Culture House celebrates £120k funding boost
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IS AWARDED SPECIAL STATUS
THE Culture House in Grimsby is “delighted” to be getting annual funding from Arts Council England for the first time.
Arts Council England have announced their investment plans for 2023 to 2026 and The Culture House has been awarded National Portfolio Organisation status.
This means it is set to get direct funding of £120,000 a year. That amounts to near half of their running and arts project costs, making it a big deal for the organisation. It was founded in Grimsby in 2010 by Charlotte Bowen, the creative director, as a social enterprise. Projects have included Cleethorpes Jazz Weekend, and the Gaia display currently in Grimsby Minster until Sunday, December 11. It is also a member of Outdoor Arts UK and the Arts Marketing Association.
A Culture House spokeswoman described it as a “proud contributor” to North East Lincolnshire’s cultural life and said: “We have worked hard over the years, along with many others, to ensure more people here are able to benefit from more cultural experiences and creative opportunities. Therefore, we are delighted to have secured this three-year investment from Arts Council England.
“This essentially enables us to plan further ahead, continue a level of delivery and build on the foundations of our work without continually applying to Arts Council in order to do this. For clarity, the investment represents around 45 per cent or our running and project costs, so we also look forward to working with a range of partners to bring further investment in, ultimately for everyone’s benefit. We’re pleased that our work has been recognised as valuable by a national body and it goes without saying we’re very much looking forward to playing a part in the next phases of the exciting developments happening in the area.”
Cllr Tom Furneaux, portfolio holder for culture, heritage and the visitor economy at North East Lincolnshire Council, gave his congratulations to Culture House for getting National Portfolio Organisation status. “Through the Grimsby Creates programme, we have supported the local creative sector to flourish and Culture House has taken the opportunity to continue their brilliant work bringing excellent arts activities to North East Lincolnshire engaging with thousands of people over the years. We must all value our arts, culture and heritage, and this will help Culture House grow and help us celebrate what we have here in North East Lincolnshire.”
They are not the only northern Lincolnshire cultural organisation set to receive annual funding from Arts Council England in 2023 to 2026. The Ropewalk in Barton-upon-Humber will continue to get £68,313 per year. It is an arts centre based in a former rope factory with a live performance hall.
Increased funding is also being offered to the 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, to support their ambition of growing their programme of events. It is receiving £76,120 this financial year, but this will jump to £210,000 annually from 2023/24.
The Ropewalk’s CEO Liz Bennet, said: “The Ropewalk were relieved and pleased to receive the news that we are still in the Arts Council England National Portfolio. The funding we receive is vital for the work we do to make arts and heritage accessible.
“It supports our exhibition and performance programme which is enjoyed by over 100,000 visitors and audience members every year. I was delighted to hear that The Culture House have joined the portfolio.
“Recognition of the work Charlotte and her team do to bring high quality art experiences to the region is long overdue. I look forward to seeing developments in North East Lincolnshire over the next few years.”
Arts Council England invest cash from the government and National Lottery to arts and culture across England. It will be investing £11.6 million in Hull, East Riding and the Humber region in 2023 to 2026. This will work out at an increase of £1.3 million per year to the region, though recent high inflation will likely impact how far the extra cash will be able to go. Even so, the funding announcement is undoubtedly a blessing for the northern Lincolnshire cultural organisations set to receive it.