Quotes from Munira Mirza

For many there is a degree of constancy in our culture; London won't let you down.

You'd be surprised. A number of developers recognize that having a cultural activity in their space brings kudos. People like the idea of being near to creatives.

We give money to the E.U. and they give it back according to the priorities they choose, with an unelected group of people choosing those priorities.

A major step towards the universalist approach would be to dismantle the countless diversity policies that encourage people to see everything through the prism of racial difference.

I don't think a good education should be confined to a privileged few.

The people who fund the arts, provide the arts, and research the arts have all produced a consensus about the value of what they do, which hardly anyone challenges. But do the numbers add up? For all the claims made about the arts, how accurate are they?

The creative sector is incredibly important to London's economy in a number of different ways.

Often, when art from the canon is brought in to fine art classes, it is used as a prop to inspire art-making projects but more rarely as something to study in-depth for itself.

Londoners deserve a great, free music festival with excellent bands from around the world. They don't need to be hectored about why racism is bad or accosted by activists explaining why Castro is a hero.

A civilised society ought to make ample provision for everyone, no matter their background, to enjoy the arts and culture.

We could all do with a little more courage, frankly.

There has been a genuine willingness from many in the arts sector to try to understand people who are not within the arts elite.

It shouldn't be that people think the National Gallery is just for middle-class white people.

As a transplanted northerner, London has always signified big-city glamour and cosmopolitanism. It's part of what drew me here after university.

Culture is the glue that really binds, especially in cities with fast-growing populations.

We need law enforcement as the ultimate deterrent to stop irresponsible and rash young people from making mistakes that will harm others and themselves. Put bluntly, we need them to be scared of getting caught and of getting punished.

We need to keep telling people that London is great place to buy and to shop.

Throughout history, cities have been associated with incredible bursts of creative energy - the Renaissance in Florence, or modernism in Paris. London is the cultural metropolis of the early 21st century.

I have met people who have received E.U. funding and regretted it.

Museums and galleries do recruit art historians, but they are overwhelmingly white and middle class, or else from abroad. They understandably fret about the lack of diversity in their curating departments, but is it any wonder?

I've argued for a much less instrumentalist politicized approach, freeing up the arts and enabling them to deliver high-quality projects.

In cities across the world, directors of leading arts institutions, galleries and museums know that when it comes to attracting locals to their major exhibitions and shows, weekdays tend to be 'cultural dead time' for working people, who are simply too busy to enjoy what their city has to offer.

Too often, it is presumed that young people will only like art that they can immediately relate to. Working-class students may be steered towards popular culture like hip-hop, new media and film on the basis that they will find older art forms such as opera or ballet irrelevant.

The growth of race relations management, diversity training and 'promoting good relations' has come at a cost. We are more sensitized to racism, yet far less confident in talking to each other as human beings with similar hopes, problems and aspirations.