Arts funding

Three Sudanese museums that received £1 million in funding from the British Council are demanding the return of colonial artefacts taken by imperial troops in the 19th century.

The museums, overseen by Sudan’s National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), were awarded the grants in 2018 to help with restoration efforts after they were damaged by regional conflict.

The head of the NCAM has now demanded that the UK repatriate looted Sudanese cultural treasures including banners, armour and human remains taken after the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, suggesting that they could be moved to the museums that received the funding.

The artefacts in question are currently held at Durham University’s Palace Green Library, the Royal Armouries and the University of Edinburgh’s Anatomical Museum.

“We have to have a big campaign. These people are our brothers, our heroes. They unified and defended our country. It is a very special story of resistance to imperialism,” said Dr. Eglal el-Malik, the NCAM’s Conservation Director, according to a report in the Telegraph.

The choice to fund organisations lobbying for repatriation of artefacts has raised questions about how cash is awarded by organisations such as the British Council, which is partially government funded.

A British Council spokesperson said: “We are proud of our cultural protection work in Sudan. It has helped to strengthen the cultural ties between the UK and Sudan.

"The grant, which was provided in 2018, aimed to protect cultural heritage at risk and does not have a remit on repatriations of cultural artefacts."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has allocated £800,000 to be invested in nine zones across the capital to support jobs and training and to create affordable studio space as part of his Creative Enterprise Zones programme.

Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing will become the newest Creative Enterprise Zones and London boroughs are invited to apply for funding to become the next three zones.

The £800,000 funding will be split between all the zones to help support 5,000 young people to enter the creative sector and create more than 25,000 square metres of permanent affordable workspace by 2025.

The new Hammersmith & Fulham zone will transform a vacant high street shop into a “Made in Hammersmith and Fulham” hub, designed to support and offer training to local creative entrepreneurs, makers and businesses. It also plans to offer 90 work placements and apprenticeships in the creative sector.

The Ealing zone will help increase creative employment opportunities though working with young people and local business and offer a small grants programme to 30 local creatives to support the development of community spaces through murals and public art installations. 

“We are delighted to be located in a new Creative Enterprise Zone, this is exactly the kind of support our sector needs,” said Angelique Schmitt, CEO and founder of Kindred Studios in Hammersmith. 

“It will help provide much needed artist studios in the borough, boost our profile and improve access to residents showcasing all the brilliant work of local artists and creatives.”
 

The BFI Short Form Animation Fund is investing £1.1 million in 15 new “bold and ambitious” animation projects in its second round of funding.

Ten of the selected projects received up to £120,000 in funding for production and five others were awarded up to £10,000 to support development. 

The charity partnered with StoryFutures Academy, the UK’s National Centre for Immersive Storytelling, to support two immersive virtual or augmented reality projects, using funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

“StoryFutures Academy are thrilled to be working with the BFI to support these two fantastic immersive projects,” said Becky Gregory-Clarke, Head of Immersive at StoryFutures Academy.

“Both pieces will use real-time animation techniques, which is an incredibly important growth area, requiring content-making skills that are highly in demand. We know they both have big ambitions and great teams behind them, so we’re really excited to support and follow them on their journey.”

The BFI uses National Lottery funding to back narrative short form films of up to 15 minutes each. The Short Form Animation Fund, launched in 2019, “was designed to enable our talented UK animators to develop their practice, so it is exciting we are starting to see those films showcased and celebrated at international festivals,” said Natascha Wharton, Head of Editorial at BFI Film Fund.

“With round two, we saw a real breadth of styles and ideas come through in the applications, and we’re delighted to be unveiling such a diverse slate of projects today.”

Each of the ten selected projects, intended for the cinema, digital platforms and VR, will be overseen by a BFI Film Fund executive and supported by an animation consultant.

The second round of the government’s Community Ownership Fund opened on Saturday (11 June).

The £150m fund is designed to help community groups bid for ownership of cultural buildings, namely historic buildings, sports clubs and music venues, to protect their long-term future.

The first round supported 39 projects to purchase assets that were at risk of closure, sale, neglect, damage, or were found to not be operating in a sustainable way.

Eligibility criteria has been widened to attract more applications. A requirement that the cultural asset must have had a community use in the last five years has been removed, and the minimum leasehold on the premises has been reduced from 25 years to 15 years.

Minister for Levelling Up, the Union and Constitution Neil O’Brien MP said the fund will help to “spread opportunity, boost local pride and level up every corner of the UK”.

Groups interested in applying are being invited to submit an expression of interest on the government website.