‘We believe that talent is everywhere but opportunity is not’

PHIL Gibby, Arts Council England area director, talks about the importance of funding the region’s arts

AS readers of the Western Daily Press are well aware, the West of England is an amazing place to live, work and play.

And at the very heart of it all is the West’s famous reputation for arts and culture.

It’s Arts Council England’s job to make sure that our festivals, our theatres, our music venues, and our museums and libraries all play their part in building stronger communities, growing the local economy and enabling people to live happy, fulfilled lives.

When it comes to culture and creativity, we believe that talent is everywhere but opportunity is not.

And it’s time to do something about that. So, as well as continuing to support capitals of culture such as Bristol, Bath and Cheltenham, we’re also committing to invest in market towns, coastal towns and rural communities across the West.

We’re announcing £2.7 million in new funding for Gloucester, with three-year deals for Gloucester Guildhall and the Strike A Light festival amongst others. There’s an extra £1.9 million for North Somerset, as we commit to Culture Weston and the amazing Trigger Productions, whose giant dragon, The Hatchling, dazzled audiences at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre receives regular Arts Council funding for the first time. We’re backing the Museum of Somerset in Taunton. And there’s a £750,000 package to support the remarkable East Quay in Watchet.

Of course, the very hub of the West’s cultural life is Bristol – a city famous worldwide for its music scene. We’re proud to announce a new £8.5 million package of investment in Bristol as a music city, with a £1 million a year deal for Charles Hazlewood’s internationally acclaimed Paraorchestra, plus support for organisations such as Awards for Young Musicians, which does so much to clear away barriers and create opportunities for emerging talent.

We’re investing in new organisations too: from The Good Agency, which does so much to support writers from a wide range of backgrounds; to Soumik Datta Arts, which promotes new and emerging talent to develop music, theatre film and digital projects with guidance and direction from renowned sarod player Soumik Datta.

Swindon and Wiltshire also benefit from our investment. Swindon’s reputation as a talent development hotspot for the arts is growing all the time, so we’re proud to increase our support for organisations such as Prime Theatre and Create Studios.

Meanwhile, in Wiltshire, there’s renewed support for the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham, Bradford on Avon’s Wiltshire Music Centre and Wiltshire Creative, which runs Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury International Arts Festival. Museums in Swindon, Devizes and Salisbury also benefit from our investment in the Wessex Museums Partnership.