British culture is not all about heritage, despite what the tourists may think. But our rich history does infuse many of the things that we live with in day-to-day contemporary Britain and there are historical mementoes all around us. This could be read as an inherent conservatism – a longing to keep things as they ever were. But I think this is to misread the situation. We are a country that has made many mistakes but the physical historic reminders and our public ease in being critical about how things are, mean that we should be optimistic. I genuinely think we are a more tolerant and reasonable nation then practically any other.

The artist / contributors to Arty British Culture are... Larry Achiampong, David Blandy, Jackie Chettur, Annabel Dover, Sarah Doyle, Luci Eyers, Archie Franks, Susie Hamilton, Cathy Lomax, Alex Michon, Gabrielle de la Puente, Matt Rowe, Alli Sharma, Mimei Thompson and Ben Westley Clarke

They look at... hen nights, the NHS, gothic heart-throbs, pub signs, bird watching, David Bowie, abandoned dogs, Carry on Nurse, drinking, allotments, bar taps, Thomas Hardy, charms, breakfast, Ben Whishaw, accents, discrimination...

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