Cultural project for North Yorkshire gets ACE funding

Three towns in North Yorkshire have been awarded £350,000 in funding from Arts Council England (ACE) to stage cultural events over two years.

The BBC reports that the Now Then! project will see arts events and activities staged in Selby, Tadcaster and Sherburn-in-Elmet between April 2024 and March 2026.

North Yorkshire Council's Executive Member for Culture and Leisure Simon Myers said it was an "exciting and ambitious" project that would focus on people's pride in where they live.

"Visitors will see our towns as places of singular cultural experiences, and local people will see where they live through fresh eyes," he said.

In Selby, new commissions will be based in the town's abbey and its surroundings, including music, dance, writing and performance.

In Tadcaster, members of the community arts company ARCADE will work with children and young people to create a programme of new work, while in Sherburn-in-Elmet, the community will select creative practitioners they would like to work with to co-devise and deliver activities there.

The programme has been given a Place Partnership award from ACE through the National Lottery.

Pete Massey, ACE's Director for Northern Economy and Partnerships, said they were delighted to fund the project.

"It's great to see so many partners working collaboratively on a project that will tell the stories of places and people as well as offer children and young people in Selby, Tadcaster and Sherburn the opportunity to get involved and develop their artistic skills," he said.