Artist studios across the capital are to benefit from £1.6m of emergency funding from the Mayor’s Culture at Risk Business Support Fund. 82 artist studios across 18 London boroughs will receive support from the fund, and will in turn be able to continue supporting a community of 11,500 creatives practitioners.
The fund for creative workspaces, which includes an investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies, is delivered by the Creative Land Trust and designed to help studios the that are suffering the most from the near shut-down of the culture and creative industries. 80 per cent of those receiving funding are led by women, people from a BAME background, the LGBTQ+ community or people with disabilities.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The devastating impact of COVID-19 means London’s unparalleled culture and creative industries need our support now, more than ever. These artists make a significant contribution to our economy and life in our capital, but they have seen their income diminished by the near total shutdown of their industries. I’m delighted that through our Fund we are helping to ensure that thousands of our talented artists still have a place to work, so that they can play their part in our city’s recovery.”