We must prevent the cultural infrastructure from deteriorating: One of London's top arts destinations requires a $200 million renovation.

• The Southbank Centre in London is a 11-acre cultural complex that comprises of concert halls, an art gallery and a skate park, all situated on the south bank of the River Thames.
• Mark Ball, the artistic director of the center, stated that at nearly 75 years old, several of its buildings require renovations and maintenance.
• Ball stated that artists are crucial because they "allow you to have empathy through creating stories about other people."

The Southbank Centre in London, one of the U.K.'s most popular attractions, has showcased notable figures such as Michelle Obama, Anish Kapoor, Tracey Emin, and Nina Simone.

To ensure its longevity, the arts complex requires £165 million ($217 million) for renovations on its aging structures, which consist of performance venues, a gallery, and public spaces spread across 11 acres on the south bank of the River Thames, as it prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2026.

In March, Elaine Bedell, CEO of the Southbank Centre, wrote an article in the Evening Standard newspaper, urging the Conservative government to contribute £27 million towards the repair and upgrade of the complex's buildings.

The Southbank Centre's artistic director, Mark Ball, stated that the center's repairs will require a "big conversation" with the U.K.'s newly installed Labour government and other supporters. The center receives a significant portion of its funding from a public grant, with the rest coming from donations, retail, and partnerships. According to Ball, the center cannot allow its cultural infrastructure to crumble without investment.

The Southbank Centre's four main venues, including the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, are programmed and exhibited by Ball, who also commissions artwork for outdoor spaces across the site. The National Theatre and British Film Institute Southbank are not part of the Southbank Centre.

Since January 2022, Ball has been working at the Southbank Centre as creative director, having previously held a similar role at the Manchester International Festival. In his first year, he managed over 5,400 events and shows. Despite being the U.K.'s fifth most-visited attraction, the center's visitor numbers increased by 8% to nearly 3.2 million in 2023. However, figures are still not yet back to pre-Covid levels, which reached 4 million, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.

The Royal Festival Hall, the first venue of the Festival of Britain, opened in 1951 as a government-funded event aimed at providing positivity after World War II. According to Ball, the festival was set up by a Labour government that came to power on a landslide, after the war, in a country struggling with austerity. There was a need for cohesiveness and to look optimistically at the future.

""This derelict, bombed-out area of south London was transformed into a huge cultural space," he says. Ball hopes the new government will view arts institutions positively and is thrilled about its promises to support arts education in schools."

Due to Ball's "real terms deduction" on public funding, the center has formed commercial partnerships with Apple and the Royal Festival Hall has hosted the BAFTA awards since 2023. The government's grant amounted to £19.95 million in the financial year ended March 31, 2019, increased in 2020 and 2021, and then decreased to £19.67 million in 2023.

In July, Lisa Nandy delivered a speech at the Science and Industry museum in Manchester, where she discussed the government's efforts to promote culture and creativity amidst the unrest in the U.K.

CNBC interviewed Ball as the U.K. grappled with the summer's violence. "Examining the current situation, it is indeed shocking," he stated. "However, it underscores the significance of recognizing the impact of culture on our ability to understand and relate to others," he added. "Artists have always been skilled at creating narratives that foster empathy," he emphasized.

In the 1980s, Ball experienced a memorable moment at school when he watched the Royal Shakespeare Company's "Richard III," starring Antony Sher. As a closeted gay teenager, seeing the characterization of an outsider trying to fit in, which was portrayed by Sher, deeply resonated with him.

"Twenty years later, I was working for the Royal Shakespeare Company, having become much more actively involved in the arts after a life-changing experience that led me to drop some science subjects and start doing drama," he said.

The Southbank Centre unveiled its upcoming season on Thursday, featuring a comprehensive retrospective by artists Gilbert Prousch and George Passmore, commonly known as Gilbert and George.

The program includes a classical music festival, Multitudes, featuring collaborations between contemporary artists and the center's resident orchestras and other performers. Marina Abramovic will perform "Vexations," a short piano piece played repetitively over around 16 hours, with pianist Igor Levit, and, in a separate event, "All of this Unreal Time," a movie starring Cillian Murphy, will be shown alongside a live music performance.

Ball stated that when he arrived, he was struck by the presence of amazing artists who were brought through the building by individual artform teams. However, they never met. He has been trying to get the artform teams to work more collaboratively, and artists are now less genre-specific, he added.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's 2022 study revealed that young people aged under 35 listened to classical music more frequently than those aged over 55, despite a "massive rise" in the number of young people streaming classical music.

Ball stated that young people attending contemporary music concerts may not be inclined to attend live classical music events because they perceive it as not suitable for them.

The Southbank Centre is currently developing an online game platform where individuals can create and share music, as stated by Ball. This project represents a "real experiment," according to him. Through this platform, the Southbank Centre aims to attract a new audience that may not physically visit the center but is still actively engaging with culture on their own terms, as Ball explained.

One of Ball's biggest challenges is ensuring that people recognize the importance of art and culture in their daily lives. He asked, "How can we ensure that people benefit from the value of arts and culture, whether it's through providing a break from the mundane, fostering empathy, or creating economic opportunities?"

Ball stated that the two primary areas of focus should be creating a space where artists can produce their most daring work and, secondly, transforming the area into a "people's palace" on the river that caters specifically to the needs of local residents.

He is now planning the center's 75th anniversary celebrations.