Arts funding

Libraries across England generate at least £3.4bn in value a year to the economy through the services they provide, a study has found.

The Guardian reports that researchers at the University of East Anglia discovered that the services a typical branch provides in a year are worth £1m.

The study found the overall value of libraries, through supporting children’s literacy, digital inclusion and health, could equate to six times their running costs.

The project was funded by library services in the east of England and received a £30,000 contribution from Arts Council England (ACE).

“The evidence is clear: investing in libraries brings huge returns for local communities and the public purse,” Isobel Hunter, Chief Executive of Libraries Connected, the charity that commissioned the report, said.

Luke Burton, Director for Libraries at ACE said he hopes the UEA report can help make the case to potential partners and funders to support libraries.

The Arts Council of Ireland (An Chomhairle Ealalíon) incorrectly issued grant letters to 141 applicants earlier this week following an administrative error.

The grant in question, Next Generation Artists Award, offers up to €25,000 funding to artists across all disciplines at early but pivotal stages of their careers to a total of 20 artists.

Following the error, the arts council sent an email to those affected stating: “Please accept our apologies, an administrative error which resulted in an incorrect decision email being sent to you on our recent Next Generation application. Please disregard this email, the correct email will be sent after 4.30pm today”.

A statement issued online followed: “Our mistake has understandably caused upset and disappointment and, for this, we are truly sorry,”  the arts council said.

“We have now put in place additional checks for the issue of decision letters to prevent a repeat of this error.”

Those affected have shared their distress online. Writer and poet Trudie Gorman, who has since arranged two gatherings in Dublin for artists affected, wrote: “I had been awarded €25k through the Next Gen award. They then emailed to say 'ignore that, it was an error.' I am beyond heartbroken”. 

Praxis Union, the artist’s union of Ireland, says the level of distress caused “highlights the financial precarity we face”.

“As artists we know arts council awards like this are a primary source of income. We can only imagine the sense of relief these artists felt when they thought they were funded.

The union’s comments were echoed by National Campaign for the Arts Ireland, who said that Irish artists’ average earnings have been on the decline over the last year.

“We offer our heartfelt solidarity to the artists involved and we hope that due support is provided to them,” the campaign group wrote on Twitter.

“While this was a human error, it has caused widespread disruption. We hope that robust safeguards are put in place to prevent this error being repeated.”

New funding is available for Scotland-based artists, producers and venues planning to tour live theatre and dance work in 2024.

Creative Scotland’s Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance, supported by the National Lottery, has opened its seventh application round, which will remain active until September.

The fund has disbursed over £8m since its inception in 2018, funding new and restaged productions spanning modern adaptations of classic works, new autobiographical pieces, physical theatre, circus, street dance and spoken word performances.

This round has an overall budget of £2m and there are no upper or lower limits on the amount applicants can apply for. Work of all scales, presented indoors, outdoors or as site-specific pieces, is eligible for funding.

“Building on previous rounds, we expect applications from a broad range of artists ready to take the brightest and boldest of ideas and stories out on the road,” said Laura Mackenzie Stuart, Head of Theatre at Creative Scotland.  

“We anticipate being able to support a mix of new and familiar names who will share their magic with first time and seasoned audiences in a whole host of settings.”

An initiative to increase the number of people who use public libraries has awarded £1.09 million to 27 projects across England.

The LibraryOn fund, which is supported by Arts Council England and facilitated by the British Library, was launched in March this year.

Library services and consortia were invited to apply for capital expenditure grants of between £10,000–£70,000, with the aim of making it easier for library users to access services online.

Grants have been awarded for website development, apps and virtual library tours. Other funded projects involve artificial intelligence and search engine optimisation.

Library services in Sunderland, Leicester, West Sussex and Gloucestershire are among those benefiting. 

Liz White, Head of Public Libraries and Community Engagement at the British Library, said: "We’re excited to see this grant award for library services in areas across England, balancing investment in core offers with a wide variety of opportunities for digital innovation, user research and shared learning about ways of working. 

"This reflects our north star goal to increase the number of people using public libraries and raise awareness about their enduring value and importance."