The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have announced that they have invested £4,501,380 in arts and cultural organisations across Lancashire through the second round of their Culture Recovery Fund distributed by Arts Council England.
In Blackburn with Darwen, this means the immediate future of the borough's cultural venues is more secure, after the council received a grant of £165,613 from the fund.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said more than 2,700 cultural organisations and local authorities across the country will receive a share of £400million as part of the vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57billion Culture Recovery Fund.
Grand Theatre, Clitheroe..
In Blackburn with Darwen the funding will provide much-needed support to King George’s Hall, Darwen Library Theatre, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery and Turton Tower.
Chief Executive of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Denise Park, said: "This is such welcome news. The arts sector is a very important one that has been hard-hit by the pandemic.
"In Blackburn with Darwen, our theatres and performance venues have had to stay closed for over a year.
"Meanwhile, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery has been able to adapt to deliver some educational sessions online.
"This funding, added to the £364,000 the council was awarded from the Culture Recovery Fund last October, helps us to secure the immediate future of these venues, and put necessary measures in place to ensure that they are Covid-secure for visitors and audiences to return."
Brit nominated band Idles are to play a DJ set at Darwen's Sunbird Records on Saturday
The second round of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund will help many other arts venues across East Lancashire and beyond to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery.
Chair of the Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic.
"These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.
"We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
Darwen Library Theatre
Other recipients of a share of the fund include the Clitheroe Grand, Burnley Youth Theatre, Bacup Royal Court Theatre, The Whitaker Museum and Art Gallery, Sunbird Records Darwen, Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues and Burnley Leisure.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they've ever faced.
Pavement outside King George Hall
“Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors - helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead."
Full list of grant recipients in Lancashire, and the amount awarded are as follows:
- Blackburn with Darwen BC: £165,613
- Blackpool Grand Theatre (Arts & Entertainment) Ltd: £491,000
- Burnley Leisure: £80,242
- Knight Rigging Services LTD: £497,007
- KRS Productions LTD: £347,666
- Lite Alternative Ltd: £267,100
- New Continental LLP: £87,000
- The Events Company UK: £319,816
- The Grand at Clitheroe: £261,811
- The Dukes Playhouse Ltd: £75,000
- Bright Lites UK Ltd: £90,000
- BPM SFX Ltd: £165,317
- The Comedy Station: £35,000
- Burnley Youth Theatre: £29,390
- Big Foot Events Ltd: £184,728
- Blitz: £65,301
- idle women: £44,000
- Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery: £77,000
- The Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth Textile Collections: £16,000
- Arranpaul Audio Ltd: £107,336
- Eat Sleep Entertainment Ltd: £40,202
- Mid Pennine Arts: £34,507
- They Eat Culture: £32,058
- More Music: £95,450
- Fit The Bill Ltd: £38,000
- Piper Music Management LTD: £110,333
- Humphries Audio Visual Limited: £75,431
- Bacup Royal Court Theatre Group: £25,000
- Community Rooms cic: £25,703
- Classic Fireworks Ltd: £65,000
- REMIX Summits Limited: £48,422
- Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues: £33,506
- Culturapedia: £35,000
- imitating the dog: £37,500
- Rock Hard Music Group: £26,500
- Lancaster Footlights: £153,503
- Highest Point Festival: £72,900
- Hey Buck LTD: £25,000
- Love Music Education Ltd: £15,939
- Sunbird Records Ltd: £41,169
- The Making Rooms BwD CiC: £41,512
Rock Artist Management: £22,418
Total Organisations 42: £4,501,380
The Culture Recovery Fund has been awarded through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel