Libraries and museums across the North East are set to benefit from a £60m financial boost by the Government to improve access to the arts.
Beneficiaries of the Cultural Investment Fund, announced today by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, include museums, cultural venues and public libraries across our area. The fund is aimed at improving people’s access to arts, supporting local economic growth through culture and safeguarding local collections for future generations.
The venues will share from a pot of £58.8 million which will see arts venues transformed, upgraded and created as part of the government’s plans to make sure everyone can access culture in the UK.
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Arts Council England will deliver the fund on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The fund, which totals more than £200 million and was launched in 2019, is made up of three separate streams, the Cultural Development Fund, the Libraries Improvement Fund and the Museum Estate and Development Fund.
It is designed to protect and improve people’s access to culture, regenerate communities, upgrade buildings and digital infrastructure and use investment to promote economic growth. In this round of funding, £32.4 million has gone to eight Cultural Development Fund projects, £4.9 million to 27 projects as part of the Libraries Improvement Fund and £21.4 million has gone to 36 museums through the Museum Estate and Development Fund.
Some of the venues that will benefit include the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, which will receive £349,153 as part of the Museum Estate and Development Fund. The first publicly funded museum outside London, the money will go towards improving infrastructure and protecting its nationally important collections covering social and natural history.
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery will also benefit from the fund and will receive £540,000 and £150,410 will be given to Woodhorn Museum in Ashington.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: "This investment will help to level up access to arts and culture for everyone, no matter where they live. Culture helps us create lifelong memories with our families and friends, provides entertainment and joy, and allows us to explore the world around us in new and exciting ways. It can also boost tourism, support local business and drive local economic growth.
“This funding will support brilliant arts organisations to upgrade their venues and create new projects that will be at the heart of their communities.”
The announcement follows a boost for the cultural sector in the Spring Budget with an extension of tax reliefs for theatres, orchestras, and museum and gallery exhibitions for a further two years. The tax reliefs have already supported thousands of theatre and orchestral productions, galleries and museums across the country, and the extension is set to help the cultural sector continue to attract new talent and investment from home and abroad.
Extending the tax reliefs is aimed to build on the support the government has provided to the creative sectors. This includes the £1.6 billion Culture Recovery Fund that supported more than 5,000 organisations throughout the pandemic.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England said: Investment in creativity and culture is a catalyst for improving well-being and raising aspirations, reinvigorating pride in communities, regenerating high streets and local economies, and bringing people together.
"We are pleased to play a part in delivering the Cultural Investment Fund and this £58 million investment will help create new, or improve existing, cultural buildings and spaces in our villages, towns and cities. By doing so it will support recovery and growth and unlock the creative potential of those who live and work in communities across England.”
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, added: "Culture, heritage and the arts all contribute to people’s sense of belonging and place. These grants will help to reinforce this and we welcome them.”
A list of the North East venues benefitting from the fund includes:
Museum Estate and Development Fund
- £540,000 to South Shields Museum & Art Gallery in South Shields, South Tyneside
- £349,153 to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens in Sunderland
- £974,673 to The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham
- £150,410 to Woodhorn Museum in Ashington, Northumberland
- £311,194 to Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough
Libraries Improvement Fund
- £266,066 to North Tyneside Libraries
- £225,000 to Darlington Libraries
- £200,000 to Hartlepool library service
- £50,000 to Stockton Library Service
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