Culture Department

07:54 May 29, 2013 

However for a local governement authority, I would call it a Department of Cultural Events.
The nature of a local government authority is quite different than a ministry and what the Minister for Culture does...

05:58 May 28, 2013 

Charles -- I think you'll find there was a modicum of EU pressure in favour of "culture," partly due to then-nascent Structural Funds and the terminological uniformity needed to ensure they flowed in the right direction. I remember being vaguely involved in the shenanigans. There was the inevitable measure of public opprobrium at the government's embracing of "Kultur," with much humorous derision. Memories...

05:52 May 28, 2013 

The UK Minister for the Arts was renamed Minister for Culture in 1995 (by the Conservatives). I'm not sure whether there was actually pressure from Europe to do so. My impression at the time was that it reflected a desire to suggest a broader remit, embracing not just high artistic culture but also popular culture, partly inspired by Jack Lang, France's very high-profile Minister of Culture until 1992.

05:31 May 28, 2013 

In Britain, the word "culture" carried a connotation of state-regimented authoritarianism, while "the arts" (in a sense which covers the self-same ground) carried the connotation of a self-organising civic movement or movements. The British mindset being what it is, the former was broadly judged deplorable, while the latter was broadly seen as laudable.

While official nomenclature did include the word "culture" from some time in the late 1980s/early 1990s (possibly due to EC/EU pressures), many media like the BBC or national newspapers still much prefer "the arts."

Moreover, "culture" in Britain still carries a number of non-artistic meanings. A common one is "lifestyle or modus operandi" ("punk culture," "gun culture," "a culture of fundamentalism") as in "the judiciary were said to exemplify a culture of elitism." A more and more archaic one is "overblown good manners and high-faluting tastes," as in "opera is culture, mate; give me a rock gig any day."