New year’s resolutions from our community for the UK’s creative industry in 2026
As we enter a new year, we’re thinking about what meaningful progress could look like for the art world in 2026. To inspire change, we've asked and collected resolutions that our community believe the creative industries should make.
What’s your new year’s resolution for the UK’s creative industry in 2026?
"For 2026 I wish that we will be able to push forward with our mission to create an environment in which artists can thrive and are adequately rewarded for their contribution to society.
I hope that our government strikes a fair balance between their ambition to support AI businesses and the need of creators to be paid for the use of their works, that the value gap between those who benefit from the use of artists’ works and those who create them is being closed, for example through the adoption of the Smart Fund, and that Tech Companies come to the table and engage in meaningful negotiations."
Christian Zimmermann, DACS CEO
"Hopes for arts funding to be supported and allowing non commercial, small non-profit spaces to thrive and show non commercial art that is engaging and accessible - not just seen as a commodity. I think fair pay for institutions and non-profits would benefit if we can have the funding system we had pre-2017."
Jonny Tanna, Director at Harlesden High Street
"The creative industries need to work harder to be genuinely accessible to people from working class backgrounds."
Meg Molloy, Founder of Working Arts Club
"Three things the government should certainly do: get rid of the ebacc, provide much better financial support for artists - particularly through the Arts Council and thirdly remove all the obstacles for UK artists in Europe."
The Earl of Clancarty, Member of the House of Lords
"My 2026 New Year's resolution for the creative industries would be to foster more collaboration and cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing focused on young people. With the education cuts in this area in mind, it is more important than ever that the younger generation are exposed to the power of creative thinking that is both taught and self-directed."
Oliver Evans, Senior Director at Maureen Paley
"In 2026, creativity stands stronger together."
Goshka Macuga, Artist
"My new year’s resolution for the UK’s creative industries in 2026 is to turn the ambitions of Framing the Future into action. Securing a stronger recognition of the visual arts as a cornerstone of economic and social growth. This year, we must move from evidence to impact, ensuring artists and visual arts organisations are properly valued in the UK’s Industrial Strategy and future growth and mission plan."
Paula Orrell, National Director of CVAN
"Give the visual priority over the verbal and the literal."
Gavin Jantjes, Artist
"In 2026, we urge the Government to ease the regulatory burdens that restrain the UK’s creative industries, which remain one of our greatest economic assets. Freeing our artists, galleries and innovators to thrive will unlock the talent, investment and cultural energy Britain needs to grow."
Paul Hewitt, Director General at Society of London Art Dealers
"I want us to move beyond crisis management and step into a decade-shaped vision. We need to start laying the groundwork now for the future we want to inhabit in ten years. The “save the day” mentality has run its course. Fair practice must become a lived principle, embedded in institutions, funding models and every working relationship, not a line in a policy document.
Our responsibility is to build conditions where art doesn’t scramble to survive, but is empowered to thrive. That means nourishing artists, organisations and the wider cultural ecosystem with intention, resources and care. If we commit to long-term thinking and collective accountability, the creative industries can become a beacon for sustainable cultural evolution."
Fatoş Üstek, Co-Founder & Managing Director at FRANK Fair Artist Pay
"In 2026, the creative industries should resolve to value the artist as an ecosystem, recognising the rituals, research, and slower processes that shape our work, not only the pieces that can be commodified. For practices like mine, rooted in ceremony, sound, and long-durational enquiry, this means building sustainable models of support that honour the invisible labour of transformation as essential, deserving, and financially supported."
Evan Ifekoya, Artist
"My hope for 2026 is that we prove innovation and integrity can coexist - that AI serves artists, not replaces them, and that fair licensing becomes the rule, not the exception.
In 2026, let’s ensure AI celebrates rather than copies the artists who make it possible - proving that technology and creativity can thrive together when creators are credited and compensated.
Let 2026 be the year we prove that ethical AI and artistic freedom can coexist - when creators are credited, compensated and celebrated, not copied.
In 2026, I hope we move from copying to crediting - proving that ethical AI and artistic freedom can thrive together when creators are respected, rewarded and recognised.
As an artist and legislator, my hope for 2026 is that we prove ethical AI and artistic freedom can coexist - when creators are credited, compensated and celebrated, not copied."
The Lord Freyberg, Member of the House of Lords
"We as Hylozoic/Desires resolve to go slow, to let go, to spend time, to waste time, to say yes and to say no, to be intentional, to party harder, to travel far but never fall out of touch with what is near."
Hylozoic/Desires, Artists
Looking ahead
These resolutions reflect a shared commitment across the art world - to fairness, accessibility, collaboration, and long-term sustainability for visual creators. At DACS, we will continue to amplify artist voices and concerns in the right spaces through our advocacy work, ensuring that these aspirations are heard where they matter most.
We look forward to working alongside many of the contributors here and with the wider creative community, to build a stronger, more equitable future - one where artists are valued, supported, and empowered to thrive in an ever-evolving cultural landscape.
