk losing their livelihoods without a concerted effort by government to ensure existing copyright protections and updated regulations specifically aimed at tech companies remain and are put in place.

Their coverage of the panel also included points around how the creative industries needed ‘trust’ to work alongside AI and tech firms, before the UK can advance in technological innovation. 

New major report backed by the APPG for Visual Arts and Artists

'Framing the Future: The Political Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem' is a major report released in 2025 that set out four key recommendations to safeguard the future of the UK’s visual arts and its artists. Arts Professional covered the launch with a piece written by Cat Eccles MP, Chair of the APPG for Visual Arts and Artists.

In the article, she discusses the success of UK’s visual arts sector, but warns that the foundations are starting erode. "If we are serious about building a fairer, healthier, more prosperous country, then we need to treat the visual arts not as a luxury, but as essential infrastructure."

Jo Platt MP backs The Smart Fund as a solution for local regeneration

In late 2025, Jo Platt, Labour and Co-operative Party MP for Leigh and Atherton wrote for the Arts Professional, on how she sees The Smart Fund as a solution to invest in artists and the wider creative industry.  

In the article, she said: “The Smart Fund could support government’s ambition for place-based regeneration, funding locally-run arts projects, artist studios and microbusinesses in towns with rich but under-supported cultural talent.” 

New cross party parliamentary group is launched for freelancers

Most recently in 2026, Arts Professional reported on the newly formed APPG for Freelancers. The parliamentary group is chaired by Polly Billington MP, with Lord Banner KC, Baroness Caine of Kentish Town and Matt Turmaine MP elected as Officers. The APPG secretariat is provided by Bectu, ALCS, DACS, Directors UK, and Freelancers Make Theatre Work.

In a quote provided to Arts Professional, Kate Rosser-Frost, Director of Engagement said: “As joint secretariat for the APPG for Freelancers, we will work with colleagues from across the visual arts and creative industries to advocate for fair treatment, improved support, and greater recognition for freelance artists and creators. This important cross‑party forum will help build a stronger, more sustainable future for freelancers across the UK’s creative sector.” 

Looking ahead

We’re grateful to Arts Professional for the care and consistency with which it has covered artists’ rights and creative industry news, continuing to provide a space where essential but complex topics can be discussed with clarity and independence.

We’re pleased to celebrate alongside them and we look forward to continuing the conversation at the Business of the Arts Summit on 13 May 2026, where the All‑Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) will be holding a panel talk discussing what would need to change if arts organisations genuinely designed their business models around creative freelancers.