We work to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. As the national development agency for the arts, we support a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, carnival to crafts.
In 2009/10, we have budgeted to spend more than £575 million of public money from the government and the National Lottery. This is the bedrock of support for the arts in England.
How we fund the arts
| Regularly funded organisations | 60% |
| Grants for the arts | 9% |
| Managed funds | 8% |
| Creativity, Culture & Education | 7% |
| Other Lottery programmes | 8% |
| Administration |
8% |
Regular funding for organisations
Between 2008 and 2011, we will invest £1.03 billion of regular funding in around 880 arts organisations across England, including Opera North, Sadler’s Wells, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Punchdrunk, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Southbank Centre.
Grants for the arts
Grants for the arts is our open access funding programme for the arts, funded by the National Lottery. In 2008/09, we made over 2,500 grants totalling nearly £53 million.
Managed funds
Our managed funds allow us to identify new opportunities for the arts to flourish, by developing projects that reach and engage the public. They enable us to establish new partnerships that can generate further funding for the arts, and achieve great art for everyone through major fixed-term projects delivered through our regional offices.
These funds are not normally open to application. Our managed funds projects include Artists taking the lead, Made in England, the Cultural Leadership Programme, Artsmark, Own Art, and Take it away.
Creativity, Culture and Education
The Arts Council will grant £38.5 million in 2009/10 to Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) to deliver Creative Partnerships, the flagship creative learning programme which has worked with over 940,000 young people and over 90,000 teachers across England. It fosters long-term partnerships between schools and creative professionals to inspire and harness the potential of creative learning and experiment with new ideas.
CCE is a national organisation established by the Arts Council. It aims to transform the lives of children and families through creative learning and cultural opportunity to enhance their aspirations, achievements and skills.
The Arts Council will also grant nearly £7.4 million to CCE to deliver Find Your Talent, the Government’s pilot cultural offer for all children and young people which aims to ensure they have access to the wide range of quality cultural experiences essential to unlocking their talent and realising their potential.
