Culture Recovery Fund support for our local venues

The immediate future of cultural venues in Blackburn with Darwen is more secure, thanks to a grant of £165,613 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

Today the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced over £300 million has been awarded to over 2,700 cultural organisations and local authorities across the country in the latest round of awards from the fund.

In Blackburn with Darwen the funding will provide vital support to King George’s Hall, Darwen Library Theatre, Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery and Turton Tower.

Denise Park, Chief Executive of Blackburn with Darwen Council, commented:

This is such welcome news. The arts sector is a very important one that has been hard-hit by the pandemic.

In Blackburn with Darwen, our theatres and performance venues have had to stay closed for over a  year. Meanwhile, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery has been able to adapt to deliver some educational sessions online.

This funding, added to the £364,000 the Council was awarded from the Culture Recovery Fund last October, helps us to secure the immediate future of these venues, and put necessary measures in place to ensure that they are Covid-secure for visitors and audiences to return.

The second round of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund will help arts venues to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden 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.