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Arts Council England has made the first awards from its £40 million Sustain fund for organisations under pressure as a result of the recession.

The first batch of awards are worth just under £4 million and will help 10 arts organisations maintain artistic excellence during the economic downturn.

The successful applicants include music, dance, theatre, visual arts and combined arts organisations in the East Midlands, West Midlands, the South East and London. The awards include:

• The Ikon Gallery, Birmingham – £116,000
• Dance Consortium, Birmingham – £104,000
• Nottingham Playhouse – £362,600
• South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell – £114,000
• English National Opera, London – £750,000

All awards from the Sustain fund are one-off and are made to cover the period 2009 – 2011.

Further details of the awards are published on the Arts Council England web site here. More awards will be announced in mid August and in early September.

Sustain was launched on 1 June 2009 as an open application fund of £40 million specifically for arts organisations suffering as a result of the recession. A total of 87 applications have been received to date.

Applications currently under consideration request £36 million. As with applications already considered, some of these may be approved in full, or a larger amount awarded; others may be approved only in part, or rejected.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive of Arts Council England said:

“The aim of Sustain is to keep excellence, innovation and ambition alive for artists and arts organisations, drawing on lessons from previous recessions.

“The number of applications to the fund illustrates how this recession is challenging the capacity of our arts organisations to continue to deliver the bold, ground breaking and excellent art that audiences demand.

“The creative economy is the fastest growing part of our national economy, so it is no fond thought that arts organisations should see themselves as a key part of this country’s recovery from recession. However, the mixed economy in which they live means they need a balance of proper support in order to fulfil that potential.

“As a finite fund Sustain cannot provide the whole solution – that comes only with continued levels of public and private investment in the arts – but it does offer a stitch in time to help excellence flourish.”

Sustain is one of a number of measures Arts Council England is taking to help artists and arts organisations counter the effects of the recession and play an active part in economic recovery. Find out more here.

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1. For more information on Arts Council England’s action on the recession, including Sustain, go to http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/actiononrecession

2. Sustain awards grants from £75,000 to £3 million over two years, 2009/10 and 2010/11. Any arts organisation can apply but priority is given to those which are seen as vital to the Arts Council achieving its mission of Great art for everyone.

3. Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives.

As the national development agency for the arts, we support a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts.

Great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better.

Between 2008 and 2011, we will invest £1.3 billion of public money from government and a further £0.3 billion from the National Lottery to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk