Hockney lobbies for arts funding

Out painter David Hockney has joined a group of distinguished artists who are lobbying for increased arts funding in the United Kingdom, reports BBC News. A letter decorated by Hockney and signed by Rachel Whiteread, Anish Kapoor, Peter Blake, and others, was presented to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, requesting that more money be spent to improve culture in the nation. The artists have teamed up to lobby the government to restore regional galleries and museums as "great cultural assets." "We are all working artists who currently enjoy an international reputation, yet we are deeply conscious of the local roots of our inspiration," reads the letter. "We first encountered some of the great works of art that have shaped our lives, not in leading London galleries, but in our local museums and art galleries." The group wants money to support a 2001 Regional Museums Taskforce report that called for a cash injection of £250 million to restore museums and galleries so they would be able to show off their impressive collections to the best advantage.