Bids in for £15m Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund
Four Yorkshire cities have bid for a share of a £15m fund to help build a lasting regional legacy from the Great Exhibition of the North 2018.
The Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund will make grants of up to £4m available to support major culture and tech capital projects.
The bids include the redevelopment of a former cinema into a live music venue, and a project to create the world’s biggest digital artwork.
Karen Bradley, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said: “These hugely exciting bids demonstrate the scale of cultural ambition across the region, and reflect the great diversity of Northern towns and cities. This £15m fund will mean that as many people as possible benefit from the Great Exhibition of the North and it is fantastic that so many communities have recognised the transformative potential of culture, design and innovation.”
The bids are:
Leeds City Region: A bid to transform the former Bradford Odeon cinema into a 4,000 capacity live music, entertainment and events venue.
Humber: A bid to create the world’s biggest digital artwork, using the Humber Bridge as a canvas on which to install over 70,000 individually controllable LED lights.
Sheffield City Region: A bid for a major public art project in Sheffield, entitled Onwards and Upwards, that will comprise of a mile-long trail of four sculptural red chimneys to replace the demolished Tinsley cooling towers.
York and North Yorkshire and East Riding: A bid for a project, entitled Constellations: Illuminating Yorkshire’s Coast, to create landmark light installations in six key locations on the North Yorkshire coast.
The fund aims to boost the Northern Powerhouse and build on the impact of next year’s Great Exhibition of the North. Held in Newcastle and Gateshead next summer, the free exhibition will showcase the best of Northern art, design and innovation.
