Bristol’s famous Old Vic theatre, Plymouth Pavilions and the city’s new The Box museum are among more than 100 South West arts venues and organisations to receive up to £1million each as part of a huge bailout for the UK’s beleaguered cultural sector.
Nationally, 1,300 venues and organisations are to receive a combined £257million in grants as part of the Government’s £1.6billion Culture Recovery Fund.
A total of £33.7million has been awarded across the South West with more than 50 music venues supported in the region, from Cornwall up to Gloucestershire, including Plymouth Pavilions, The Cavern in Exeter, and Motion in Bristol.
More than 40 regional theatres are supported in towns and cities including Exeter Northcott and Bristol Old Vic and hundreds more arts organisations integral to communities in cities, towns and villages across the South West have been supported, including the internationally renowned WOMAD festival.
Theatre Royal Bath receives £955,192, Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Trust Ltd will be handed £610,466, Poole Arts Trust Ltd has been given £987,964, National Maritime Museum in Cornwall will receive £485,000, Dorset’s The Tank Museum gets £780,000, and Plymouth Pavilions Ltd will be given £726,569 while the city’s new The Box museum and gallery is granted £423,000.
Richard Doughty, director, National Maritime Museum Cornwall, said: “Since lockdown in March, National Maritime Museum Cornwall’s future has been uncertain.
“Vital revenue streams disappeared overnight, and our ability to remain a part of our community, here in Cornwall, felt impossible. The news we have been awarded such a significant sum from the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund is a real lifeline for us.
“We are hugely grateful to Arts Council England for recognising the quality of the artistically ambitious programming our museum is delivering in the South West. This grant will help secure our work for the foreseeable future and will enable us to keep our doors open to our visitors.
“We are thrilled the National Maritime Museum Cornwall has been recognised not only as a cultural asset for Cornwall but as a nationally significant museum. The award means we can start to plan the next chapter in our story, one that now is a lot less unknown and one that is now a lot more hopeful.”
Tom Morris, artistic director, Bristol Old Vic, said: “This is fantastic news for many arts organisations all over the country. For Bristol Old Vic it is transformative. Immediately it keeps us open and prevents another devastating round of redundancies.
“Beyond that it gives us a solid platform from which we can contribute to the economic and social recovery which must follow the pandemic over the next two years.
“Arts businesses all over the country can now work with Government, Arts Council, local authorities and our own donors and supporters to raise funds so that we can invest in the creative workforce for which Britain is internationally renowned. In doing so we can support the recovery of our city and town centres with dazzling new work, and collaborate with communities all over the country in transformative creative projects.
“The country needs its artists more than ever as we confront the bewildering force of the ongoing pandemic. The government’s investment of £1.57billion in the Culture Recovery Fund shows a clear understanding of how much our creative industries can contribute in these uniquely challenging times.
“It also sets an inspiring precedent for new investment in transformative art works which can engage every community in the country and lift the hearts of all of us.”
Exeter Northcott Theatre, receiving £183,399, serves the communities of mid-Devon and is a key venue in the country’s “touring ecosystem”. It presents a varied programme of theatre, music, dance and comedy.
The Fleece, in Bristol, receives £249,297. The established live music venue in a former Victorian wool hall has been playing host to a broad range of artists, including Toots & The Maytals, Martha Reeves and Kae Tempest, for almost 40 years.
It provides employment opportunities for young people to progress in the music and culture industries and holds weekly all-day events for first-time and unsigned artists.
The Arcadia Spectacular, in North Somerset, is given £237,826. The performance art collective repurposes industrial machinery into large scale interactive sculptural stages which showcase spectacular performances including aerial, dance, theatre and music. Arcadia hosts one of the largest arenas at Glastonbury festival annually.
The Golowan Festival, in Penzance, Cornwall, has benefited from £50,000. It is a revival of the ancient Golowan Festival which celebrates the spirit of Penzance with fire, dance, music, art, parades and song. The festival’s highlight is Mazey Day, which sees musicians, artists, schools and community groups fill the streets in a series of parades and concerts.
The idea is to “protect these special places” which “form the soul of our nation”, said Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.
The funding will help performances to restart, assist venues to plan for reopening, protect jobs and create freelance opportunities, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. (DCMS) said.
Recipients are venues and organisations who applied for less than £1million, with future releases of up to £3million going to larger organisations in the future, it added.
Nationally the list included venues as famous as Liverpool’s Cavern Club, which launched the career of The Beatles. It is currently closed down due to increasing coronavirus transmission rates in Liverpool.
Other venues in line for a boost include Beamish Living Museum in County Durham, and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield, the DCMS said.
Sir Nicholas Serota, the chairman of Arts Council England, which is distributing the money, said: “Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages.
“This is a difficult time for us all, but this first round of funding from the Culture Recovery Fund will help sustain hundreds of cultural spaces and organisations that are loved and admired by local communities and international audiences.”
He said further funding will be announced later this month.
Mr 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 – from the Beamish museum in County Durham to the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Bristol Old Vic.”
The announcement comes after Rishi Sunak was accused of an “incredibly insulting” attitude towards the arts by frustrated workers currently unable to earn an income.
The Chancellor was criticised last week when, during an interview about the effect of the pandemic on people working in the arts, he spoke about the need to “adapt” and suggested there would be “fresh and new opportunities” available for those who could not do their old jobs.
But Mr Sunak has denied he was suggesting people in the struggling creative industries should retrain and find other jobs after coronavirus left them unable to work.
According to Arts Council England, the arts and culture industry contributes more than £10 billion a year to the UK economy, with £3 spent on food, drink, accommodation and travel for every £1 spent on theatre tickets.
Phil Gibby, area director, Arts Council England, South West, said: “The Arts Council have been hard at work administering this share of the Government’s £1.57 billion towards the cultural sector over the past few months during this challenging time for us all, so I am pleased that we are able to announce support for 172 much loved cultural organisations in the south west through this first round of funding today. Arts and culture brings communities together and helps to enrich our lives - and this funding will help keep that alive, now and for generations to come – we are here for culture.”
