Arts Council launches Art in Empty Spaces initiative
Grants offered to turn vacant spaces into creative places
Art in empty spaces is a £500,000 Arts Council England initiative to help artists and arts organisations turn vacant high street shops into vibrant artistic places and is now open for applications.
Individuals and organisations are invited to apply for grants to support artistic activity that transforms empty retail units into creative spaces – anything from an art gallery to recording studios or family arts workshops – which the whole community can enjoy.
The programme, Art in empty spaces, is being run in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)’s scheme Looking after our town centres, which is investing £3 million to reinvigorate ailing town centres during the recession.
Art in empty spaces has been established to help artists and arts organisations carry out artistic activities in vacant premises made available to them through the DCLG scheme. The initiative is part of Arts Council England’s response to the effects of the recession on the arts and is funded with an additional £500,000 of National Lottery funds available through our Grants for the arts programme. The money is intended to enable artists to connect their work with even more people in fresh and imaginative ways, despite the current tough economic climate.
Priority will be given to projects that are in receipt of confirmed DCLG funding and where the activity begins within three months of a grant being awarded. They are keen to support the most sustainable projects and those that will have the most impact. Arts Council England believe these are likely to be the ones where strong local partnerships are in place and encourage the temporary use of vacant spaces for the arts where it leads to a longer-term solution for integrating artists into a development, a regeneration scheme or a town centre, and where the presence of artists underpins and contributes to local strategies and arts development.
Arts Council England will accept Grants for the arts applications for Art in empty spaces from artists in any location in England but priority will be given to those who have received partnership funding from one the 57 DCLG selected local authority areas. View a list of these areas on the DCLG website
Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said: ‘The arts offer escape and comfort in tough times and they have the power to play a key role in our recovery from recession. Art in empty spaces is a wonderful way for artists to connect with even more people in unexpected places and to turn the depressing sight of another empty shop into an encounter with something different.’
Download the guidance notes & how to apply
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