A helping hand from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund
Artworks is among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund
This funding will enable us to continue to support communities in Calderdale, particularly those that have been most deeply affected by the pandemic
Artworks, the Everybody School of Art, has received a grant from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help us to recover and reopen following the devastating impact of the pandemic on the arts and culture sector.
The funding was awarded to enable us to build on and develop their cultural offer and ensure that we can continue to support Calderdale’s most vulnerable communities. The funding will particularly help to support young people, people experiencing mental ill health and isolated adults, as well as the artistic community.
More than £300 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary announced today.
Our ethos is to be open to all and use engagement with art to support health and wellbeing, education and community development. We run a comprehensive programme of creative activity designed to connect people with art in its various forms, including free and subsidised workshops for people with lived experience of mental ill health and those on low incomes. This funding will enable us to continue to provide these vital programmes and support communities to recover from the impact of COVID-19.
Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
The second round of awards made today will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:
“Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they've ever faced.
Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors - helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead."
Artworks Director, Lauren Iredale said:
“Art and culture are a powerful tool for transformation and have a critical role to play in our collective recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re delighted that, with help from the Cultural Recovery Fund, we can play our part in this recovery by supporting those most in need in our communities.
We look forward to reopening our doors again when the time is right and doing all that we can to support people to re-engage with culture and reap the health and wellbeing benefits that come from connecting with art and creativity.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said:
“Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.
We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.