Oxford City Council has opened a Culture Fund – grant funding pot – to help boost the city’s cultural projects. The Culture Fund, which awards grants from £500 to £1,000 to cultural organisations and artists in Oxford, opened for its first round for applications this week.
The Culture Fund
The fund was created to provide cultural groups with the ability to leverage income from other funding sources. Over the past year, the fund has awarded £29,247 to successful applicants, who have used this to secure £319,446 in cash and £113,196 in in-kind contributions.
The fund supported 42 projects over the past year, including:
- £1,000 to the Orchestra of St John to provide hospital patients with live music and performances.
- £1,000 to ArtWeeks to enable 950 artists to exhibit and generate income as a part of the organisation’s yearly art festival.
- £1,000 to Tangled Webb for its Sleeping Beauty project. The group has partnered with the Florence Park Players to engage with schools, community groups, artists, care home residents and local community members to work together on a virtual exhibition that reworks the sleeping beauty fairy tale.
Since 2012, the Culture Fund has enabled the delivery of 413 exhibitions and performances, 215 participatory sessions and has engaged 72,000 people.
Making an application
The Culture Fund’s first round will be open to applications until 7 April and subsequent rounds will open later in the year. Cultural organisations and artists must show how their project will benefit the people of Oxford through cultural activity or development.
Organisations already receiving core funding from the Council are not eligible to apply. Funding candidates will be informed of the outcome of their application by 23 April. For more information and to apply, visit the Culture Fund web page.
Councillor Mary Clarkson, Cabinet Member for City Centre, Covered Market and Culture said, “I am delighted that we can continue to support artists and community organisations with the Culture Fund this year. I know that, given the impact the pandemic has had on the cultural sector, this funding will be welcome support and a great way to re-engage the community in the arts. I look forward to seeing what projects can be delivered this year.”
