Publications

Sustain fund closes

By: a-n

Arts Council England’s £40m fund especially to help arts organisations continue to maintain artistic excellence during the recession has closed.

A total of 151 applications have been received and with applications requesting a further £35 million still under consideration, the decision has been taken to close the fund to new applications from 9 October. All applications received up to that date will be considered, with a further round of announcements due in November. Since June's launch, sixty-six awards worth £23.3 million have been made. Successful applicants cover all art forms and regions. Sustain awards cover two years. Amongst recent recipients is Camden Arts Centre who gets £140,000. Other visual arts beneficiaries include Ikon Gallery (£116K), Modern Art Oxford (£630K), Project Art Works (£90K), Newlyn Art Gallery (£92K) and Yorkshire Sculpture Park (£1.45m). Project Art Works appears to be the only artist-led organisation to have benefited. Closure of the fund will be met with dismay by smaller arts organisations whose earned income and funding sources are equally declining, and who were advised to 'hold back' whilst larger organisations got served. Questioning the scheme's scope, arts commentator Lyn Garner warned that it would "always benefit those arts organisations which have entire departments geared up for...

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