£257 million fund announced to support arts and culture – including several Manchester organisations

It has been announced today that more than 1,300 arts organisations across the UK will benefit from a share of £257 million as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

Today’s funding will help save 1,385 theatres, galleries, performance groups, arts organisations and cultural venues that either have national, local significance facing the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and ensure they have a sustainable future.

And several Manchester organisations are set to benefit.

These include Manchester Art Fair, Manchester City Galleries, Manchester Collective, Manchester Craft And Design Centre, Manchester Jazz Festival, Manchester Literature Festival, Manchester Museum, Manchester Young People’s Theatre (trading as Contact), Matt and Phreds, Mission Mars, National Football Museum, NAVentures Limited, The Star and Garter, The Stoller Hall, The Whitworth and University Of Manchester Students’ Union.

Other Manchester organisation receiving grants include Beat Bazaar Projects Ltd, Bloom Leisure Ltd, Brighter Sound, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Chetham’s Library, Creative Tourist Limited, Cruz 101, Deaf Institute, Dirty Rascals, Discover the Bluedot, Eagle Bar, Future Everything, Gorilla, Greater Manchester Arts Centre Ltd, the Halle, Hey! Manchester, Inner City Music Ltd, LipService Theatre, NAVentures Limited, Northern Hospitality MCR Ltd, Off The UK, Partisan Collective, Redriff Ltd, Reform Radio, Soup Kitchen, Spring Markets Ltd, The Audience Agency, The Circus House, The Edge, The Factory of Creativity, Venture Arts, and Z-arts.

More organisations across the region who will benefit include Arts at the Mill CIC in Wigan, Bank Top Industries Ltd in Oldham, Bolton Party Ltd, Global Grooves in Tameside, HDI Dance Camps Ltd and The Big Tiny in Bolton, Lamp Oil Ltd, Proud and Loud Arts and Rising Moon Theatre in Salford, Link4Life in Rochdale, Mackinnon & Saunders Ltd and SBS Audio Visual in Trafford, NK Theatre Arts in Stockport, Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Stockport Plaza Trust, The Met in Bury, Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust, and Wordsmith MCR.

“This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation,” said Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

“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.”

Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages said Arts Council England chair Sir Nicholas Serota.

“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.”

Buy Art Fair Ltd CEO and Manchester Art Gallery board member Thom Hetherington, said: “We’re proud of the fundamental impacts Manchester Art Fair and The Manchester Contemporary have had on the Northern art ecology, and we are absolutely delighted that the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund values the impact we have for artists, gallerists and institutions.

“This critical support allows us to retain the unique expertise, resources and engagement we have built up over the last twelve years, and we will ensure that we use our voice and reach as a force for good until the fairs themselves return in 2021.”

Tim Desmond, Chief Executive of the National Football Museum, said he’s delighted with the award.

“Football is such an important part of the fabric of this country and we want to ensure that the work we do continues to inspire those who may not engage with other forms of culture,” he said.

“This funding allows us to change our organisation to meet the challenges over the coming months.

“It means we can put an even greater focus on inviting our local communities to help shape our future exhibitions and programmes and increase our ambition to tell the stories of those under-represented in the game.

“We want to be champions of diversity in the football and cultural sectors and we can now build on our pledge to ensure 50% representation of women in football by 2023 and increase the stories we tell around BLM.” 

And Manchester Craft and Design Centre director, Kate Day, said: “We are enormously relieved to receive this funding at a critical time in the Centre’s history.

“Having been pivotal in the regeneration of the Northern Quarter in the early 1980s and surviving two economic recessions, the Centre’s future was at risk.

“We will use Cultural Recovery Funding to continue to sustain our resident businesses, to support new diverse makers and to keep our visitors safe.

“We are proud to play our part in nurturing Manchester’s makers during such challenging times.”