Outdoor arts festival gets £1m ACE funding boost

Arts Council England (ACE) has announced an additional £1m of National Lottery funding over three years for a nationwide outdoor arts festival.

Global Streets is a collaborative 12-partner national network operated by festival.org that brings outdoor arts events to communities that are considered culturally underserved.

ACE already supports festival.org's flagship Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) as a National Portfolio Organisation with  £250,000 of investment. Now, its nationwide sister festival will receive £1m of additional funding from National Lottery Project Grants (Touring Projects).

Since 2015, Global Streets has delivered more than 280 performances of 41 productions, focusing on free, international work. Its partners are located in communities across Birmingham, Doncaster, Gloucester, Hull, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Slough, Barking & Dagenham, Woolwich, Hounslow and Newham.

Over the next three years, upcoming productions will include immersive light installations, participatory productions for children and families and events engaging local people in climate change. Bradford Council will also be added to the network ahead of its 2025 City of Culture year.  

Toby Smith, Associate Director of Global Streets, said:  “Global Streets sits at the heart of festival.org’s international, national and local ambition, and this new three-year programme will allow us to further deepen the project’s impact, as well as explore and share new ways of working developed from our experience and learning.” 

Another touring project benefitting from ACE funding is EyeMusic, which aims to create new environments in public spaces using music, colour and light. The company will receive £87,000 for its 2023/2024 tour to locations such as Thurrock, Rochdale Town Hall Square and Rotherham.