Words by Smiley Team
The Arts Council has announced that £64.8 million has been awarded to 7,484 individuals and 2,182 independent organisations through their Covid-19 emergency response package, thanks to the National Lottery and Government.
In addition to this, £4 million was distributed to a series of Benevolent Funds supporting cultural workers, including musicians, stage technicians and conservators. £90 million was also made available to support National Portfolio Organisations, with decisions on this funding currently underway.
Announced in March, the Arts Council’s Emergency Response Package was designed to help alleviate the immediate pressures faced by artists, creative practitioners, arts organisations, museums, and libraries over the summer – supporting them as they continue to serve their communities during this crisis and affording them the time to stabilise and plan for the future.
“The Arts Council has never awarded so many grants, in such a short space of time, to so many creative people” Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said. “None of this would have been possible without National Lottery players – it’s thanks to them that our artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries are able to continue to benefit the lives of communities across England.”
The Arts Council has awarded 7,484 grants totalling £17.1 million to individual artists and creative practitioners. £16 million was made available for the Emergency Response Fund for Individuals, to support the level of demand and strength of applications we invested an additional £1.1 million through this fund. Over £3.7 million has been awarded to individuals from a Black and minority ethnic background, with £2.5 million directly supporting D/deaf or disabled applicants. Crucially, many applicants from underrepresented groups were receiving Arts Council funding for the first time.
The success rate for applications was very high. Arts Council was able to offer funding to 71.1% of those who applied – the success rate for the fund for individuals was 73.2% and 64.6% for organisations. The success rates for D/deaf or disabled and Black and minority ethnic applicants to the fund for individuals was significantly higher than average – 81% and 77.4% respectively. For the fund for organisations, disabled-led organisations were more likely to receive funding (with a success rate of 71.6%) with Black and minority ethnic-led organisations approximately one percent below the average success rate for the fund (63.4%)
“This urgent financial support has provided a lifeline to the many creative individuals and organisations across England that make up our vibrant cultural sector, for whom Covid-19 has dealt a devastating blow. We thank our Secretary of State, Oliver Dowden; Minister for Culture, Caroline Dinenage; and officials at DCMS, for their continued support as we work together to protect and sustain a cultural sector that can be a catalyst for national renewal, as we emerge from this crisis” Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said.
The Arts Council has now moved into the stabilisation phase of its planning, in which the main aim is to support the sector to reopen, when it’s safe to do so, adapt business models and build the capability to operate in a changed environment. This includes gathering evidence, data and insight from across the sector to inform conversations with DCMS on the support required for different parts of the sector to reopen effectively. You can find out more about the support they have provided here.
