THE ANNOUNCEMENT of an £88.7m investment in Birmingham and Solihull’s cultural sector has been welcomed by business leaders.
The investment by Arts Council England means 37 organisations will receive funding over a four-year period.
This includes 13 new additions to the Arts Council’s national portfolio, while two existing organisations will receive increased investment.
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Chambers of Commerce chief executive Paul Faulkner, who launched the Birmingham Cultural Investment Enquiry last year to explore investment challenges and opportunities in the region’s culture sector, said: “This announcement from the Arts Council represents a strong vote of confidence in the cultural sector in Birmingham.
“It recognises the exceptional quality of the city’s cultural institutions and the addition of several new organisations to the portfolio underlines the growing ambitions for the city to be an international powerhouse for culture.
“It also acts as a positive call out to the business community to recognise the importance of the cultural sector to the vibrant economic life of the region and to build the relationships and investments that will make it thrive into the future.”
Established in July 2016, the Cultural Investment Enquiry saw GBCC work closely with the City Council, the Arts Council and Culture Central, a new cultural development agency for Birmingham which was created to lead and shape the future cultural life of the city and the wider region.
The Enquiry was set up to promote investment opportunities and to protect and develop a sector that employs around 55,000 people in Birmingham.
