Swedish Arts School

The Government’s fundamental assumption is that all children, whatever their background, are to be given an opportunity to engage with the arts. Municipally run music and arts schools give children and young people an opportunity to perform and develop their creative abilities. Within their operations, children and young people are able to become involved in music, drama, dance or painting. It is voluntary for municipalities to run arts schools and municipalities decide for themselves on the size of the fees payable. This means that there are differences between different municipalities. Some municipalities, for example, charge high fees while others have low fees or none whatsoever. A few municipalities do not have an arts school at all. Today the work of arts schools is one of the largest cultural activities for children and young people in Sweden. This means that arts schools are an important element in national cultural and education policy. Despite the major importance of arts schools, a joined-up strategy for national coordination and evaluation of activities is lacking and the Government has therefore appointed an inquiry to review this area and propose initiatives to improve the status quo in this respect.