Arts funding

A museum in Wales has launched a public appeal to help it remain open in the face of soaring energy bills.

Llandudno Museum says its costs have quadrupled, and the grant funding it receives does not cover the rise.

"It is definitely a threat because at the moment our energy bills are in the region of £35,000 a year, which is astronomic," Director Dawn Lancaster told ITV News

"We can't turn everything off because we have to have stable conditions to maintain the artefacts in the building."

The museum reopened in 2022 after a £1.6m redevelopment scheme partly funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, with the remainder of the money coming mostly in grants from other charitable bodies, and an annual grant from Llandudno Town Council.

It says it needs to raise £80,000 by October.
 

An initiative which financially supports UK-based artists and companies taking work to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has been extended by two years as a result of £1m capital funding to the Fringe Society from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the funding would "protect this talent pipeline and nurture the next generation of British artists [by] improving the festival’s accessibility". 

Launched last year, the Keep it Fringe fund saw more than 670 artists apply for 50 bursaries. 

Across 2024 and 2025, the extended programme will offer 360 bursaries -180 each year - of £2,500 each. Of this, £ 2,000 will be paid upfront, with the remaining £500 to support admin and reporting to be paid after the festival.

Applicants will be assessed by "external specialists" to identify those that demonstrate "the greatest need and the boldest ideas".

The Fringe Society says £900,000 of the £1m from DCMS will go directly to support artists over the two years, with £50,000 per year used to support administration and payment to freelance assessors involved in the process, as well as accessibility and event support for funded artists at during the Fringe.

The announcement comes after the Fringe Society revealed it has been turned down for support twice in the space of a month by national funding body Creative Scotland.

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Fringe Society, said: “We recognise that for many, the financial challenges of putting on a show can prevent some artists from coming to the festival. This funding will enable the Edinburgh Fringe to be more accessible than ever to artists from across the UK.”

Honorary Fringe Society President Phoebe Waller-Bridge added: “To have the government support this fund is to feel the sun come out from behind a cloud. Thank you to the Fringe Society for endlessly campaigning for artists, and thank you to those in government for recognising the cultural importance of the Fringe and the artistic freedom that defines it.”

Theatres Trust has announced the second round of grant recipients for its Resilient Theatres: Resilient Communities programme. 

The grants, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust and the Swire Charitable Trust, can be used to help restore, reopen or revitalise venues on the Theatres at Risk Register, published by Theatres Trust.

Seven venues will share the £57,850 fund, including Amulet Theatre in Shepton Mallet, The Groundlings Theatre Trust in Portsmouth, Hulme Hippodrome, Leith Theatre, Netherton Arts Centre in Dudley, Ramsbottom Co-op Hall and Spilsby Sessions House.

Recipients of this round have pledged to put the money toward fundraising and business planning strategies, community engagement and outreach, conditions surveys and an oral history project.

A Reading theatre will benefit from a £13.7m upgrade after the project's plans were given the green light.

The Hexagon Theatre will get a new 300-capacity studio auditorium and rehearsal space, with work on the site set to begin as early as this summer.

The BBC reports that the project can proceed after Reading Borough Council secured £19.1m of government Levelling Up funding to upgrade The Hexagon and bring the Central Library into the council's civic offices in Bridge Street.

Jackie Yates, Chief Executive of the council, said: "We want the Hexagon to continue to remain a pivotal venue for Reading residents and the wider area in the future, and this important project will secure that.

"Access to the arts and culture plays an important part in people's lives. Having such a versatile and accessible venue will enable even more residents to enjoy it."
 

Two literary festivals in Glasgow have been cancelled after a funding application to Creative Scotland was unsuccessful.

Glasgow Life, the charity that runs the Aye Write and Wee Write festivals, said the events will not take place this year after it failed to secure financial support from the public body.

"While bids from events for funding support continue to exceed monies available—especially during the current difficult economic climate—some events will inevitably miss out, and we recognise that decision-making around funding award recipients is extremely challenging," the charity's website said.

"Unfortunately, our 2024 funding application to Creative Scotland was not successful, so Aye Write and Wee Write will not be able to take place as festivals this year."

The charity added that it will organise some pop-up events during 2024 and develop its funding application for next year.

Scottish authors have been among those raising concerns about the situation.

Val McDermid said it was “profoundly depressing” that Glasgow “cannot sustain a book festival”, while Stuart called it “unacceptable”. O’Hagan said the cancellation is “savage, and it shouldn’t be happening”.

Douglas Stuart also said there was “righteous outrage” over the cancellation.

“I have watched in horror, as Scotland has haggled over funding for the arts, has closed her libraries, and now has allowed the cancellation of a major literary festival in her largest city,” he posted on X.

A UK-wide campaign designed to highlight the impact culture and heritage organisations make within their communities in the run-up to the next general election will launch in May.

Established by the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation, the 'Culture Makes…' campaign intends to make the case for culture and as a human right "which urgently needs investment".

More than 40 organisations including Bristol Old Vic, Northern Ballet, and the Southbank Centre have been confirmed as campaign "partners" with the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation calling for all cultural organisations in the UK to join.

Caroline McCormick, Chair of the Cultural Philanthropy Foundation, said: “Cultural and heritage organisations have long wrestled with how to communicate the value and impact of their work. 

"Culture Makes… comes at a critical time enabling us to come together through a clear and simple set of linguistic tools which will allow us to celebrate and raise awareness of the impact of the sector as a whole and the individual contributions each organisation makes with government and policy makers, funders, and our audiences. 

"Our aim is to build an overwhelmingly powerful sector voice that cannot be ignored."
 

The inaugural arts-focused campaign run by match-funding platform Big Give has raised £2.8m.

Operating in partnership with New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture (NPAC), the campaign ran for a week before closing on Tuesday (26 March).

A total of 239 arts organisations were selected to take part in the campaign. Big Give and NPAC have said they focused on ensuring that funds and support are being spread across the country and to as wide a group of charities as possible, particularly those that are small-scale. 

A total of 159 (66%) of the charities participating have an income of £1m or less. And 76% of the charities
work in regions outside of London.

James Reed, Chair of the Big Give's Board of Trustees, said: "Arts charities play a central and crucial role in the lives of the people they support, and their time and services are being called upon now more than ever. 

"They have endured many cuts and disappointments, so securing funding for the charities from our match funders and the public is especially important."

Creative Scotland has deferred decision-making for its Open Fund for Individuals by up to four weeks while conducting an internal review to identify areas for improvement in its awarding process.

The move follows public and political fallout after its decision to award £85,000 to a controversial film featuring actors in “non-simulated” sex scenes. 

Scottish Parliament has launched a separate probe into Creative Scotland’s decision to back the project, asking the funding body to provide MSPs with details of the full criteria and process for handling funding applications.

Creative Scotland has revoked its support for the film and is seeking recovery of the funding.

A statement from Creative Scotland said that the review of its Open Fund for Individuals will result in “a short, temporary extension to existing timelines to enable additional assurance on applications that are recommended for funding.”

It confirmed that the process would not affect projects already issued a funding contract and aimed to “minimise impact on applicants”.