Arts and cultural venues to receive Government survival funding
More than 100 arts and cultural venues will receive financial awards from the Government to help them survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport announced a £1.57billion Culture Recovery Fund and 111 South London venues will share around £20million of it.
The investment will help galleries, performance groups, arts organisations, museums and local venues facing the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, to try and ensure they have a sustainable future.
One of the fund’s recipients, Theatre Peckham, say they will use the money to deliver Covid secure classes for its pipeline of young talent and provide support for freelance artists.
The theatre company, aimed at young people was where Star Wars’ John Boyega first learned to act and is now a patron.
They have been awarded £150,000.
Suzann McLean CEO of Theatre Peckham said: “Theatre Peckham’s key role is in providing hyper-local cultural opportunity.
“We welcome this grant which enables us to keep our doors open and offer low cost access to the arts to a community hard hit by Covid-19.
“Our young people define Theatre Peckham and this funding ensures we can fully respond to their needs.
“We have a commitment, across the board from governance to freelance artists, to acknowledge the real yet invisible logistical, cognitive and emotional barriers many face.”
This is the biggest tranche of funding distributed to date from the Culture Recovery Fund, and the first in a series of announcements on funding programmes administered by Arts Council England.
The recipients are those that applied for grants of under £1million in the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund.
Applicants for grants of over £1million, as well as those who applied to round two of the fund and the Repayable Finance programme, will be notified of their outcomes shortly.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation. It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery.
“These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country – from the Beamish Museum in County Durham to the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Bristol Old Vic.
“This unprecedented investment in the arts is proof this government is here for culture, with further support to come in the days and weeks ahead so that the culture sector can bounce back strongly.”
