LONDON.-Arts Council England, East Midlands announces its investment plan of more than £34 million to theatres, galleries and other arts organisations in the region over the next three years. In total, 61 organisations across the East Midlands will be regularly funding by Arts Council England from April 2008 to March 2011. This is an increase of £5 million into the region for arts compared to the previous three years. It will provide exciting new arts opportunities and experiences for all East Midlands communities and give local artists more opportunity to explore and develop their talent.

This means that more than £12.2 million will be invested into galleries, theatre, dance and arts organisations across Nottingham and the county. This is an increase of over £3 million compared to the previous round of funding for 2005/08.

The money will be invested in 14 organisations across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, including two new organisations, and eight more receiving increases above inflation.

The biggest increase in investment for Nottingham is in the visual arts sector, where the city will soon host two newly-built galleries, CCAN and The New Art Exchange. Nottingham will also be home to Cultivate, a brand-new development agency that helps arts organisations run more successfully.

A new writers’ agency has also been created. This will help support creative authors, attract new audiences for their work and raise the profile of modern literature in a county already famed for its literary heroes, such as Byron, Alan Sillitoe and DH Lawrence.

The rural communities of Nottinghamshire will also benefit from increased investment. This means that people living in remote areas will have more opportunities to see high quality performing arts taking place within their own communities.

Laura Dyer, Executive Director of Arts Council England, East Midlands, says: ‘Today’s news means that Nottingham is fast becoming a vibrant city of arts and culture, and our increased investment reflects this. Guaranteed funding enables organisations to develop a strategic business plan, increase their audiences and continue to make high quality work that people want to see.

‘Successful, thriving arts organisations bring significant benefits to local communities, and this increase in investment will help improve the economic, social and environmental life of the area. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is becoming a better place to live, work and visit, and people will have more opportunities than ever to experience top quality arts and culture.’

The two new organisations are:

Cultivate has been set up following extensive consultation across the East Midlands’ cultural sector. Based in Nottingham, it works with cultural organisations of all sizes to maximise their potential, stimulate growth and enable them to become more successful so that people in the East Midlands can enjoy a vibrant and thriving cultural sector. The investment of £523,895 over three years will fund Cultivate to deliver support and training so that cultural organisations across the region can develop their audiences and become successful providers of arts and culture for everyone to enjoy.

My Word - Writing East Midlands is a new agency based in West Bridgford that aims to develop the careers of writers and attract new audiences to their work. It will be the only Arts Council regularly funded literature organisation in the region. The funding of £309,655 will help provide training, support and marketing resources.