Bringing creativity and culture to your doorstep

£43.5 million investment in Levelling up, as Arts Council England backs art, culture, and creativity for more people in more places, across the country

Today, Arts Council England reveals details of its new national portfolio of funded organisations for 2023-26.

• From Stoke to Slough, Gloucester to Wigan, the Arts Council’s Levelling Up for Culture Places will see a 95% increase in investment, with 78 designated towns and cities to receive £43.5 million annually, for the next three years.
• There will be a 20% increase in organisations delivering creative and cultural activity for children and young people including joiners to the portfolio such as Midlands based MISHMASH who introduce pre-schoolers to classical music, and an increase in funding for the renowned Grimm and Co in Rotherham, who nurture children’s creativity and writing.
• Overall, there will be investment in a richly varied mix of organisations: Established icons such as the Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company; a boost for the best of our museums and libraries with newly funded National Football Museum in Manchester and Gloucestershire Libraries joining; and ambitious pioneers and innovators such as Ballet Black, Manchester Collective, Open Sky Theatre, Touretteshero and Stanley Halls.

In total, 990 organisations will receive a share of £446 million (each year) ensuring that more people in more places can find fantastic, fulfilling art and culture on their doorsteps.

In our conversations and research with the public over the past five years, we have heard again and again that people want and need easy access to meaningful, impactful cultural events and creative activities in the places where they live. With this Portfolio, Arts Council England has focused on investing to make certain that as many people as possible in England – no matter where they come from or what their circumstances – can get hold of the very best of art and culture on their high streets and in the community spaces of their villages, towns and cities. The latest round of funding will benefit arts organisations, museums, and libraries in every corner of the country, from Northumberland to Norfolk, and from Cornwall to Cumbria, with a clear focus on ensuring that investment is concentrated in those places that, historically, have been underserved.

Read more here.