Coronavirus: 'Most at risk' arts organisations offered ACE funding lifeline
Sadler’s Wells, Battersea Arts Centre, Manchester’s Royal Exchange and Theatre Royal Plymouth are among the arts organisations granted emergency funding to prevent them collapsing in the next three months.
Arts Council England has announced support for 196 of its 829 national portfolio organisations, with money given to those who have shown they are at most urgent risk.
The NPO stream of the Arts Council’s Covid-19 emergency response fund has allocated a total of £33 million, which ACE chief executive Darren Henley said would provide "critical relief" to organisations that are facing "immediate financial disaster before September".
It had allocated £90 million of its emergency fund to go to NPOs, but said the extension of the government’s furlough scheme had in part helped alleviate some of the pressure on organisations, delaying the "cliff edge for financial collapse" until later in the autumn.
The remaining £57 million will complement the government’s £1.57 billion rescue package and be used to support the sector over the coming months.
London dance organisations Sadler’s Wells and English National Ballet have been given the biggest grants, of £1.5 million and £1.35 million respectively.
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The Arts Council said 291 organisations applied for funding, of which 67% were successful.
The 196-strong list includes organisations across England that have already announced they must make redundancies to survive.
These include the Royal Exchange, which has been given £571,000, Theatre Royal Plymouth (£806,000) and Oxford Playhouse (£150,790).
In total, 43 theatre NPOs were successful, including the Royal Court, Young Vic, Camden People’s Theatre, Clean Break, Hackney Empire, the Kiln, Nottingham Playhouse, Oldham Coliseum, Sheffield Theatres, Slung Low and the Dukes in Lancaster.
The Arts Council has not disclosed the details of any unsuccessful applicants, but said that a number of companies were not offered support through this programme because "they were not able to demonstrate they needed urgent funding before the end of September", despite acknowledging that they are facing significant long-term challenges.
Henley added: "We know that massive challenges remain in the autumn, and we’ll use the rest of our available funds, alongside the government funding just announced, to support our sector in the coming months," he said.
Of the total funding offered, 39% was offered to organisations in London, with 27% granted to organisations in the north.
The Midlands received 17% of the total, with the South East and South West given 9% and 8% respectively.
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