Emergency funding for arts, culture and heritage doubled to £60 million

Emergency funding from Culture Recovery Fund increased by £30 million to help more organisations through the winter, announced today (23rd December 2021).

• Funding now totalling £60 million will give crucial support to museums, cinemas, theatres and heritage across the country, with more time to get applications in to benefit as many of those affected as possible
• Additional immediate support also announced for creative freelancers impacted by the pandemic over the Christmas period

An additional £30 million in emergency funding has been made available through the Culture Recovery Fund to support museums, cinemas, theatres and heritage organisations with the impact of the Omicron variant this winter.

Announced as part of the Chancellor’s £1 billion support package, this funding recognises how important the festive period is for the arts, heritage and creative sectors and will provide vital emergency grants, doubling the amount that was previously available in the latest round of the Culture Recovery Fund.

Now open for applications, emergency grants will safeguard local museums and heritage, independent cinemas and regional theatres so that they can continue to support jobs, contribute to the economy, and make sure everyone has access to culture and heritage on their doorstep.

The government is also extending the application window by a week until January 18 2022, to give more organisations a chance to apply to the fund and help protect even more jobs.

Government funding via Arts Council England will also provide an immediate £1.5 million to support freelancers affected by the pandemic, alongside a further £1.35 million contribution from the theatre sector. This will provide grants of £650,000 each directly to the Theatre Artists Fund, Help Musicians, and £200,000 to a-n, the Artists Information Company, a charity for visual artists which will distribute cash to freelancers over the coming weeks.

Click here to read more about this fund on gov.uk