This morning, Arts Council England published its decisions regarding funding for its Investment in National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) for the three years from 2023 – 2026.
We are pleased to announce that we have retained our funding and will continue as an NPO. We will receive £779,952 over three years to support our programme, which includes working with our community in Calderdale as well as productions of classic and new work performed in a diverse range of Northern voices.
We did not receive funding for our proposed programme to develop the next generation of voices from across the North, but we’re delighted that the partners we created the project with (Barnsley Civic, The Customs House and Blackpool Grand Theatre) were successful and we will explore with them how we continue working with them.
Artistic Director & CEO Laurie Sansom said:
“We are pleased to have received continued investment from Arts Council England. After 12 years of stand still grants for Broadsides, we were hoping to receive an uplift that would have helped secure our future as a mid-scale touring company and allowed us to develop our vision to reach more young people across the region. We will now seek to work with our partners to explore how we can still deliver part of this crucial project. We are still one of many cultural organisations who face an uncertain future particularly as touring has becomes ever more challenging, and look forward to hearing what further support there might be for this struggling part of the theatre ecology. We are most grateful to our Friends and audiences up and down the country who give us their fierce loyalty and support, and look forward to seeing them on the road when we tour Quality Street in 2023″.
While today’s announcement is positive for Northern Broadsides, some arts organisations around the country will be receiving less good news – we send our thoughts and love to those who must come to terms with great change today.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support the work of Northern Broadsides and although we all face tough times ahead, Arts Council England support will allow us to fight another day.
