London faces more riots if deprived children not given better access to arts, says War Horse author

Michael Morpurgo, the author of War Horse and a former Children?s Laureate, said that ?dance, drama and libraries? could all inspire the young to lead creative and positive lives.

But he warned that unless institutions such as the BBC, galleries and theatres made greater efforts to attract children too many would remain ?alienated? from society and use their ?phenomenal? energy in destructive ways.

Mr Morpurgo?s comments came as he prepared to appear with the actor Peter Duncan at a conference today at London?s Unicorn Theatre organised by the charity Action for Children?s Arts.

A report produced for the event warns that most major arts organisations spend a tiny proportion of their funding on programmes or activites that will appeal to children, even though under-12s make up 15 per cent of the population, and makes a series of proposals for improving this situation.

Mr Morpurgo said that action was essential and warned of future disorder unless disadvantaged children who currently felt shut out from the arts were given ways of using their ?pent-up? energy constructively.

?We all seen what happens when kids get alienated and we all moan and groan when people run riot on the streets. But this is what happens when you don?t engage their energy creatively,? he said.

?These are the very children that we should be looking after in these extremely difficult times. The arts can be life-changing. I have seen time after time young people coming out of the theatre completely wide-eyed.?

Mr Morpurgo, who has been a prominent campaigner against the closure of libraries, said that he was not excusing rioters or expecting extra money to be spent in a time of econonmic constraints.

Instead, he said that teachers, parents, arts organisations and community leaders should encourage children from all backgrounds to take part in the arts in what could be a ?long term?, rather than overnight, means of reducing divisions in society

He added:? ?You reap what you sow. One reason that people riot is that they don?t feel that they belong. But the arts is one very good way of making them feel that they do. It is not a short term solution, but it is a way of chanelling the phenomenal energy that young people have in a creative way that will benefit us all.?

Today?s report is based on a survey of 20 organisations, including the National Theatre, the National Gallery, the BBC, the English National Ballet, and orchestras. It found that the average spending on programming aimed at children ranged from 0.5 per cent to 6 per cent. It suggests that attracting children should in future be an ?integral? part of all mainstream activities carried out by the country?s leading arts organisations.

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