Cultural organisations to share £24m of capital investment

A total of 67 cultural and creative organisations around the country will share of £24.2m through Arts Council England’s second round of the Capital Investment Programme, it has been announced.

The grants, worth between £100,000 and £750,000 each, will be used to fund building works and the purchase of equipment and other assets to improve access, seize technological opportunities, and reduce environmental impact, the funding body said.

Beneficiaries include DanceEast, which has been awarded £270,000 to modernise the lighting, projection, and equipment in its 181-seat theatre at the Jerwood DanceHouse, and Bluecoat centre for contemporary arts in Liverpool, which gets £680,000 to refurbish and reconfigure its café/bar into a large publicly accessible event and performance area.

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Meanwhile, disabled-led theatre company Graeae will receive £445,000 to remodel its Bradbury Studios in London.

Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director and Joint CEO at Graeae, said: "We are thrilled to have an ACE Capital grant to change the interior of our Graeae home to allow offices, meeting rooms and rehearsal space for three disabled-led arts organisations and to enable the building to become a home for many more Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists. Exciting times ahead!”

ACE said that the projects will help secure the creative future of communities across England by improving access and the environmental performance of buildings, vehicles, and equipment, as well as increasing technological capability to produce, distribute, and exhibit cultural content.

Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said: “This infrastructure investment will help a whole range of different cultural organisations across England to flourish, increasing opportunities for people to enjoy creatively excellent cultural events close to where they live. It’s particularly important that we’re making this happen in communities where cultural investment has historically been low."

Arts Minister Lord Parkinson said: “Cultural venues enrich our lives, and it’s vital that their infrastructure matches the excellence of the creative work that goes on inside them.

"Our funding is helping both to create new venues and to adapt existing ones to make them more accessible, helping to deliver the Government’s plan to make sure that everyone, no matter where they live or what their background, has access to excellent, life-changing cultural opportunities.”

The first round of the Capital Investment Programme was announced in May 2022 and saw Arts Council England invest £22.7m in 66 organisations to help improve their infrastructure over the 2021/22 and 2022/23 periods.