Latest News | 15 October 2020
Culture Recovery funding welcomed
Bondholders have been awarded lifeline funding from Arts Council England as part of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to help protect them from the impacts of Covid-19.
The Culture Recovery Fund is part of the Government’s £1.57 billion package to protect the UK’s culture and heritage sectors from the economic impacts of Covid-19 and comes directly from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It enables cultural organisations affected by the Covid-19 crisis to stay afloat during this turbulent time and aims to ensure their continued operation by spring 2021 on a sustainable, cost-efficient basis.
Bondholder Derby Theatre has received a grant of £365,645 and plans to produce a series of small scale, socially distanced performances for its audiences to enjoy. Sarah Brigham (CEO & Artistic Director for Derby Theatre) said: “This is fantastic news and a much needed lifeline. This will allow us to cover some basic overheads and offer a small scale programme of socially distanced performances to our audiences this Christmas.
“When we officially re-open in December, it will be with a much reduced programme, but audiences can still expect all the sparkle of the theatre delivered in a safe and Covid-secure way, and we remain hopeful that it won't be too long before we can be running at full capacity.”
Bondholder Derby Museums has received £130,000 of funding. After a short period of closure during lockdown, Derby Museum and Art Gallery re-opened its doors to the public as a Covid-secure venue on 7th July 2020 and, despite restrictions, has seen its audiences return to enjoy the museum both in person and online.
Tony Butler, Executive Director of Derby Museums, commented: “Derby Museums was one of the first museums in the UK to open when lockdown was eased in July. The imposition of Covid restrictions has increased our running costs and decimated commercial income. Today, we are delighted to share the news that we have been awarded this generous funding from the Culture Recovery Fund. Thanks to this investment, we can continue to delight our visitors with treasures from our city and, in turn, contribute to Derby’s cultural recovery.”
Also receiving welcome funding is Bondholder QUAD, with an award of £245,000, which means it can continue to serve its audiences offering a full programme of art and film, as well as online content and workshops for those who are not able to access the venue at the moment.
Adam Buss, QUAD CEO, said “During these difficult times the importance of the arts has been reinforced both locally and nationally and whilst the pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on the finances of many organisations, Arts Council England have done all they can to ensure our future is bright. This funding once again highlights the strength of the arts sector in Derby and the power of collaboration and partnership to provide inspiring cultural activity even the toughest of times.”
Bondholder Derby Cathedral been awarded a grant of £270,800 to cover overheads, IT and digital resources and Personal Protective Equipment required as a result of COVID. The Cathedral will use some of the grant to improve its online presence and digital capabilities, making the Cathedral more accessible to the City of Derby, the County of Derbyshire, the Diocese of Derby, its many visitors and a wide range of worshippers.
The Very Reverend Peter Robinson, Dean of Derby, said: “Derby Cathedral is delighted and thankful to be the recipient of a Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage grant. The money will help us to cover essential costs incurred throughout the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when our income from collections, events and hires has been drastically reduced.
“This grant allows us to start on our road of recovery and plan a sustainable response to the COVID crisis, ensuring that the Cathedral can meet the new and emerging needs of the city, visitors and worshippers.”
Bondholder Déda is grateful to have been awarded £202,000 from the Recovery Fund, and Bondholder Artcore has received £54,140 to help continue its work supporting local organisations and artists, to ensure that people from all backgrounds and communities have access to the visual arts.
