Arts Council England has announced details of its new national portfolio of funded organisations for 2023-26.
- From Stoke to Slough, Gloucester to Wigan, the Arts Council’s Levelling Up for Culture Places will see a 95% increase in investment, with 78 designated towns and cities to receive £43.5 million annually, for the next three years.
- There will be a 20% increase in organisations delivering creative and cultural activity for children and young people including joiners to the portfolio such as Midlands based MISHMASH who introduce pre-schoolers to classical music, and an increase in funding for the renowned Grimm and Co in Rotherham, who nurture children’s creativity and writing.
- Overall, there will be investment in a richly varied mix of organisations: Established icons such as the Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company; a boost for the best of our museums and libraries with newly funded National Football Museum in Manchester and Gloucestershire Libraries joining; and ambitious pioneers and innovators such as Ballet Black, Manchester Collective, Open Sky Theatre, Touretteshero and Stanley Halls.
In total, 990 organisations will receive a share of £446 million (each year) ensuring that more people in more places can find fantastic, fulfilling art and culture on their doorsteps.
With this Portfolio, Arts Council England has focused on investing to make certain that as many people as possible in England – no matter where they come from or what their circumstances – can get hold of the very best of art and culture on their high streets and in the community spaces of their villages, towns and cities. The latest round of funding will benefit arts organisations, museums, and libraries in every corner of the country, from Northumberland to Norfolk, and from Cornwall to Cumbria, with a clear focus on ensuring that investment is concentrated in those places that, historically, have been underserved.
As well as renewing their support for brilliant, established organisations that have done so much to build England’s reputation as one of the most creative countries in the world, ACE is investing in 276 new organisations of all shapes and sizes. As well as reaching new audiences, they will also find, and nurture the next generation of cultural and artistic talent, increasing opportunity for people of all communities and backgrounds.
Overall, the new portfolio is richer and more varied than ever before. Distinguished organisations such as the Royal Opera House and Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Bristol Old Vic, will be joined by newcomers as eclectic and exciting as Blackpool Illuminations (to commission contemporary artists, and support talent development for a network of light festivals and artists across the North); Unlimited in Yorkshire (who commission extraordinary work by disabled artists including visual arts and theatre); The Postal Museum (which Hosts interactive displays including tours of London’s hidden tunnels on the Mail Rail), and intoBodmin (a community arts organisation in an old library building in the heart of Cornwall).
Levelling Up for Culture Places (LUCPs), such as Blackburn with Darwen, North Devon and Mansfield, will receive £43.5 million each year – a 95% increase in investment in these areas. By funding new organisations in new places, ACE is delivering on the vision set out in their strategy, Let’s Create: that everyone, everywhere, deserves to benefit from public investment in culture and creativity.
In response to the announcement, NMDC Chair Maria Balshaw said:
“On behalf of our members we are delighted that all of NMDC’s NPO museum members were successful in securing incredibly well-deserved funding for the next three years, and offer our warmest congratulations to them all.
Museums are a key part of our national cultural infrastructure and it’s fantastic to see Arts Council recognition of this with an additional £6.4m of funding per year for the sector. The 26 new museums joining the NPO portfolio also mean that Arts Council’s investment in museums will reach more people in more places than ever before.
In a challenging operating environment and at a time when museums are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, NPO funding is more vital than ever. We recognise the difficult decisions that the Arts Council has had to make and are grateful for the ongoing commitment to funding our amazing museums that will enable them to continue delivering positive benefits for communities across the country. We note with concern the significant reduction in funding to University of Cambridge museums and hope that further support for their vital community and research-supporting work may be found.”
;
