Cultural fund to support at-risk venues

THE Welsh Government is making £5.25m available to assist Wales’ arts organisations, museums, libraries and independent cinemas through the winter months.

The purpose of this fund is to support organisations that are in genuine difficulty - at risk of closure or where jobs will be lost - unless further support is provided.

This risk must be as a direct result of the ongoing impact of Covid-19.

The new fund will provide essential support to organisations in these cultural sectors across Wales, many of which are run on a voluntary or not-for-profit basis.

This is in addition to the £60m fund announced by the First Minister to assist businesses affected by the new restrictions.

The Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales have worked together to analyse these sectors and identify the need for additional support, to ensure that organisations in these sectors remain viable over the coming months.

The fund, which will cover the period from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, opens for applications on Wednesday 12 January 2022 and applicants will need to have submitted an online application no later than the deadline of 5pm on Wednesday 26 January 2022.

Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden (pictured below), said: “The Welsh Government has made substantial support available to ensure venues avoided permanent closure.

“I’m pleased the support we’ve made available has had a very positive impact on the sector, but we know the sector continues to face new pressures, which is why we’re making this additional funding available.”