Sadiq launches £2.3m Culture at Risk Business Support Fund to support London’s creative and cultural industries at risk due to the impact of the coronavirusSupport will be given to grassroots music venues, LGBTQ+ venues, artist workspaces and independent cinemas across the capital
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Posted: 01/05/2020
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today launched a new
emergency £2.3m fund to support culture and creative industries at risk due to
the impact of the coronavirus.
The Mayor is working with
the Music Venue Trust, the LGBTQ+ Venues Forum, the Creative Land Trust and BFI
to help venues and artists across the capital through the new Culture at Risk
Business Support Fund.
He will provide £450,000 to
the Music Venue Trust to support up to 147 grassroots music venues and £225,000
to support up to 56 LGBTQ+ venues in partnership with the LGBTQ+ Venues Forum.
There is £1.5m to the Creative Land Trust to support thousands of tenants across 200
artist studios workspaces and £150,000 to the BFI to help up to 25 of London’s
treasured independent cinemas. Organisations set to benefit are those most at
risk of falling into administration and unable to benefit from Government
schemes. This will be supported by an investment from Bloomberg
Philanthropies.
The coronavirus is having a
significant impact on London’s arts scene and night time economy, with
countless shows, events and concerts scrapped or postponed, and venues having
to shut their doors and potentially face permanent closure. Many artists and
performers are also self-employed and unable to benefit from the Government’s
support programmes. Sadiq continues to call on the Government to do much more
to provide the support the sector needs to protect its future.
The culture and creative
industries and night time economy are incredibly important to London and will
be integral in its recovery after the coronavirus crisis. The culture and
creative industries are worth £52 billion to the capital’s economy a year and
account for one in six jobs. Grassroots venues and organisations have been the
foundation of this success, giving a stage for artists to develop their talents
and playing a key role in the night time economy, and the Mayor has worked hard
to support these industries and help stabilise the number of venues following a
decade of decline.THESE FUNDS CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE CULTURE AT RISK PAGE ON THE MAYOR OF LONDON WEBSITE HERE.
