Turning vacant spaces into creative places
Art in empty spaces, our £500,000 initiative to help artists and arts organisations turn vacant high street shops into vibrant artistic places, is now open for applications.
Individuals and organisations are invited to apply for grants to support artistic activity that transforms empty retail units into creative spaces – anything from an art gallery to recording studios or family arts workshops – which the whole community can enjoy.
The programme, Art in empty spaces, is being run in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)’s scheme Looking after our town centres, which is investing £3 million to reinvigorate ailing town centres during the recession.
One of the best means of animating high streets during the downturn is by using the arts to make them attractive and vibrant places. Art in empty spaces has therefore been established to help artists and arts organisations carry out artistic activities in vacant premises made available to them through the DCLG scheme. The initiative is part of Arts Council England’s response to the effects of the recession on the arts and is funded with an additional £500,000 of National Lottery funds available through our Grants for the arts programme. The money is intended to enable artists to connect their work with even more people in fresh and imaginative ways, despite the current tough economic climate.
Priority will be given to projects that are in receipt of confirmed DCLG funding and where the activity begins within three months of a grant being awarded. We will also be keen to support the most sustainable projects and those that will have the most impact. We believe these are likely to be the ones where strong local partnerships are in place. For example, we encourage the temporary use of vacant spaces for the arts where it leads to a longer-term solution for integrating artists into a development, a regeneration scheme or a town centre, and where the presence of artists underpins and contributes to local strategies and arts development.
The role the arts can play in economic regeneration can already be seen across the country, in places such as Margate, Liverpool, Bedford and many other towns and cities where the innovative use of empty shops is helping to prevent high street decline. In Chester, for example, Roam the Rows uses the high street as its setting for the annual Chester Performs festival, which brings a mix of arts events and installations to the historic city centre. Artists take over both empty and occupied shops and public spaces to create new and stimulating experiences for shoppers and passers-by. We hope the new fund will enable many more such schemes to happen.
Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said: ‘The arts offer escape and comfort in tough times and they have the power to play a key role in our recovery from recession.
‘Art in empty spaces is a wonderful way for artists to connect with even more people in unexpected places and to turn the depressing sight of another empty shop into an encounter with something different.’
Please download the guidance notes for information on how to apply to the Art in empty spaces initiative.
For details of how to apply to the Grants for the arts programme, please visit www.artscouncil.org.uk/grantsforthearts.
