Support for arts and culture organisations as part of emergency pandemic fund Nearly half-a-million pounds in emergency funding has been granted by the […]By Waltham Forest Echo

Artillery’s finale event for its London Borough of Culture project, ‘Grandad’s Island: From Page to Pavement’ (credit James Robertshaw)

Support for arts and culture organisations as part of emergency pandemic fund

Nearly half-a-million pounds in emergency funding has been granted by the government to support local arts organisations in Waltham Forest.

In total across the UK last month, Arts Council England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport made 1,385 individual grants worth £257million, as part of the government’s £1.57billion Culture Recovery Fund set up to support arts organisations struggling to survive amid restrictions imposed because of the pandemic.

Locally, grants were made to Artillery (£68,803), the organisation behind E17 Arts Trail; Blackhorse Workshop (£50,000), a Walthamstow studio for local artists; Elijah & Skilliam (£55,000), a DJ duo from Leyton who run an independent record label; LVE Foundation (£169,500), a charity running projects for young people; Pishter Ltd (£89,495), a music promotion agency for people from central and eastern Europe; and Sink The Pink (£60,627), an LGBTQ performance group.

Artillery co-directors Laura Kerry and Morag McGuire said: “We’re thrilled the culture recovery fund is supporting the grassroots work we do. Our mission has always been to mobilise creativity in neighbourhoods.

“We know creative and cultural activity can build and cement communities. There has never been a more urgent time for communities to come together for mutual support. The means by which we do this has been threatened by the pandemic but we can already see how resilient and agile our local creative community has been, to adapt to meet these new challenges.

“As we plan our 2021 E17 Art Trail we are looking at how we can respond to the challenges we face. This funding from Arts Council England means we can survive as an organisation, nurture and provide opportunities, and grow our relationships.”

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