Hull City Council is supporting musicians and creative people in the city via two new projects.
The two-year industry development programmes are focussed on the creative industry and the music industry.
The programmes are funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), after successful bidding by Hull City Council.
The UKSPF is a key part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda, and Hull City Council was allocated over £10,000,000 to be spent on various different projects over a 3-year period.
A small allocation of funding from this investment will help kick start the creative industries’ development.
Hull City Council now wants to know what those who will use these programmes want from them.
A survey has been put together, aimed at individuals working in the music and creative sectors.
An engagement event is also planned, to help shape the initial phase of delivering the projects.
Following a tender process, two companies have been appointed to commission the work.
For the creative industry, The Edge Hub has been appointed.
CEO Antonio Tombanane said: “We are delighted to be working with Hull City Council to deliver high-level network and knowledge exchange events for the creative industry.
Creative minds and digital pioneers will have unparalleled opportunities to connect, collaborate, and co-create, amplifying the impact of their work and driving economic growth within the region.”
For the music industry, experienced local musician Stew Baxter – director of Hinterland Creative – has been appointed.
He said: “As someone who is passionate about music, creative arts and my community, I am very excited to be working alongside this team to collaborate on a longer-term strategy for music development in Hull.
“As a working class artist myself, I know how hard it can be to survive and sustain a career in music, and how important it is to create opportunities and support networks in Hull in order to grow our own music ecology and thrive in the wider industry.
“We are fortunate to have a very unique music community and I feel strongly that we can do things on our own terms, building an infrastructure that is designed by and for the creatives and audiences in our city.”
Councillor Mike Ross, leader of Hull City Council, said: “I’m delighted that we can support these programmes with the grants we’ve obtained from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
“By the end of the projects, we will have a detailed knowledge about the creative and music sectors in the city, which will help us to empower future talent.
“We want the programmes to be open, responsive and owned by those involved, and the survey being launched will help us to achieve that.”
Councillor Rob Pritchard, portfolio holder for culture and leisure, said: “These programmes will allow creative people in the city to maximise and capitalise on their talents.
“It will help to bring together those in the sector, helping them gain greater skills and knowledge.”
Councillor Paul Drake-Davis, portfolio holder for regeneration, said: “I’m very pleased that we’re able to support even more local projects with grants from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
“A wide range of schemes are benefitting from the Fund, delivering activities that are supporting the people of the city.”
