*** PRESS RELEASE *** 12.10.2020
Sound Gallery receives lifeline grant from Government’s Culture Recovery Fund
Sound Gallery CIC in Exeter has been awarded £77,300 as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future.
Sound Gallery CIC runs Sound Gallery Studios (recording and rehearsal studios in Exeter) and is one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support. £257 million of investment has been announced as part of the very first round of the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.
This grant will help Sound Gallery to continue to operate over the coming months as a social enterprise and as a professional recording studio facility in the cultural heart of the city. More specifically it will help sustain its social agenda and will help maintain its services and programmes for musicians, producers, arts organisations, film makers and arts organisations in these uncertain times. As part of this grant Sound Gallery CIC will also be launching 3 new exciting music projects: Virtual MainStage, SiMPTI Digital and Raptors which are aimed at helping musicians to continue to create new content and educating the next generation of aspiring producers and musicians.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:
“This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation. It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery. “These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country. This unprecedented investment in the arts is proof this government is here for culture, with further support to come in the days and weeks ahead so that the culture sector can bounce back strongly.”
Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:
“Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages. This life-changing funding will save thousands of cultural spaces loved by local communities and international audiences. Further funding is still to be announced and we are working hard to support our sector during these challenging times.”
Sound Gallery’s founder, creative director and musician, Jim GRICE Peters said:
“I am relieved to announce that our bid to the Culture Recovery Fund has been successful. This investment will go a long way to help sustain our organisation and support the studio, our social agenda and the services and programmes that we offer to musicians, fragile young people, arts organisations as well as to the music industry and our partners and colleagues at this challenging time. As a musician and recording artist, it still feels more important than ever to continue lobbying the government to support our local venues, artists and musicians and to recognise the importance of all who work professionally in the creative sector and to sing loudly of the integral emotional, spiritual, economic and human value of the Arts. There are still many out there who continue to need support and who are excluded. Thanks to all who pushed this through and to our team for the unfaltering and relentless work put in to secure support for the cause. Our thanks to Arts Council England and to Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for heading a call.”
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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 several bodies administering the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and unprecedented support package of £1.57 billion for the culture and heritage sector. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19