Culture Recovery Fund
B arts receives lifeline grant from Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund
Press Release: Monday 12 October 2020
B arts has been awarded £80,000 as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future, the Culture Secretary has announced today.
B arts is one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support. £257 million of investment has been announced today as part of the very first round of the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.
B arts is a is a combined and participatory arts organisation founded in 1985. Based in Stoke-on-Trent, a city with dramatic socio-economic inequalities, we produce high quality arts experiences with local communities. Our base, Common Space, is an arts and communities hub, fronted with a community bakery/café, providing a welcoming, flexible and accessible project, exhibition, performance and making space. We work with local residents from across Stoke-on-Trent from underserved groups in society, including those who are living in poverty, the vulnerably housed, people with many life challenges and individuals from black and other diverse groups.
The Culture Recovery Fund will enable us to fully reopen our building to the public, in a Covid-secure way. In addition to resuming our regular local arts offer, we will be prioritising work with young people, tackling the challenges of isolation. Working in partnership with Stoke-on-Trent City Council Youth Services team, this work will see us out in the communities, providing an engaging and exciting arts offer on young people’s doorsteps across Stoke on Trent.
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. 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.
Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:
Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages. This life-changing funding will save thousands of cultural spaces loved by local communities and international audiences. Further funding is still to be announced and we are working hard to support our sector during these challenging times.”
Susan Clarke, artistic and executive director of B arts said:
We are absolutely delighted with this award from The Culture Recovery Fund. It means once again B arts can get our building- Common Space, opened up in a COVID secure way for our local community. We know that the programme we run here is a real lifeline for local people and this award is a valued vote of confidence that we are proud to share with people in Stoke-on-Trent.
With this award we will also be able to continue to support our freelance artists; the very important musicians, makers, performers, writers and carnival artists we employ, so that they can do more of the work that they excel in - making arts with people.
We passionately hope that more support comes forward very soon from central government for all of the venues, projects and individual artists that so badly still need help. We will all be looking to these organisations for the great arts experiences, the joy, the fun and nights out that they provide as we emerge from the pandemic, and they won’t be there for us then unless we can be there for them now.