Arts Council England has today announced it will be investing an additional £170m into organisations based outside of London between 2018 and 2022 as part of its latest budget plan.
The announcement was made by the Arts Council England today, which said it would be investing an additional £170m a year for regional organisations as part of a £409m annual budget which is set to be invested in 831 organisations a year, starting from 2018.
In total, the Arts Council will be awarding grants worth £1.6bn between 2018 and 2022 to 831 organisations.
For the first time, 72 museums and seven libraries have also been awarded grants from the portfolio.
Sir Nicholas Serota, chair of Arts Council England, said the National Portfolio delivered on the Arts Council’s promise to “significantly increase our investment outside London, without detriment to the internationally renowned cultural offer of the capital”.
The Arts Council said this increase in funding “will offer culture to more people and more places than ever before”.
Arts Council England have been approached for further comment on how many organisations applied for funding, and what the average grant in terms of size is likely to be.
Over 60 per cent of money to be invested outside London
From next year, the Arts Council England will be investing over 60 per cent of its total funding to organisations based outside of London.
According to Arts Council England, it will invest 60.4 per cent of its annual funding pot – around £245m – to organisations outside of London. Arts Council England said it is planning to invest £3.99m a year over the next four years to organisations in Plymouth, £1.99m in the Tees Valley and over £1.5m in Bradford.
£1.8m increase per year in National Lottery funding
The portfolio announcement also saw a per annum increase in National Lottery funding as part of the Arts Council’s grants, with the Lottery committing to putting £71.4m into the national portfolio each year from 2018 to 2022. The £71.4m represents a £1.8m increase from the previous round of funding.
The National Lottery has contributed money to the Arts Council England’s national portfolio since 2012.
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In his full statement, Serota said: “Everyone deserves the chance to experience the sheer enjoyment, creativity and new horizons that culture can bring.
“We set out to deliver a significant increase in our investment outside London. We’ve done that, without detriment to the internationally renowned cultural offer of the capital.
“Alongside continuing support for our great national companies, we’ve funded inventive, pioneering arts organisations and a new range of museums across the country. We’ve also included libraries producing high quality cultural programmes. Working together these organisations will inspire a broader range of young people and audiences across England than ever before.”
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