Calling all researchers! Is there an element within your research topics that deals with an aspect of the British theatre which would make it eligible for a STR grant? It’s worth taking a look at their website to find out!
Topics they can consider include buildings, people, historical or contemporary concerns, theories and practices, and all kinds of performance arts, as long as there is a connection with theatre in Britain or British theatre people.
STR says “We invite all engaged in theatre research to apply – for example you may be an early career academic needing help with a particular piece of research, or an independent scholar digging up traces of local theatre or performers, in which case the Research Grants would be suitable for you, or a theatre practitioner engaged in practical research on an aspect of performance practice, in which case you might apply for one of our Practitioner Grants.”
Whichever of the two distinct types of grants might apply to your project, visit their website here for more details – and good luck!
Through National Lottery Project Grants, Arts Council England are working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to create more and better volunteering opportunities for young people and others who experience barriers to accessing high quality opportunities.
£4.6 million in government investment is being awarded to more than 160 community organisations across the country to support 7,800 new volunteering opportunities over the next two years as the government confirms the beneficiaries of the Volunteering Futures Fund, which was established in 2021.
Volunteering Futures will enable people to get involved in volunteering activities across the arts, heritage, museums, libraries, sport and physical activity, youth and other community settings.
Their aim is to create more and better volunteering opportunities for people who experience loneliness, who experience barriers to volunteering or live in areas where there are fewer volunteering opportunities.
The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is the UK’s leading social investor and helps communities find enterprising new uses for the old buildings they love.
In March, AHF announced new Transformational Project Grants, including three to support projects by leading arts organisations in England. The awards, which form part of AHF’s Transforming Places through Heritage programme, are funded by a £15 million grant from the UK Government through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. This will help to conserve and adapt unique historic buildings for new uses by community-led charities and social enterprises.
These awards were approved as part of funding for 15 projects across the UK, with funding offers totalling £1,615,100. You can find a full list of the projects supported here. The three arts projects awarded capital funding are detailed below.
The Ice House in Great Yarmouth is located on the riverside, a 19th-century prominent survivor of the herring fishing industry that once dominated the town. Out There Arts, an independent arts development charity, currently use the site to store festival equipment. With the support of a £350,000 grant, however, work can now begin to transform the Grade II-listed thatched Ice House into a National Centre for Arts and Circus, with facilities for circus training and teaching.
Exterior of the Ice House in Great Yarmouth, courtesy of Out There Arts.
Alice Billings House in Stratford, East London was built in 1905-6 to provide accommodation for firemen of the West Ham Fire Brigade. The site consists of two three-storey buildings, an adjoining shed built to house horse-drawn fire engines, and a central external courtyard. Project lead Creative Land Trust was established by the Mayor of London, Arts Council England, and Bloomberg Philanthropies to provide affordable workspace for the creative sector across London. They have been awarded a grant of £116,880 to support their project to convert Alice Billings House into 26 studios, which will be let at affordable rents to around 80 artists and makers. In addition, a gallery and exhibition space, community café, and public courtyard will be created. The AHF grant will contribute towards structural repairs to the listed north block building.
Artist’s impression of the north block of Alice Billings House in Stratford, credit to Purcell.
The Trinity Centre in Gateshead is a Victorian building, originally constructed as an extension of the adjoined Grade I-listed 13th-century chapel. By 1969, however, the extension was no longer needed, and that portion of the building was deconsecrated. Today, it is home to Gateway Studio, a dance and related arts charity. Due to the poor condition of the building, however, the organisation can currently only offer a limited programme of activities. An AHF grant of £250,000 will fund a series of repairs to the Trinity Centre. Once restored, the building will provide new and improved facilities for dance, related arts, and community engagement activities, including a community café, performance space, and rentable office space.
Gateway Studio dance class at the Trinity Centre, Gateshead, courtesy of Gateway Studio
Matthew Mckeague, Chief Executive Officer of the AHF, said:
“Historic buildings so often provide the unique DNA of places, and it’s not surprising that so many arts organisations are inspired by their architectural interest and drawn to the open, flexible spaces they can provide – and also to spaces on high streets and within town centres that help put these organisations at the centre of their communities. It is fantastic to see the imaginative and creative reuse projects we have been able to fund through the latest round of Transformational grants, as well as the other awards made to projects across the UK.”
Two more capital grants were also awarded through the Transforming Places through Heritage programme:
Heritage Lincolnshire, The Harlequin, Lincoln – £350,000
intoBodmin CIC, The Old Library, Bodmin – £150,000
To explore full listings of grant offers, please click here
Archive photo via British Library website with thanks
Do you know of any collections that are currently at risk and need preserving?
The British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme is now accepting preliminary applications for the next annual funding round – the deadline for submission of preliminary applications is Monday 15th November 2021 at 12 noon GMT. Full details of the application procedures and documentation are available on the EAP website.
The Programme has funded over 430 projects in 90 countries and has helped preserve manuscripts, rare printed books, newspapers and periodicals, audio and audio-visual materials, photographs and temple murals. The programme aims to digitise archives at risk of loss or decay and, where possible, to relocate the material to a safe local archival home. The digital copies are deposited with the local archival partners, and are all available for researchers to access freely through the British Library website.
This year, they are accepting applications through their online portal between 1st and 15th November. However, in the meantime, they are providing Word and PDF documents for applicants to perfect their preliminary applications before the online submission.
If you know of an archive in a region of the world were resources are limited, we really hope you will encourage them to apply. If you have any questions regarding the conditions of award or the application process, consult their website or contact them at endangeredarchives@bl.uk
Anyone with a theatre archive needing care and funding to survive, please ensure you apply!
Gary Donaldson, founder of Unrestricted Theatre, shares his thoughts about the health of our precious theatre buildings
London’s – and the UK’s- theatres have been uniquely silent for over a year now. Their gradual reawakening is something to be hugely thankful for.
In many of the countless discussions about theatre and its value in these troubled times, people initially- and rightly- pick up on the human costs of these closures – theatre staff, actors, musicians, technical staffs all thrown out of work, and the human cost has been undeniably high- as well as badly mismanaged by the current government.
What is often overlooked is the “health” of the bricks and mortar. Theatres do not just magically close and open one year later just as they were. Time does not stand still for our priceless theatrical magic boxes.
You can’t just lock the doors and expect them to look after themselves. These are most often historic buildings, and an irreplaceable part of our history and heritage, and they deserve to be cared for whatever the situation outside their doors.
Our theatres are often old, often delicate constructions which demand ongoing care and attention. Its worth bearing in mind that the majority of London’s theatres are over 100 years old. With a major disruption to the usage of a theatre, maintenance needs to continue unabated. Buildings still need to be heated and ventilated to stop problems with damp and decay. Even the most well-maintained buildings have an ongoing program of works to ensure that they remain in tip-top condition to receive both shows and audiences in a way which will respect all users of a theatre space.
The cost of maintaining our country’s theatrical jewels is not cheap. Cameron Mackintosh says that it costs him half a million a week to maintain his group of theatres. With no money coming in that needs deep pockets. Although I cannot comment on his business practices, one can understand that this comprises a pretty alarming balance sheet.
Lets not also forget that it’s not just the ticket money that has been lost. It’s the Restoration Levy too. Until March last year £1.50 on each ticket sold was put into a pool to maintain each theatre visited on that ticket. With over a year of no attendances, that’s a huge loss of maintenance income. How much, exactly?
Let’s take London’s West End’s last full year that it reported, when over 15.3 million tickets were sold to West End theatres, according to The Box Office Data Report 2019 . Multiply that by £1.50 and that’s more than £23million annually – money that has now been missing for over 15 months from an assumed income stream. And that money is needed- so when it’s not coming in, someone has to find that money- and it’s always the theatre owners. You could say “well, its their theatre, they aren’t hard up”. And I wouldn’t disagree with you. However, it’s important to remember that most of their income streams dried up, along with so many others, back in March 2020. And for theatre owners who are also producers, like Mackintosh and Lloyd Webber, much of their cash flow is tied up in ongoing deals at various stages of progress, many of which were postponed, others collapsed – its not easy. The sad reality is that Covid-19 has thrown an enormous spanner in the works of every part of our fragile theatre infrastructure.
As we slowly start to bring our theatres back into use, let’s be grateful for all the hard work which goes into making them safe and keeping them national treasures to be proud of.
