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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Tamlyn Jones

Culture Recovery Fund grants £17m to West Midlands venues

Almost 100 cultural and arts venues and businesses across the West Midlands will share in nearly £17 million of new support funding.

The cash injection is from the first round of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund announced earlier this year which is aimed at helping venues which have been affected by the coronavirus lockdown and restrictions.

This funding will allow performances to restart, venues to plan for reopening and to help protect jobs and create opportunities for freelancers.

In this first round, Arts Council England is administering £257 million worth of grants on behalf of the Government for applications under £1 million to 1,385 venues, concert venues, theatres, museums and cultural organisations.

This includes £16.95 million for 95 venues in the West Midlands including well-known establishments such as City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, New Vic Theatre in Newcastle and Stratford Play House.

Nationally, venues such as Liverpool's Cavern Club, Bristol Old Vic and London Symphony Orchestra are among those to receive grants.

Millions more pounds from the Culture Recovery Fund are due to be announced over the coming weeks.

Carlos Acosta, director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, said: "The Culture Recovery Funding is a lifeline for the arts.

"It provides a bridge towards longer-term recovery, the full return of audiences and our ability to contribute millions to the economy.

"We are grateful for this government support and glad that money is starting to reach colleagues and partners across the industry.

"It will support our continuing plans to start performing again, to urgently re-shape how we run our businesses in a changed world and to entertain live audiences."

Fiona Wallace, managing director of the New Vic which has received £248,990, said: "This funding is vital in ensuring that theatres are able to deliver cultural, economic, health and education benefits that will help the country recover.

"For the New Vic, this funding will make a big difference across our theatre-making and our education and community work and will help support us to continue to engage with local people through our activities at a time when people need it most.

"Culture and the arts have always played an important role for communities in north Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent but will be needed more than ever as we cope with the health and well-being impacts of covid-19."

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden added: "The Government is here for culture and we have worked around the clock to get this funding to arts organisations.

"It will give many of our wonderful theatres, museums, art groups and cultural venues a helping hand to get them back on their feet.

"This money will get to work right across the country to save these places and protect jobs and hundreds of millions pounds is on the way for cultural organisations of all sizes that still need our help."

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