CUTS to funding have left working-class children without the opportunity to develop an interest in the arts, it has been claimed.

Former teacher and founding member of Blackburn Contemporary Artists, Peter Harris, is organising a public meeting to discuss the impact of austerity on the arts.

Mr Harris said when he founded the group he had a lot of help from the council at the time and funding was not a problem.

But since then, cuts have meant some children are being deprived of the opportunity to learn an instrument, get involved in acting or develop an interest in the arts, Mr Harris said.

“I’m a retired schoolteacher and I have seen the impact of the arts right across the board,” he said.

Last month, more than 100 of the UK’s leading artists joined forces to condemn the exclusion of arts subjects from the new English baccalaureate, warning it will seriously damage the futures of many young people.

Artists including Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley signed a letter calling on the Government to rethink a key secondary school policy introduced by the former Education Secretary Michael Gove.

Mr Harris said: “The working class are being disenfranchised out of the arts, we are trying to bring home to people how severe things are and to point out the disparity.

“We had thousands of people going to the Festival of Making so the appetite is obviously there.

“Unfortunately councils are strapped for cash and the arts are the thing that seems to go first.

“It might be ok for middle-class families who can afford to pay for their children to go to drama classes or for private music lessons but the reality is for working-class communities, they just don’t have the same opportunities.”

Mr Harris said he will speak about the impact and reaction of artists, trade unions and community groups, and emphasise the need for an end to such unfair treatment of those most disadvantaged and point a way forward.

The meeting will be held at The Bureau Centre for the Arts in Victoria Street, Blackburn, on June 15 from 7pm, and Mr Harris is urging people to attend.

It will run until 8pm and people who attended will be given the chance to have their say.