Why Access to the Arts Matters and What’s next
Backstage at Birmingham Symphony Hall during LEGACY (2024)
Hi! My name is Nikki and today is my last day as Head of Programme for Punch.
At school, I had great access to music and the arts. I had violin lessons, singing lessons, access to equipment, and spaces to perform if I wanted to. I studied both the technical and business sides of the arts all the way to university level. Although I struggled financially, it was possible - and I was encouraged to go for it.
Since then, I’ve worked in and around music and the arts for my entire adult life. As an aspiring artist, bar staff, promo team member, club promoter, event producer, funding advisor, marketing officer, and now Head of Programme for Punch Records. Because of this, I’ve seen the industry from multiple angles and understand both its audiences and the people it serves - from the big picture right down to the granular.
I understand the benefits of Music and Art. And more recently, I’ve begun to understand what it can look like to be deprived of them.
During my time here, I’ve worked with a wide range of Arts and Education organisations. I built a relationship with the Academy of Contemporary Music, which led to the Punch Records Scholarship. I’ve developed programmes for emerging artists from local communities, colleges, and universities, and collaborated with like-minded music organisations across the country.
One particularly eye-opening project was Equalize. In 2025, I worked on this research project, which aims to encourage more young people into music education by introducing Black and Electronic music through the national curriculum.
Through this work, I learned more about the EBacc system and the impact it has had on arts education. I saw first-hand the lack of funding for arts provision at both school and community level.
I became increasingly interested in what a lack of access to creative education means - not just for young people, but for society as a whole. As I observed that programme unfold, I found myself asking more and more questions.
If creativity isn’t encouraged in schools, where does innovation come from?
If we become less innovative, what does that mean for technology and future progress?
If we’re not engaging with music and art, how are we expressing ourselves?
If we lose traditional ways of expression, what does that mean for our mental health?
How do we represent ourselves? How do we recognise each other? What does cultural exchange look like - and what happens to our communities if that exchange disappears?
I’ve been with Punch for just under eight years, and I’m now preparing to move on. During my time here, I’ve had the space to be curious and to explore ways of addressing challenges within the music and arts industry - at both grassroots and commercial levels.
What made all of this possible was Punch itself. The team here has an incredibly broad range of lived experience, and our office culture allows us to be open, honest, and genuinely ourselves. Because of that, we’re able to approach our work authentically - and I think (and hope) that translates to people experiencing what we do as fun, real, and passionate.
No two days at Punch are ever the same. While we’re rooted in music, we work across the wider arts and regularly venture into activism, politics, and structural change where it makes sense - and where we’re able to do so responsibly. That breadth gives the work even more purpose, and I’d say that sense of purpose is what drives the majority of the team.
I’ll always be grateful for this opportunity, because it allowed me to develop my perspective through hands-on experience and the freedom to take calculated risks - something that’s incredibly rare in a sector where resources are often limited. So thank you, Ammo.
Next, I’ll be moving into a role that explores deprivation within Midlands communities. I want to learn more about the tools and methods used to remove barriers and uplift specific demographics, and to deepen my understanding of what’s needed to ensure health and happiness for everyone - regardless of postcode.
And I strongly believe that, for the greater good of humanity (not to be dramatic), this work must include greater exposure to music, arts, and culture.
So stay tuned. While I’ll no longer be a Punch employee, I fully intend to continue amplifying the positive work we’ve done together.