A three-year funding settlement for regularly funded arts organisations across England has been announced by Arts Council England (ACE), in a package valued at over £1bn.
Total grant-in-aid is set to rise from £335m in 2003-2004 to £410m in 2005/6. Allocations are being made in line with the recent policy statement, ?Ambitions for the Arts 2003-2006?, which set five funding priorities for the period: to support individual artists; enable arts organisations to ?thrive, rather than just survive?; place cultural diversity at the heart of the arts; prioritise young people and Creative Partnerships; and maximise growth within the arts. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell hailed the awards as ?the start of a new era of innovation, excellence and relevance?. She said the allocations will ??not only help the arts to set world-class standards, but will also mean that they become available and affordable to greater numbers than ever before.?
£1.3m has been earmarked to launch three new centres of excellence, at Aldeburgh in Suffolk, Dartington in Devon and The Sage Gateshead in Tyne & Wear. These organisations are intended to become internationally-recognised centres, serving as retreats for artists as well as providing facilities for the creation of new works, new performances and a focus for enhanced education programmes across the regions in which they are based. Announcing what he regards as a ?step change? in funding for the arts, ACE Chief Executive Peter Hewitt said: ?This is all about putting money where the most interesting and exciting things are happening.? It is his view that a ?single statement of intent? for the whole of England, made possible by the creation of a single arts agency, has provided the financial scope for ?big, bold initiatives? such as the new centres of excellence.
Many national arts institutions such as the Royal Opera House and the Royal National Theatre were awarded significant increases of up to 17%, but major increases were also spread across the country. Chamber orchestras will receive a further £600,000, with the Britten Sinfonia and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group receiving a 100% increase and London Mozart Players receiving more than 300%. The eight symphony orchestras receive a further £2.4m to complete the recent programme of ?stabilisations?.
There were also major increases for the visual arts sector, notably BALTIC in Gateshead which receives a more than three- fold increase by 2005/6 from £265,000 to £815,000; and the Liverpool Biennial which sees a more than ten-fold increase from £35,000 to £377,000. By far the largest percentage increase goes to South London Gallery, whose grant will rise from £25,000 next year, to £276,000, representing an increase of 1,015%.
A number of new organisations are due to become regularly funded for the first time, and there is increased funding to a number of sectors such as street theatre and carnival, circus, physical theatre, crafts and organisations producing culturally diverse work. Some organisations have gained only inflationary increases; and a few have lost their regularly funded status, and will be invited to apply for project funding instead.