Leeds arts projects to receive £1.6m boost

Senior councillors in Leeds are set to vote on a new funding package for arts and culture projects as part of the Leeds City Council Cultural Investment Programme.

If approved, £1.6m will be made available for the arts@leeds grants programme. Applications would open in August, with funding available from April 2023, to align with the upcoming LEEDS 2023 year of culture.

The programme's first funding round supported more than 40 Leeds-based cultural, voluntary and community organisations delivering activity in every council ward. In 2021/22, these funded organisations generated £15.7m through ticket sales and income, with more than 75,000 people taking part in creative and cultural activities.  

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said Leeds has a “quite astonishing breadth of arts and cultural organisations delivering activity.”

“It makes a real, tangible difference at the heart of our communities as well as creating stunning, world class performances and events.”

“The funding programme has played an integral role in bringing many of those projects to life and we’re proud to be once again backing local cultural organisations and supporting their vision and ambition.”