£379,000 going into Wiltshire arts and heritage venues
The Council's increasing its support for the sector by 10%
Almost £379,000 of Wiltshire Council funding is being allocated to arts and heritage venues across the county.
The authority's decided to increase its support for the sector by 10% in their budget for 2025/26.
That includes funding for Pound Arts in Corsham; Trowbridge Town Hall Arts; Wiltshire Creative in Salisbury; Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon; Wiltshire Museum in Devizes; and Salisbury Museum.
Leader of Wiltshire Council and Cabinet Member for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Cllr Richard Clewer said:
“As a council we recognise and value the importance of what the arts, culture and heritage sectors bring to the county. The benefits are felt not only in the economy and tourism but also support place shaping, helping to create vibrant communities and improve residents’ health and wellbeing.
“I am delighted that we have been able to increase our funding for next year and see it as an investment, providing our partners more opportunities to make arts, culture and creativity accessible to all.”
Wiltshire Creative's Artistic Director Gareth Machin and Executive Director Rosa Corbishley said:
“We are delighted that Wiltshire Council has continued to build on its support of the thriving cultural sector in the county. Wiltshire Creative reaches 250,000 people a year, with audiences travelling from across the county. Our Pantomime this year saw 25,000 people visit our venue of who 22% were first time attendees.
"Over 20% of our audiences travelled 90 mins to get to the show and contributed hugely to economic activity in the region. In addition, this support from Wiltshire Council will enable us to build on the 15,000 young people and community participants who take part in our vibrant education and community programmes each year.”
Alan Wright, Director of Trowbridge Town Hall, said:
“In addition to the generous allocation of funding by Wiltshire Council, as a result of its successful grant application to the Future High Streets Fund, that has enabled the full capital refurbishment of the former Trowbridge Town Hall, allowing the Trust to re-open the building later this year to provide a regional exemplar as an incubator for creative talent, the Trust also appreciates the 10% uplift in the annual subsidy received from the Council, which will be a valued contribution towards delivering our services into the community.”
Russ Tunney, Director of Pound Arts, said:
“On behalf of all at Pound Arts and the communities we serve all across Wiltshire we are delighted by this commitment by the council to supporting the arts provision which has such impact on the lives of people living in the region. Wiltshire has an enviable reputation for the quality of its cultural offer and this is in no small part due to continued support from the council.
"In difficult financial times such as these people need the benefits that cultural engagement brings and the recognition of this to assist us all in creating more fabulous performances, participatory programmes and projects which address social issues such as improving mental health, wellbeing and other local priorities is to be celebrated.”
Daniel Clark and Sarah Robertson, Co-Directors, Wiltshire Music Centre, said:
"We are grateful for this funding uplift from Wiltshire Council. Their continued support and steadfast recognition of the huge value arts and culture brings is appreciated by everyone at Wiltshire Music Centre and will help ensure that everyone in Wiltshire has access to the highest quality music and music education every day."