Wigan organisations included in £13.8m regional arts and culture funding boost

The Old Courts is being supported by the Culture Recovery FundThe Old Courts is being supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The Old Courts is being supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The borough has a number of recipients from the Government's £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund.

Arts at the Mill CIC, which runs The Old Courts and is involved in the regeneration of Wigan Pier, has been given £945,621.

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Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, meanwhile, has received £342,945 and Plain View Production in Atherton has been awarded £85,000.

They are among 69 arts and culture organisations in Greater Manchester, including theatres, galleries, performance groups, arts organisations and museums, which are being funded.

The amount provided to Arts at the Mill CIC is the second-largest being given out in the city-region in this funding round.

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The grants announced are for organisations which applied for less than £1m in the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund.

The money will help them create work and performances and plan for reopening, although many have still been active in lockdown using technology and creativity to reach audiences in new ways while they have been unable to attend events at the venues.

Further funding announcements will be made over the next few weeks.

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Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: “This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation. It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery.

“These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country.

“This unprecedented investment in the arts is proof this government is here for culture, with further support to come in the days and weeks ahead so that the culture sector can bounce back strongly.”

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Sarah Maxfield, Area Director North at Arts Council England, said: “The pandemic has had a massive impact on the whole range of organisations working in the North’s cultural sector - theatres, music venues, festivals, museums and the companies who support them with technical sound, light and staging services.

"The cultural sector makes a huge contribution to The North’s economy, quality of life and communities.

"We are announcing much-needed investment and support from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to a group of organisations across the North - with more announcements in the coming weeks - providing an essential lifeline so the cultural sector can survive and come back strongly in the future.”

Altogether 1,385 arts and cultural organisations across the country are receiving a share of £257m from this round of the Culture Recovery Fund.