“The government’s allocation of £257m in funds to support arts organizations and venues has been welcomed as a gamechanger for struggling venues, but there have been calls for urgent support for freelancers and those who missed out on grants,” writes Lanre Bakare in Tuesday’s (10/13) Guardian (U.K.). “On Monday the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed the 1,385 arts organizations across England that had been successful in their applications for funds designed to secure venues and arts organizations until April 2021. John Gilhooly, the artistic director of Wigmore [Concert] Hall, which received £1m one of the largest grants on offer, said he was thankful for the money but the government still needed to work out ‘how the arts operate’ while ensuring arts workers do not fall through the cracks…. Other grant recipients include The Clapham Grand (£300,000), Bradford’s Kala Sangam (£123,000), the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (£843,000).… The [nonprofit] Music Venues Trust (MVT) said about 90% of grassroots music venues … were given grants. ‘We’re looking at a really incredibly positive major intervention by government that’s going to have massive impact on the grassroots sector,’ said Mark Davyd, the MVT chief executive.”
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