£400m ‘level up’ boost for Arts in the North
CULTURE and the arts are being thrust to the heart of the Levelling Up agenda, with a £385.5million drive to boost creativity in the North.
Some 282 organisations in Northern England will benefit from the cash – part of £446million to help people access culture “on their doorsteps”.
But while the Arts Council England cash represents a 65 per cent rise in investment for the regions, organisations in London have been left reeling.
Many will now be encouraged to relocate from the capital, sparking fears that they will end up competing with established regional organisations.
It is rumoured that English National Opera will move its base from the London Coliseum to Manchester, which is just 40 miles from the Leeds headquarters of Opera North.
The drive has been spearheaded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which insists it wants to use the arts to unlock potential from Barrow to Barnsley.
As part of the programme, they have designated 78 towns and cities across the country to receive a share of £43.5million annually over the next three years.
Support for Midlands-based MishMash, which introduces pre-schoolers to classical music, and the renowned Grimm and Co in Rotherham, which nurtures children’s creativity, is part of a planned 20 per cent increase in activities targeting younger people.
Another beneficiary is Manchester-based Brighter Sound, a charity that develops future music composers, leaders and industry professionals.
It says it unlocks potential in those who are under-represented in the industry, from their early years through to the beginnings of their professional careers.
Overlooked
In the wake of a post-Covid crisis – which sparked the Daily Express’s Raise The Curtain and Strike A Chord campaigns – a record 1,700 organisations applied for crucial funding, of which 990 have been successful.
Arts Council England chairman Sir Nicholas Serota said: “As well as continuing our commitment to our many established and renowned cultural organisations, I am deeply proud of the support we will be giving to those new organisations which will help ignite creativity across the country.
“We are facing economic pressures at present but this funding is about an investment in our future.”
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “This funding will see organisations in places all too often overlooked get the support they need to transform access to the arts for everyone, no matter where they live.”
But Hannah Essex, co-chief executive of UK Theatre, warned that pandemic fallout, the cost-of-living crisis and a huge spike in energy prices would put organisations under severe pressure.
She said: “Even those who do receive funding won’t be able to achieve what they have in the past, creatively and as civic centres within their communities.”