This article highlights the importance of targeted funds for culture and heritage activities.
In the UK in winter 2021, emergency funding available for arts, culture and heritage was doubled to £60 million to tackle the impact of the Omicron variant. £60m would give crucial support to museums, cinemas, theatres and heritage across the country, with more time to submit applications to benefit as many of those affected as possible.
This funding recognised the importance of the winter period for the arts, heritage and creative sectors and will provide vital emergency grants, doubling the amount previously available in the last round of the Culture Recovery Fund.
UK Government funding through Arts Council England will also provide an immediate £1.5 million to support freelancers affected by the pandemic, as well as a further £1.35 million from the theatre sector. This will provide grants of £650,000 each directly to the Theatre Artists Fund, Help Musicians and £200,000 to one, Artists Information Company, a charity for visual artists which will distribute money to freelancers in the coming weeks.
In Europe, the EC has produce a Coronavirus response plan for the culture and creative organisations. For instance, the Creative Europe programme was adapted to the Covid situation in order to help artists, beneficiaries, and other participants in the programme to overcome the difficulties and uncertainties that resulted from measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Commission together with the European Education and Culture Executive Agency applied the maximum flexibility it could in the implementation of the programme, within the limits of the applicable legal framework. Projects that needed, have been adapted or amended in order to continue their activities.
Since 2021, a new Creative and Media programme has been launched with a budget of € 2.44 billion and new calls are being published. Find out more about the new European programme
The Synopsis project has created a fundraising module to support the training of those working in European cultural heritage. Find out more