Arts Council England has announced the 39 projects to join its ‘Creative People and Places’ National Portfolio for 2022-25.
Over the next three years it will invest a total of £38.3m to projects across the country, with the goal to allow more communities to better access the creativity and culture in their local area.
A total of 39 Creative People and Places projects, 11 of which are new, will be supported covering 56 local authority areas. The latest committed capital takes the total investment to £108m since the programmes inception in 2012.
Of the 39 projects, seventeen are in the North, eight are in the Midlands, six are in London, nine are in the South East and two are in the South West.
Each of the projects announced are backed by a series of project partners, which include local councils, arts organisations, and museums.
Projects funded in the North include East Durham Creates, which counts Beamish Museum among its project partners.
The project is described as a champion of inclusive grassroots-led, place-based arts engagement, which will explore the value of culture by and for post-industrial communities, and the benefits of working in an embedded way with non-arts partners.
Also in the North, Show Town Museum is among project partners for the ‘LeftCoast’ project in Blackpool and Wyre. This project will use this funding to elevate partnership programmes across the town, using the arts to “imaginatively partner with the constantly shifting needs of the town.” LeftCoast is also funded to deliver activity in Wyre until November 2022.
In the Midlands, the Creative Black Country project includes the Black Country Living Museum (BCLM) as a partner. The project aims to make the most of local talent, working with people to discover, explore and grow an exciting and meaningful programme of arts activity. Its newly announced investment will build on its learning from the past seven years for this new phase of work as a combined CPP covering the whole Black Country region – Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
In the South East, the ‘Market Place’ project in Fenland and Forest Heath will include project partner the Association of Suffolk Museums.
MarketPlace will build on previous CPP phases, and use ACE’s Let’s Create Strategy, to empower communities to “sow their ideas; grow their skills, networks and knowledge and showcase relevant and exciting arts and culture, which inspires people to engage further”.
ACE has also announced that it will support two other projects outside of the National Portfolio, in Hull and South East Northumberland.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said: “These projects change villages, towns and cities for the better, helping people to lead happier, healthier lives. Our new investment means more people in more places across England will benefit from that magical spark of possibility, innovation and invention that only happens when culture and creativity becomes part of their daily lives.”
