THE ARTS, cultural and heritage organisation across the region are set to benefit from a cash injection.
In his budget Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced £10million of new government money would be handed to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to continue the work it is doing to support organisations to support projects.
This WMCA says this move doubles the amount of money it is now pumping into arts, culture and heritage, which includes £6million from the Commonwealth Games.
A further £4million has come to the region as a direct result of the ‘deeper devolution deal’ agreed between the West Midlands and Government last year.
Skinder Hundal, chair of the West Midlands Cultural Leadership Board, said: “The West Midlands’ cultural and creative sector is one of our biggest success stories and this significant investment from the WMCA and Government will help to secure our international reputation and place on the global stage.
“The Cultural Leadership Board is committed to standing alongside our regions’ creatives, colleagues, agencies, cultural partners to advocate for thoughtful and strategic economic policies which have the power to improve lives, improve opportunities, improve health and wellbeing, and develop skills and enterprise.
“Our sector is resilient, evolving and focused on a future in which our exceptional talent, with the right support, will continue to thrive in a region which is home to the world’s most exciting innovators and storytellers.”
Much-needed funding for culture and heritage from the WMCA is already supporting live events across the region, with £1.5m to ensure this year’s Black Country Festival, Coventry Govida Festival and Birmingham Weekender can take place.
It is helping to protect under-threat heritage buildings and to help grassroots organisations provide new creative opportunities for thousands of children and young people to improve their health and wellbeing and teach them new skills.
The WMCA said local authorities will share £2million to directly support hyper local activity within their communities and cultural organisations, and money is also going into help organisations grow and to provide the region’s first business and networking support for its army of almost 10,000 freelancers, many of whom work largely on short-term contracts.
A further £2.2 million is providing free skills bootcamps in immersive arts, digital, social media and content creation, music, AI, and venue technicians to help plug skills gaps. Grants are available to help establish international cultural and artistic partnerships.
