In the largest distribution of direct government funding to arts organisations in the UK since 1946, those successful in securing a portion of the government’s CRF were informed of the good news last month.
This first round of funding saw £257m distributed by Arts Council England (ACE) on behalf of the government, with 1,963 applicants, two-thirds of whom were successful. Around a third of these were based in London, and music and theatre organisations took half of the total funds on offer.
The grants of up to £1m were provided to help organisations stay afloat until March 2021. Only two organisations received the maximum amount: Manchester’s Mission Mars and Wigmore Hall, London.
In the days following the announcements, social media was flooded with messages of gratitude from recipients. It has since emerged that publicly thanking the government and the CRF was a condition of receiving the funding.
Recipients were instructed by the government ‘to welcome this funding on your social media accounts (using #HereForCulture), on your website (using the “Here for Culture” logo) and in your newsletters’.
The instructions continued: ‘Alongside this we require you to alert your local media outlets of the news (for example through a press release).’
The message to successful organisations stated: ‘In receiving this funding, you are agreeing to acknowledge this funding publicly by crediting the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.’
Further investments are to be announced.
