ACE awards £3.2m to arts consortiums in new Cultural Destinations fund

A new £3.2m programme is aiming to enable cultural organisations to increase their reach, engagement and resilience by working with the tourism sector.

Launched by Arts Council England, the ‘Cultural Destinations’ fund has emerged from its three-year partnership with VisitEngland. The intention of the scheme is to encourage collaboration between the public and private sector to support “world-class cultural and tourism products” that benefit both domestic and international visitors.

‘Joined-up’ approach

16 projects have been awarded between £100k and £500k each for work taking place over three years.

Successful projects include:

• £270k to raise Woolwich’s profile and create a programme of arts events to coincide with the arrival of the Crossrail service in 2018
• £150k to a consortium of cultural and tourism organisations in Cornwall, to support young people to be cultural ambassadors, build a ‘distinctive events programme’ and create a travel app for the region
• £300k will go towards putting culture at the heart of Milton Keynes’ green transport infrastructure, in a project called ‘Pedalling Culture’, and
• Partners from four local authorities in the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership are to share £150k to promote the diversity of the region to all visitors.

The Midlands emerges as a priority, with £800k being channelled towards four projects in Coventry, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Stoke.

Speaking about the new scheme, Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said: "The success of Hull’s inspiring UK City of Culture launch is a reminder of the transformative power that arts and culture can have in any one place.

“Our work with VisitEngland and this new investment means that more places across the country will gain from the benefits delivered by local growth in both the economy and arts and culture.”