Museums, music venues, theatres and art galleries across the North East have been given a life-saving cash boost.
Over £10m has been handed out in the region by the Government's £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund (CRF), which announced its first recipients on Monday.
In total, there were 58 awards made in the North East amounting to a total of £10,096,050 - the lowest figure and number of awards in England.
By contrast, 428 awards were made in London, with a total of over £87m spent, while 95 awards costing a total of just under £17m were made in the West Midlands, the second-lowest on the list.
However, the Arts Council notes this list is the first of a number of announcements set to be made by the fund, with more to come over the next few weeks - so it's not yet possible to say what the final split of funding across different areas will be.
Funding will be handed to big names like Beamish Museum and Northern Stage, as well as smaller organisations like Wearside community interest company Regeneration NE, a disability-led organisation aiming to make arts and culture more diverse and accessible.
Others benefiting include Seven Stories, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums and The Alnwick Garden.
Grants handed out in this announcement range from £50,000 to as much as £970,000.
Among those getting a helping hand was popular Ouseburn music venue The Cluny. Office manager Katie Bates said the £67,000 grant would cover operating costs, helping the venue to stay alive until it could hopefully start to safely reopen next year.
She said: "It's absolutely amazing what this has done - the only thing I could say is it could have maybe come a bit quicker because we've managed to pull through but I know there are places that have had to close already.
"The amount that they've contributed to the arts is brilliant though, the number of places that have been funded, even just in Newcastle."
The fund will also support musicians in the regions not just by keeping venues alive, but with help for music and business support agency Generator, which supports North East artists and musicians looking to turn their talent into a career.
Visual arts, theatre, dance and film in the region also get a boost.
Gary Nicholson, director and founder of fund-recipient Regeneration NE, said: “Culture and the creative industries make a massive contribution to communities’ well-being and the national economy. During lockdown, we have been running on a shoestring budget at a time when there has never been such great demand for what we do.
"This funding will make us more sustainable. It ensures we can safely continue our programme of inclusive activities whilst reaching out to new audiences. It also gives us the luxury of time to introduce new projects and ideas.”
Another organisation benefiting in the region was Newcastle's Live Theatre.
Jim Beirne, chief executive of Live Theatre, said: “We are incredibly appreciative of the generous support that we have received from the Culture Recovery Fund. This award will make a huge contribution to the sustainability of Live Theatre and the creative community with which we work.
"Theatre has a great capacity to enrich lives and we look forward to sharing stories to the screen through our Live Wired programme and bringing live theatre back into our special theatre space.”
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation. It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery.
“These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country. This unprecedented investment in the arts is proof this government is here for culture, with further support to come in the days and weeks ahead so that the culture sector can bounce back strongly.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, chair of Arts Council England, added: “Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages.
"This life-changing funding will save thousands of cultural spaces loved by local communities and international audiences. Further funding is still to be announced and we are working hard to support our sector during these challenging times.”
Here's the full list of 58 North East organisations who benefited from the fund:
- Alnwick Playhouse, Northumberland: £197,668
-
Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle: £122,000
-
Amber Film & Photography Collective, Newcastle: £172,363
-
APL Event Ltd, Hexham, Northumberland: £56,000
-
Beamish Museum, County Durham: £970,000
-
Beck & Harper Limited, Stockton-on-Tees: £73,584
-
C&D Circus Productions Limited, Hexham, Northumberland: £109,420
-
Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum, Redcar and Cleveland: £59,100
-
Cobalt TOO CIC, Newcastle: £69,000
-
D6 Culture Ltd, Newcastle: £68,077
-
Dance City, Newcastle: £240,000
-
Digital, Newcastle: £141,029Durham & Darlington Music Education Hub, County Durham: £572,956
-
Durham County Council (for theatre): £249,500
-
Festival of Thrift, Stockton-on-Tees: £70,000
-
Generator North East, Newcastle Upon Tyne, £145,736
-
Hartlepool Borough Council (for music): £115,000
-
Headway Arts, Northumberland: £60,250
-
Heugh Battery Museum, Hartlepool: £71,573
-
Hexham Book Festival: £60,000
-
Independent Sunderland: £91,646
-
KLSD C.I.C., Hartlepool (Dance): £55,845
-
Liberdade community development trust, Newcastle: £100,831
-
Mandylights UK Ltd, Blaydon, Gateshead: £82,068
-
MBC Arts Wellbeing, Sunderland: £112,000
-
Mi Viejo Fruta Ltd (The Cluny), Newcastle: £67,000
-
Middlesbrough Town Hall (music): £200,997
-
Mortal Fools (theatre), Hexham, Northumberland: £140,000
-
National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Durham: £170,000
-
North East Theatre Trust Ltd, Newcastle: £429,768
-
Northern Stage (Theatrical Productions) Ltd, Newcastle: £393,559
-
Pink Lane Jazz Coop Ltd, Newcastle: £80,000
-
Pop Recs Ltd (combined arts), Sunderland: £60,000
-
Queen's Hall Arts, Hexham, Northumberland; £147,563
-
Regeneration NE CIC (visual arts), Easington, County Durham: £75,863
-
Satellite Films, Hexham, Northumberland: £62,092
-
Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children's Books, Newcastle: £204,000
-
Shindig Events Ltd, Tynemouth: £100,000
-
SQDL t/a Boiler Shop, Newcastle: £788,961
-
Stockon Arts Centre: £239,500
-
Sunderland Culture: £341,777
-
Surface Area Dance Theatre CIC, Sunderland: £63,699
-
Tees Music Alliance, Stockton-on-Tees: £103,000
-
Tees Valley Arts, Redcar: £67,791
-
The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland: £90,000
-
The Auxiliary Project Space (combined arts), Stockton on Tees: £72,462
-
The Crack Ltd. Newcastle,: £75,000
-
The Creative Seed CIC, South Shields: £72,000
-
The Extreme Stunt Show Ltd, Gateshead: £545,820
-
The Forum Music Studios, Darlington: £106,019
-
The Maltings Berwick Trust Limited, Berwick Upon Tweed: £230,000
-
The Witham Hall Ltd, Bishop Auckland: £50,000
-
Think Tank (music), Newcastle: £64,000
-
Tony Hopkins Entertainments Ltd (combined arts), Gateshead: £50,000
-
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Newcastle: £387,825
-
Tyne Theatre and Opera House Limited, Newcastle: £210,000
-
Ushaw College (museums), County Durham: £289,708
-
Workplace Gallery, Gateshead: £52,000
