Arts Council NPO announcement: standstill award of £517,785 p.a. 2023-2026

 The De La Warr Pavilion announces a standstill award from Arts Council England of £517,785 per annum as part of their National Portfolio of organisations for 2023 -26.

The De La Warr Pavilion is delighted to announce that we have been selected as one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations for 2023-26, along with other celebrated arts and cultural organisations across England. Considered “strong” on all ACE measures, this award represents a standstill in our funding and reflects the Arts Council’s continued belief in the Pavilion to make a difference through culture in our communities and beyond.

We would like to thank the Arts Council England and the National Lottery UK who, alongside Rother District Council, have supported us for many years, and in particular during the acute challenges of the pandemic. We will support Arts Council England to deliver their Let’s Create strategy, with the ambition that by 2030 England will be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences.

This funding will complement Arts Council’s recent award of £400,000 from their Capital Investment Fund towards a significant Auditorium Technical Upgrade – the first step towards securing further significant capital investment in the building. Read more here

In addition the Pavilion, in partnership with Artswork and Skills East Sussex, has received £196,000 for Talent Accelerator – a pioneering Skills programme that supports young people from areas of high deprivation, rurally-isolated locations and under-represented backgrounds to access and reach their potential within the creative industries. This is the spearhead of DLWPs emerging Skills programmes which include partnerships with Little Gate Farm and the Bexhill Jobs & Apprenticeships Fair to create new opportunities for young people.  Read more here

We are thrilled that our partners Outlands Network have also been welcomed into the Portfolio. Born out of an ACE Strategic Touring grant led by the De La Warr Pavilion, Outlands is an open membership network that supports and unites producers of experimental music and interdisciplinary performance across England.

We will continue to closely work with and support our many partners and networks within the region, some of whom have serious funding challenges ahead.  We will continue to :

• Work with our partners in Sidley to create new cultural opportunities for young people aged 10-16 in one of the top five deprived wards in the UK.
• Support artist networks through our strong partnership with Towner Eastbourne, Beeching Road Studios (Bexhill) and Flatland Projects to extend opportunities for emerging artists and curators in our area.
• Develop programming and new industry placements for skills development of young people with Eastbourne Winter Gardens.
• Attract funding to conserve the heritage of our unique Grade I Listed modernist building.

Stewart Drew, Director & CEO says,

“Thank you to Arts Council England for recognising the significance of the De La Warr Pavilion in bringing creativity and culture to communities in an area of high deprivation, and 420,000 visitors each year. It is brilliant to have the security of this standstill funding as we face new challenges with the cost of living crisis and energy costs.

As part of our bold vision as a flagship centre for arts and culture in our region, we will continue to deliver free exhibitions from major international artists, a varied live programme of 90+ performances a year, and a diverse programme of learning, participation and schools’ activities. Working with our partners that include the Refugee Buddy Project, Bexhill Museum, Heart of Sidley and Turner Prize nominated Project Art Works, we will co-create with our diverse communities to deliver meaningful creative engagement for young people, families and children, neurodiverse people, those with disabilities and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Our continued support for Beeching Road Studios, Bexhill, and Flatland Projects will allow emerging artists and curators to thrive in the region, building a vibrant cultural economy, where young people will want to live and work.

Our ambitious music and comedy programme will continue to bring headline, international acts to Bexhill, and we will lead region-wide music development and skills initiatives with partners Create Music, Eastbourne Winter Garden, and #1066musiccity.

We are a catalyst for cultural regeneration, driving the cultural, tourism and economic health of the region by taking a lead within our networks, including Sussex Modern, 1066Country, Culture East Sussex and fulfil the potential of the region through Towner Eastbourne’s delivery of the Turner Prize 2023.

Our beautiful Grade I Listed building is at the heart of what we do. We continue to conserve and protect the important heritage of the Pavilion and develop a viable business model so that we can remain as a much-valued community asset for the next 85 years.”

Arts Council England Chair, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “As well as continuing our commitment to our many established and renowned cultural organisations, I am deeply proud of the support we will be giving to those new organisations which will help ignite creativity across the country.  We are facing economic pressures at present but this funding is about an investment in our future. This portfolio will support the next generation of visionary inventors, makers, performers and artists. In particular, the growth of our funding for organisations that support and develop work for children represents a profoundly important long-term investment in our country’s talent.”

Arts Council England Chief Executive, Darren Henley, said: “Together, each of the 990 organisations that have been offered funding today will contribute to a portfolio that is rich, varied and truly national. This is our widest ever spread of investment across the country, ensuring that many more people will have access to a wider choice of exceptional art, culture and creative opportunities on their doorsteps. We are in tough times but we must remember creativity brings with it extraordinary dividends, boosting our country’s economic growth, creating jobs, bringing communities closer together, and making us happier as individuals. Everyone deserves to enjoy the benefits it brings, and with this investment, we believe we’ve taken a decisive step towards making that vision a reality.”

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “Thanks to this new government funding package, spreading more money to more communities than ever before, people living in areas from Wolverhampton to Wigan and Crawley to Chesterfield will now get to benefit from the deep economic and social rewards culture can bring.

“We continue to support our icons such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Shakespeare Company, but today’s announcement will see organisations in places all too often overlooked get the support they need to transform access to the arts for everyone – no matter where they live.”

See more on Arts Council England’s 2023-26 Investment Programme on their website: www.artscouncil.org.uk/investment23

 

 

Posted by sally on Friday 4 November 2022