£13.8m boost for arts and cultural venues across Greater Manchester

Arts and cultural organisations across Greater Manchester are getting a multi-million pound boost from the government.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Arts Council England have today announced that 1385 arts and cultural organisations are to receive a share of £257 million as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

In Greater Manchester, this investment will help save 69 theatres, galleries, performance groups, arts organisations, museums and local venues facing the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, to ensure they have a sustainable future and continue to bring joy to local communities and international audiences.

This funding will help organisations create work and performances, and plan for reopening. Although many were still active in lockdown, using creative ways to reach audiences.

It is the biggest tranche of funding distributed to date from the Culture Recovery Fund, and the first in a series of announcements on the funding programmes administered by Arts Council England. Applicants for grants of over £1 million, 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.”

Sarah Maxfield, Area Director North, Arts Council England said:

“The pandemic has had a massive impact on the whole range of organisations working in the North’s cultural sector - theatres, music venues, festivals, museums and the companies who support them with technical sound, light and staging services. The cultural sector makes a huge contribution to The North’s economy, quality of life and communities. Today we are announcing much needed investment and support from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to a group of organisations across the North - with more announcements in the coming weeks - providing an essential lifeline so the cultural sector can survive and come back strongly in the future.”

Organisations that will be receiving funding in Greater Manchester include:

• National Football Museum in Manchester

• Cruz 101 in the Gay Village

• The Warehouse Project

• Bury Met

• McKinnon & Saunders in Altrincham

Today’s announcement will be followed by further allocations of grants and loans to successful applicants to the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund in the coming days and weeks.

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