Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall has been awarded £1.6 million as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help face the challenges of the coronavirus.
Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall are one of 35 major cultural organisations receiving the first grants between £1 and £3 million through the Culture Recovery Fund – with £75 million of investment announced today.
This follows £334 million awarded earlier in the month to nearly 2,000 organisations, also from the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.
Leader of Hull City Council, Councillor Stephen Brady OBE said: “This is welcome news for the city, Hull New Theatre and Hull City Hall play a major role in offering the local community access to world class performances on their doorstep.
“Although there are still challenges to face with the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a step forward in ensuring future generations can continue to enjoy live entertainment in Hull.”
The funding will help to support the venues until the end of the current financial year enabling them to make necessary adjustments to the buildings, operating procedures and event programmes to meet Covid-19 government guidelines and to allow customers to safely return to enjoy the varied programme of high-quality live entertainment that the venues are renowned for.
Chair, Hull Culture and Leisure, Councillor Marjorie Brabazon said: “I’m delighted that this funding will allow us to move forward with plans to be in a position to safely open our doors once again to give audiences the opportunity to enjoy much-missed live entertainment, in what we hope is the very near future.”
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “As part of our unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue fund, today we’re saving British cultural icons with large grants of up to £3 million – from Shakespeare’s Globe to the Sheffield Crucible. These places and organisations are irreplaceable parts of our heritage and what make us the cultural superpower we are. This vital funding will secure their future and protect jobs right away.”
Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “The Culture Recovery Fund has already helped hundreds of organisations, of all types and sizes, in villages, towns and cities across the country. It has provided a lifeline that will allow these organisations to continue to play an integral role in their communities and produce new artistic work that will entertain and inspire us all.
“This latest funding, which are the largest grants to date, will support some of the country’s most loved and admired cultural spaces – from great regional theatres and museums to historic venues in the capital – which are critical to the development of a new generation of talent and in providing work for freelance creatives.”
