David Hockney

Leading UK artists are urging Gordon Brown to dig deep for regional museums and galleries in this summer's spending round.

The country's biggest names in contemporary art - many of whom were wooed by Tony Blair during "Cool Britannia" offensive - are demanding that the chancellor backs a report calling for a cash injection to drive a "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," say the artists.

"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."

The painted letter, executed by top-selling British artist David Hockney, and signed by the art world's leading lights, including Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor, asks the government to fund last year's recommendations by museums authority re:source.

"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, re:source, in its report 'Renaissance in the regions'," says the letter."We appeal to you to ensure that these great, but undervalued, regional museums are given the investment they so badly need."

Unless action is taken, warn the artists, regional museums will be forced to close.

"They have been grossly neglected for more than two decades," say the artists.

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