March 13, 2018 The Edge

The Edge Awarded Manchester City Council Cultural Partnership Grant!

Edge Theatre Chorlton Manchester
Photo: Expressive Edge in ‘Murder in Paradise’ (2018). Photo by: Jim Ross Photography

 

We are delighted to share the fantastic news that we are one of 15 Manchester based cultural organisations to receive a Manchester Cultural Partnership Agreement grant. We have been awarded the grant in previous years and are delighted to remain on the list of organisations receiving this support.

Grants totalling £1.1m over the next four years from April have been awarded to fifteen different arts organisations based in Manchester that between them deliver an extensive range of cultural activities and opportunities both for local people and a wider audience.

The Cultural Partnership Agreement grants are aimed at helping with organisations’ core running costs to enable them to continue their work with different communities in the city.  Arts organisations had to bid for a share of the cash set aside by the council for the grants and each application was judged on its merits against a defined set of criteria to decide on successful bids.

The funding has been awarded to organisations that have a strong offer and track record of delivering cultural opportunities for people of all ages, experiences and backgrounds.

Awards have been made across a wide range of art forms to reflect the broadest possible range of cultural opportunities.  Visual arts, music, theatre, dance, craft, museums, and heritage organisations are all represented amongst the organisations that have received grant funding.

Five of the organisations receiving a grant will be doing so for the first time this year. 

The creative industry sector is considered to be one of the fastest growing in the UK accounting for over 5% of the UK economy and employing 2 million people.  Latest Government estimates suggest the creative industries are now worth around £91.8bn GVA to the UK  and that the creative economy employs one in every 11 working people. 

In 2016/17 Manchester’s cultural organisations generated economic impact of an estimated £134.2 million in Gross Value Added, through employment, contracts and attracting visitors to the city. They reached 4 million people as audience members during 2016/17 through 11,066 productions and commissions and collectively delivered some activity in every ward of the city (Source: MCC Cultural Impact Survey 2016/17, based on responses of 39 cultural organisations).

This latest round of Cultural Partnership grant awards by the Council reflects the growing recognition locally and nationally of the importance of culture and the arts, both to individuals and also to the life of a city. 

Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure, Manchester City Council, said:

“Manchester has a long and proud tradition of supporting culture and the arts, and for a very good reason.  Not only do the arts provide entertainment and enrich lives, investing in them also clearly makes sound economic sense.

 “We want everyone in Manchester to benefit from the fantastic cultural opportunities on our doorstep whether that is as a participant learning valuable skills along the way, or as an audience member  trying something new for the first time and perhaps having their eyes opened to a new way of thinking and seeing.  

 “We’re determined to further increase participation in the arts and our cultural partnership grants go some way towards ensuring this.”


A huge congratulations to the other organisations that will receive grant funding over the next four years:

Brighter Sound
Castlefield Gallery
Community Arts North West
Contact
Manchester Camerata
Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Manchester Histories
Manchester Jewish Museum
The Edge
Venture Arts
Company Chameleon
Quarantine
Reform Radio
Streetwise Opera
The Men’s Room