Cultural Democracy, Cultural Equity, and Cultural Policy: Perspectives from the UK and USA

Abstract

This article offers an exploratory discussion of two cultural policy concepts and traditions: cultural democracy in the UK and cultural equity in the US. We explore what the concepts share, how they have been shaped by their cultural policy traditions, and how they yield value for cultural policy makers, scholars, and activists. As scholars from divergent yet mutually Anglo-centric traditions, we articulate how these concepts inform one another with a view to enacting a more democratic form of cultural policy. Though the terms are used imprecisely or interchangeably, differences between concepts speak to the intersectional character of cultural inequality.