Getting back on track
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One of the great joys of this autumn for me has been getting back on the train to see how the artists, art organisations, museums and libraries that the Arts Council supports are inspiring and reinvigorating communities. Before the virus impacted on every aspect of our lives – that’s how I spent a lot of my time. Now I’m also witnessing first-hand how they are adapting and coping in the wake of the pandemic.
The start of this week found me in the Midlands. Derby Theatre was hosting a conference highlighting the work of cultural organisations in nurturing talent and giving opportunities to young people who have experienced living in care. I heard some powerful stories of the support that has been given to children and young people before, during and after lockdown. This ranged from the creation of podcasts, to online book-clubs and workshops, through to staging plays and performances both in theatres and digitally. Yet again, it brought home to me how cultural organisations support their communities and the key role that they play in the villages, towns and cities they call home.
The end of the week sees me welcoming the announcement of help of a different kind – for the creative and cultural sector itself. As today marks the announcement of the third round of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
It was set up to provide a lifeline for venues, galleries, theatres, and museums facing the enormous challenges Covid-19 posed to our nation’s cultural life. Since its creation, £1.2 billion has been invested in around 5,000 organisations across the country. This unprecedented and continued commitment by the government recognises the importance of our cultural organisations to the well-being of our country. Our sector brings billions into the economy, supports thousands of jobs, and provides an exciting narrative for the UK on the international stage. On top of all those benefits, public investment in cultural organisations also delivers happiness, pride and opportunity to people wherever they live.
This latest phase of the Culture Recovery Fund will see the Arts Council invest more than £93 million in around 800 organisations through Continuity Support. It’s designed to help theatres, galleries, music venues, museums, arts centres and creative and cultural organisations to play their part in our recovery from the pandemic by continuing to support them through the winter.
Of that funding, £30 million has been invested in theatres. One of those to benefit is Derby Theatre, where I was earlier this week. Today’s new grant will allow it to continue to do the kind of work that connects with young people, as well as reach out to the wider community including those who have been worst affected by the pandemic.
This latest round of the Culture Recovery Fund is helping to make sure that talent is nurtured and sustained across the country. Last week, I was in Wigan where I saw for myself the work done by another of the recipients of today’s new investment. Arts at the Mill is a community interest company which runs Wigan’s Old Courts as an arts centre in the heart of the town. It prides itself on its community driven and centred arts programmes that have the ambition to change people’s lives and today’s new investment will allow people’s lives to continue to be changed for the better by connecting them to top class artists and performers.
We’re also announcing today that dozens of other organisations are being helped with more than £6 million through the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund’s Emergency Resource Support Fund. This distinct programme is aimed at supporting organisations that face more immediate risk. It will make sure they will be here to continue to contribute to our cultural lives in the future.
The need for the kind of help we’re announcing today shows the effect that Covid-19 is still having on cultural organisations up and down England. Navigating the next few months won’t be easy. We are all hoping that audiences will continue to return to our theatres and music venues and that visitor numbers will carry on growing at museums, galleries and arts centres. We all hope for a good panto season, and that next year will see the return of more international tourists. However, there remains uncertainty about the course of the pandemic so we will continue to watch trends and listen to cultural organisations’ needs.
Above all, we will continue to back the sort of brilliant work that I’ve seen on my travels across the country this autumn. And as ever, at the Arts Council, we will champion the important part creativity and culture will play in helping to build a strong recovery for the benefit of everyone, of every background right across England.
