We are delighted to announce that we received the news this morning that we have been successful in our bid for Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding. This is Arts Council England’s most varied and ambitious portfolio yet, and we are enamored to be included as one of the 276 new organisations that will receive a share of the £446 million investment.
This news comes at an incredibly exciting time for us, as we continue to deliver our ambitious programme working with Children and Young People (CYP), specifically from lower-socio economic areas and from a diverse range of underrepresented communities. It means we can continue our work to actively reduce barriers and create more access to culture in Kirklees, Barnsley and Sheffield.
As a National Portfolio Organisation, we are thrilled to contribute towards Arts Council England’s Let’s Create Strategy and a country that is built around culture, creativity and care, continuing our mission to enable every child and young person to feel powerful, valued and connected.
Being a National Portfolio Organisation also enables us to effectively manage multi-disciplinary, large-scale collaborations, with multiple stakeholders, continuing our commitment to embed stakeholders at every level of the organisation, and create pathways for the next generation of cultural leaders.
We acknowledge that this decision comes at a really challenging time for most; with the cost-of-living crisis, a climate emergency and political uncertainty. The funding from Arts Council England means that we are able to work with, and support our audience and communities, as we navigate these times together.
In the coming months we look forward to scaling up our work without diluting the depth of quality, and increasing our position as sector leaders and experts across Yorkshire. Our activities will build on the positive impacts of our work over the last ten years on CYP’s well-being and confidence, their progress in education, and early career development in the arts, whilst simultaneously working towards our ten year strategy for Yorkshire to be renowned nationally and internationally for its cutting edge approach to, and research in, caring and creative practices in school and community settings.
We want to take this opportunity to thank the communities we work with, our partners, supporters and friends. We would not exist without you.
We also want to send our solidarity to all the other amazing arts organsation that continue to be the bread and butter of creating cultural communities across the country. Regardless of today’s outcome, we are with you, support you and will continue to champion all of the amazing work you do.
We are extremely excited for what’s next to come for us. Watch this space!
Sending love, the Chol team x
See more on Arts Council England’s 2023-26 Investment Programme on their website: www.artscouncil.org.uk/investment23
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk
Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, of which we delivered over £1 billion to the sector in grants and loans. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19
#LetsCreate #ACEsupported #NPO
