Dear Chancellor

Together, we appeal to you to seize the opportunity to revive our great regional museums, which is offered by the government's museums advisory body, Resource, in its report Renaissance in the Regions.

We are all working artists who currently enjoy an international reputation, yet we are deeply conscious of the local roots of our inspiration.

We first encountered some of the great works of art that have shaped our lives, not in leading London galleries, but in our local museums and art galleries.

These great cultural assets are vital to the lives of millions of people, many of whom may never come to London.

They have been grossly neglected for more than two decades.

Now, without investment and the opportunity to change, they are in danger of being allowed to wither and die.

We appeal to you to ensure that these great, but undervalued, regional museums are given the investment they so badly need.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Blake
Anthony Caro
Tony Cragg
Antony Gormley
Ian Hamilton Finlay
Howard Hodgkin
David Hockney
Damien Hirst
Anish Kapoor
Bridget Riley
Rachel Whiteread