Arts Council funding makes a real difference to Yorkshire venues - Sarah Maxfield

For me, it showed the public’s appetite for culture hasn’t been dampened by the events of the last 20 months, and people still relish the sense of community which comes with taking part in a shared cultural experience.

It remains true though that this has been an extremely challenging time for all of us, and particularly for the cultural and creative sector. Before Covid, arts and culture contributed £10.47bn to the UK economy and sustained an estimated 226,000 jobs.

Early on, the Government recognised the vital role that arts and culture plays in all our lives. In response it launched the Culture Recovery Fund – at £2bn, the biggest single investment of its kind in our country’s history, of which £1.2bn has already been distributed to around 5,000 organisations and sites throughout the country.

The fund has helped to support thousands of England’s theatres, music venues, museums, galleries, arts centres and other creative and cultural organisations through the Covid crisis. And it has also been there to assist those vital businesses which work behind the scenes to help make the magic happen; industry experts in staging, lighting, sound and technical wizardry.

Recently almost £100m was announced by Arts Council England in a third round of funding to safeguard the future of 800 creative organisations across the country. Among them are more than 50 in Yorkshire which are sharing £7.2m in Continuity Support grants, helping to sustain them through the winter. It brings the total Culture Recovery Fund cash invested so far in Yorkshire to more than £68m.

The range of organisations benefiting from this latest funding shows the impressive breadth and depth of Yorkshire’s diverse cultural and creative community; from nationally renowned organisations like Northern Ballet and Sheffield Theatres to the many companies and venues which work to engage and spread the joy of arts and creativity within their own communities.

Rural Arts North Yorkshire is a perfect example. It has continued to operate throughout the pandemic and will use its new £45,000 grant to support its outreach work and, in its own words, ‘keep delivering inspiring and inclusive creative opportunities to enrich lives and connect communities’.

Utopia Theatre, based in Sheffield from where it produces innovative and compelling new work telling African stories for both the national and international stage, will now be able to go ahead with some exciting new projects, while Harrogate’s Deer Shed Festival, which celebrates music, arts, science and sport, and both Bradford and Ilkley’s Literature Festivals, will be able to plan for 2022.

Meanwhile for Hull Truck Theatre, the new funding will help support not only its sustainability and resilience but also its plans for its 50th anniversary year, while Halifax’s Northern Broadsides will be able to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a national tour of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The company is also planning to pilot a new more innovative and accessible approach to developing its work, including live streaming opportunities.

During the pandemic, organisations, venues and individuals have harnessed technology to develop new ways of maintaining a connection with their audiences and with vulnerable communities and have embraced the opportunities it brings to further improve accessibility to arts and culture.

Accessibility is at the heart of the Arts Council’s new 10-year strategy, Let’s Create, which sets out our commitment to ensuring everyone has the chance to experience and engage with culture and creativity. We hope that audiences will continue to have the confidence to return to our theatres, comedy clubs and music venues, visit museums, galleries and arts centres and take an active part in cultural and creative opportunities.

The unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund has ensured Yorkshire’s cultural organisations are still here to welcome back those audiences – local, national and, as we move forward into 2022, hopefully international visitors, too.

As for the Arts Council, we will continue to champion the important part creativity and culture will play in helping to build a strong recovery for the benefit of everyone across Yorkshire, and across England.

- Sarah Maxfield is the North Area Director of Arts Council England.

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