Art

Swansea creatives can bid for new council support of up to £1,500

Published

2 years ago

21st September 2021

Editor

Cultural organisations and self-employed creatives in Swansea’s arts and heritage sectors can apply for up to £1,500 to help them present their work to new audiences.

Swansea Council has launched the offer of support for locally-based arts, cultural and heritage organisations and freelance art, culture and heritage practitioners.

The total fund amounts to £50,000 and it’s designed to help the city out of the pandemic.

It will help organisations and individual freelancers as they look to bounce back from the difficulties of the past 18 months by helping to cover costs that would otherwise create unnecessary burdens. These may include costs such as hire fees, exhibition costs or transport for participants.

The Cultural Fund can offer assistance of up to £1,500 to support Swansea-based arts, cultural and heritage organisations and freelance art, culture and heritage practitioners to re-establish and strengthen their creative programmes. It can help support activities such as productions, performances, events and engagement programmes.

The support will be administered by officers in the council’s cultural services team.

Council cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: “We’re offering this new assistance to those in the cultural and heritage sectors as they continue to work hard in the aftermath of the pandemic.

“We know that with lost income and more pressure on audiences’ purses than ever, the costs of staging events or concerts will be daunting for some local groups. This is where we think we can help.

“Swansea’s cultural community is crucial to keeping our city strong and our residents fit and healthy.

“We’re doing all we can to help them – and others – reach their new goals.”

Last year the council facilitated a Welsh Government scheme to help freelance workers in the cultural and creative sectors through the pandemic. That funding – in the form of one-off £2,500 payments – supported applicants facing financial challenges as a result of Covid-19.

To support the recovery of the local economy from the pandemic the council, with the Regeneration Swansea partnership, has now developed an economic recovery plan for Swansea. Strong support is being given to the city’s tourism, leisure, events and hospitality sectors.

Those eligible for Cultural Fund support include those in the performing arts, visual arts, craft and design, combined arts, outdoor arts, creative writing, photography, digital arts and film-making, and heritage services.

The council is supporting businesses, organisations and individuals to build new resilience in the local economy. £20m has been set aside. The new support is part of this.

Cultural groups, heritage organisations and freelancers that don’t meet the criteria for the new scheme can contact the council for advice on other sources of funding.

Applications will be accepted from now until October 31, with the council aiming to make decisions swiftly.

Application forms are available by email from cultural.services@swansea.gov.uk.

(Lead image: Photo Burst / Pexels.com)