Suffolk’s arts industry set to benefit from major government boost
Theatres and venues in Suffolk are set to benefit from a major Government funding boost Picture: CARL LAMB - Credit: Archant
Theatres, cinemas, venues and heritage sites across Suffolk are set to benefit from a £1.57bn emergency government funding package.
The government unveiled the package on Sunday, July 5, and labelled it the “biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture”.
The £1.15bn support pot for cultural organisations in England will be made up of £270m of loans and £880m of grants.
It also includes money for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland (£33m), Scotland (£97m) and Wales (£59m), the Government said.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden had come under increasing pressure to step in and support the industry, with more than 1,500 artists and acts having signed a letter to him calling for a roadmap to recovery.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK’s cultural industry is the beating heart of this country.
Locally, theatres and venues across the region had called for a similar scheme to be implemented, with Eastern Angles co-founder Ivan Cutting calling for more support, while Brendan Keaney, artistic director of DanceEast, labelled the earlier Government roadmap as “shockingly empty”.
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Reacting to the news via Twitter, Ipswich-based Gecko Theatre said: “This is quite amazing news, we’ll wait to analyse the detail, but we are optimistic that this will help secure the future of those in the creative industries.”
