More than half a million pounds has been given to Isle of Wight arts and cultural organisations to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic.
The money – which comes from the Culture Recovery Fund – will help five Isle of Wight organisations including Shanklin Theatre, Brading Roman Villa, Steve Ross Foundation for the Arts (Quay Arts and Ventnor Exchange), Spyder UK Ltd, and Shademakers UK Carnival Club to recover from the economic impact of the virus.
The Government intends the money to be used to protect jobs and allow organisations to begin to put on performances again.
Quay Arts, Visual Arts Manager, Georgia Newman said:
“We are absolutely thrilled to see our joint bid with Ventnor Exchange has been accepted! These are truly unprecedented times, the impact of the pandemic having severely hit our trading activities, (Steve Ross Foundation for the Arts), which supports the Quay Arts charity.
"This investment will ensure there is a safe place for arts and culture to not only survive, but to thrive on the Isle of Wight.”
Ventnor Exchange, Co-Director, Jack Whitewood said:
"This vital funding is transformative for Ventnor Exchange. After losing 75% of our income following months of closure and the cancellation of Ventnor Fringe, this now gives us hope.
"After months of firefighting, we can now focus all of our efforts and resources on supporting our community and helping to lead the cultural, social and economic recovery to come.”
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:
“The government is here for culture and we have worked around the clock to get this record investment out to the frontline.
“It will allow our wonderful theatres, museums, music venues and cultural organisations to survive this crisis and start putting on performances again - protecting jobs and creating new work for freelancers.
“This is just the start - with hundreds of millions pounds more on the way for cultural organisations of all sizes that still need our help.”
Welcoming the news, Island MP Bob Seely said:
“I’m glad this money has come forward and that the Isle of Wight is getting its share.
“We need to secure a future for our entertainment venues and providers so that we don’t lose them following the pandemic.”
This latest announcement will be followed by further allocations of grants and loans to successful applicants to the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund in the coming days and weeks.
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