Creative production company in Northampton awarded £125,000 grant for support through pandemic

A creative production company in Northampton has been awarded £125,000 in Government grants to support the arts through the pandemic.

Across the country, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and Arts Council England has announced that a further 588 cultural and creative organisations are to receive a share of £76 million as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

In Northamptonshire this £187,025 investment will help save two creative organisations, facing the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, to ensure they have a sustainable future and continue to bring joy to local communities and international audiences.

Belinda King Creative Productions in Northampton is an industry-leader in bringing quality productions to leisure and corporate events, including casting, choreography, costume design and music production. They work with choreographers, artists, dancers, singers and theatre support teams from across the country. This funding will help them cover overheads and achieve financial stability during this dormant period, in order to be able to resume operations when their clients return to service.

Acme Audio, which is based in Sywell, received £62,025. Acme Audio provides technical support to a wide range of events, including live music concerts, fashion shows and performances as well as community event - from Scout Gang Shows, to London Fashion Week and music festivals like Glastonbury and Cambridge Folk Festival and venues ranging from The Arts Theatre up to the Royal Albert Hall. This funding will enable the business to continue trading, supplying funds to retain staff and cover ongoing business overheads. In addition, it will also be used for staff training to enable the company to increase its skillset and its resilience.

The recipients are those that applied for grants of under £1 million in the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund. This funding will help organisations create work and performances, and plan for reopening.

The funding distributed today follows £257 million awarded to 1385 organisations on Monday. Further announcements on the funding administered by Arts Council England will follow soon; applicants for grants of over £1 million, and those that applied to the Repayable Finance programme, will be notified of their outcomes shortly.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “This is more vital funding to protect cultural gems across the country, save jobs and prepare the arts to bounce back. Through Arts Council England we are delivering the biggest ever investment in the arts in record time. Hundreds of millions of pounds are already making their way to thousands of organisations.

“These awards build on our commitment to be here for culture in every part of the country.”

Peter Knott, area director, Arts Council England said: “We’re delighted the Culture Recovery Fund has enabled support for a wide range of arts and cultural sector companies across Northamptonshire. This latest set of awards builds on those announced recently and will help more organisations to survive the next few months, ensuring that the cultural sector can bounce back after the crisis.

“The government’s package is hugely welcome, providing much of the sector with resources to remain in business through to the Spring. Well-loved community projects, theatres, galleries, museums, clubs, music venues, festivals, key cultural suppliers along with other creative spaces and projects have benefited. This is welcome news not only for those in receipt of the funding but also for communities in villages, towns and cities across the Midlands where this matters so much.

“We know that creativity, arts and culture benefit us in so many ways, having a positive impact on our wellbeing, bringing us together and making a significant contribution to the local and national economy – today’s announcements gives us a chance to continue that and contribute to the national recovery, post-Covid.”