Dozens more arts and cultural groups to share £9.2m worth of recovery grants
A total of 66 arts, heritage and cultural organisations in Yorkshire will benefit from a share of £9.2m from the third round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
They are among hundreds of organisations across England which will receive a share of £107m from the additional £300m announced by the Chancellor at March’s budget for the Culture Recovery Fund, bringing the total cash support package made available for culture during the pandemic to close to £2bn.
£8.2m in continuity support grants will be awarded to over 63 previous Culture Recovery Fund recipients in Yorkshire, administered by Arts Council England, the British Film Institute, Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In addition to this, three organisations in Yorkshire have for the first time been awarded grants from the Emergency Resource Support strand of funding, which is designed to help those facing imminent risks.
Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries said: “Culture is for everyone and should therefore be accessible to everyone, no matter who they are and where they’re from.
“Through unprecedented Government financial support, the Culture Recovery Fund is supporting arts and cultural organisations so they can continue to bring culture to communities the length and breadth of the country, supporting jobs, boosting local economies and inspiring people.”
From the latest round of funding administered by Arts Council England, theatres across Yorkshire – including the Sheffield Theatres complex – will receive over £3.6m in financial support so they can keep their doors open and welcome audiences to pantos and plays this Christmas.
Other recipients of support are: Rural Arts North Yorkshire – the area’s only professionally-run cross-discipline arts centre that delivers inspiring and inclusive creative opportunities that enrich lives and connect communities across North Yorkshire, and Artlink Hull – an arts and educational charity working with under-represented people to improve prospects and deliver positive social impacts.
Funding is also keeping projectors rolling in local cinemas this winter with eight cinemas across Yorkshire and the Humber awarded almost £1m via the British Film Institute.
Showroom cinema in Sheffield, which provides a programme of independent, foreign language and archive films, promotes new British talent and hosts the Sheffield Doc/Fest for documentary films, has been awarded £442,657 by the fund.
And the family-run Palace Cinema, in Malton, has received £60,099.
Dan Bates, chief executive, Sheffield Theatres said: “The Culture Recovery Funds have been absolutely vital over the pandemic, and we thank the Government for this essential support.
“This latest round will help to sustain us over the next few months. The festive period is always a critical time for us and we hope to welcome 60,000 people across our three Christmas shows.
“It is fantastic that audiences are coming back to our theatres and we are so grateful for their support.
“It will take some time for audience numbers to return to the level that they were, and this funding will help us to maintain our running costs over these winter months.”
Ian Wild
Ian Wild, CEO of Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, added: “We are extremely grateful to receive this third grant from the Culture Recovery Fund and would like to thank the BFI and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for their help.
“The last 18 months have been incredibly challenging for us and the funding, alongside continued support from our loyal audience, is the only reason we are still open.
“We have loved being able to welcome back audiences as they return to the cinema and can continue to inspire our local community, develop young talent and champion independent film across South Yorkshire.”
