Arts community celebrates £1.1m Culture Recovery Fund cash boost
The local Arts community has woken up this morning to news of a £1.1m boost from the Culture Recovery Fund.
The grants have been awarded to the following organisation in Hastings and Rye:
- Electric Palace Cinema CIC – £20,147
- Kino Digital Ltd – £111,266
- Kino-Teatre Ltd – £42,865
- Sweet and Dandy – £29,920
- Hastings Contemporary – £209,000
- Home Live Art – £26,570
- Barefoot Opera – £37,397
- Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition – £71,060
- Soundcastle – £32,040
- Project Art Works – £183,500
- Hastings Museum and Art Gallery – £225,515
- St Mary in the Castle – £44,239
- MSL Projects – £60,000
- Rye Heritage Centre – £7,100
- The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of Holy Trinity Hastings – £19,100
The local MP for Hastings and Rye, Sally-Ann Hart, and Hastings Borough Council have welcomed the award of further grants to local cultural organisations.
Hastings Contemporary the biggest local recipient of grant funding said this morning: “Thanks to the government’s Culture Recovery Fund we can continue to be #HereForCulture.”
Mrs Hart says: “This is all part of the Here For Culture campaign which is a movement that unites the public, government and cultural organisations in support of our fantastic cinemas, theatres, music venues, museums, galleries and heritage.
“It is great that the Government is able to support these amazing local institutions from the Electric Palace Cinema in Hastings’ Old town, to the Rye Heritage Centre and the Kino-Theatre in St Leonards. When this pandemic is over we are all going to want to enjoy these amazing places once more, so I am delighted that more of our local cultural landmarks are being offered financial support to help them through these last few months of lockdown and to reopening this summer.”
A spokesman for HBC said: “The money will be used to maintain the council’s support for the town’s vibrant arts and culture scene… It also allows the council to continue to support local festivals and public events such as Stade Saturdays and St Leonards Festival, as well as maintain the council’s Arts and Cultural Development Match Funding Grant which supports individuals and organisations to apply for additional grants.”
The council will also be supporting the #HereForCulture movement, which unites the public, government and cultural organisations in support of the arts and cultural heritage.
Kevin Boorman, Marketing and Major Projects Manager at Hastings Borough Council, said: “We look forward to continuing to support the local festivals and venues including Hastings Museum and Art Gallery. The museum has many exciting exhibitions coming up in 2021, so this boost of funding is very welcome”
A Government spokesperson for culture, said: “Our record-breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.
“Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, added: “Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.
“We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
Hastings Contemporary has confirmed this orning that it will re-open on May 27th with what it describes as a: “…spectacular summer blockbuster show Seaside Modern which celebrates and explores the relationship between artists and the beach from the 1920s to 1970s. Marking the beginning of summer and the hopeful and happy return to a better way of life, this exciting exhibition of more than 60 artists and designers works will look at the broader social and cultural phenomenon of the British heading to the beach in ever greater numbers.”