Voluntary Arts estimates there are 60,000 voluntary arts groups across the UK regularly involving 10 million people. We have recently started to make local cultural life more visible by crowd-sourcing a national map of our creativity. By recognising and valuing the culture people choose to practise themselves at their own expense, we hope to find new connections between communities and offer hope for a creative, cultural future. Margaret CareyHurstpierpoint, West Sussex• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters• Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition

Source: The Guardian January 10, 2019 17:26 UTC