Cultural recovery grants for students’ union & theatre companies

Middle Child theatre company

Hull University Students’ Union and two city theatre companies have been awarded combined grants of almost £300,000 in the latest round of support from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

The awards are among grants totalling more than £300m in the latest funding round announced today under the £1.57bn scheme set up in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The students’ union has been awarded “up to £100,000” and said the money would help it “re-open our venues and to continue to offer an array of high-quality cultural experiences through live music, drama performances, club nights, award ceremonies and popular culture events”.

Hull Truck Theatre receives £114,149; on top of the £229,097 it received in the last funding round in October.

Middle Child theatre company was awarded £76,065 - which it will use “to deliver an ambitious artist development programme to rebuild confidence and invest in Hull theatre makers as they emerge from the pandemic”, through its Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme.

The programme will “support local freelancers to return at their own speed, in a safe and sustainable way, through a series of workshops, residencies, performances and other events”.

Middle Child said: “As a theatre company that has been working from home for the past year and exclusively online, we could come out of one of the most challenging years of our lives full tilt.

“However, from speaking with many of the freelancers who are part of the extended Middle Child family, people have varying degrees of confidence about the months ahead.

“It’s clear that many theatre makers in Hull need the time, money and resource to recover, restart and reimagine.

“So that’s what we will do over the coming months, by supporting people to re-adjust at their own speed, in a way that is safe and sustainable.

“We are certain that this approach will have a huge impact on the long-term future of Hull, sharing skills and resources to build resilience and confidence in both our workforce and freelancers, acknowledging that we simply cannot be sustainable without them.

“It’s an unprecedented situation and we’ll do our best to get this right and respond to any changes around us, putting people’s health and wellbeing first.”

A spokeswoman for the students’ union said: “Our venues will again be able to provide a cultural hub for the region with something for everyone and accessible to all. 

“We will be able to expand on the work we do with ethnic minorities, Black and mixed racial heritage groups as well as the LGBT+ community, and build on our commitment to ensuring we offer events that reflect the full range of backgrounds and perspectives that are found in our society.

“H.U.U. Services Limited is the largest employer of student staff in the region and we will be able to continue to offer that valuable first entertainment role giving many the opportunity to seek careers in the wider cultural industries.”

Hull Truck said its grant would “support the creation of new work, help rebuild audiences, re-connect with communities and enhance the programme of work due to take place over the summer”.

Hull Truck Theatre

Janthi Mills-Ward, executive director at Hull Truck, said: “We are incredibly grateful to both the DCMS and Arts Council England to have been awarded emergency funding from round two of the Cultural Recovery Fund.

“We’re primarily going to use the grant to support the creation of new work, helping to rebuild audiences after a long period of closure. By enhancing the exciting programme of work that’s due to hit our stage this summer we’re going to reinvigorating our stages and performance spaces.

“The funding is also pivotal in re-connecting with our communities – identifying barriers to attendance and taking new and exciting projects directly out into our community.

“Our building has now been closed for over a year and we’re delighted at the prospect of welcoming audiences back over the coming months.

“The safety of our audiences and staff is paramount and we’re confident that we have everything in place to ensure that we’re operating under Covid-safe regulations when we are able to re-open.”

There are more than 2,700 recipients of grants announced today.

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."