Arts Council grants: Sheffield Museums and Sheffield Theatres set for biggest share of £3million in city

Arts Council England revealed details of its plans for funding organisations for 2023-26, with 11 of the 990 getting money based in Sheffield, receiving allocations of between £50,000 and £1.3m, covering music, theatre, literature, and the visual arts.

The full list of funded organisations includes Sheffield Theatres Trust Ltd (£1,303,415), Sheffield Museums Trust, (£814,720), Site Gallery (£319,87), Utopia Theatre Limited (£300,000), Forced Entertainment Ltd (£254,091); PIPA (£200,000), Music in the Round (£145,594), Arts Catalyst (£132,392), Yorkshire Artscape Society Ltd (£73,192), And Other Stories Publishing CIC (£75,362), and AA2A Limited (£50,000). The figures for each are their annual grants over that period.

Dan Bates, chief executive of Sheffield Theatres, said: “Over the last year we have celebrated 50 years of the Crucible and Playhouse (formally the Studio) theatres with a bold and ambitious programme, and we’ve welcomed 350,000 audience members back through our doors since reopening. As we look ahead to the future, I am delighted that the Arts Council have recognised and supported our plans for the next three years, ensuring we can continue creating incredible productions for Sheffield, the country and beyond.”

Kim Streets, chief executive of Sheffield Museums Trust, said: “We’re hugely grateful to Arts Council England for their continued investment in Sheffield Museums. National Portfolio Organisation funding plays a vital role in supporting our work across the city’s museums and beyond. We’re looking forward to working collaboratively over the next three years to provide meaningful, inspiring experiences for people throughout the city and the wider region.”

She said funding for the charity, which runs Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Graves Gallery, Kelham Island Museum, Millennium Gallery, Shepherd Wheel Workshop and Weston Park Museum, will support work to develop compelling museum experiences with, by and for the people of Sheffield and visitors to the city.

Councillor Minesh Parekh, who sits on Sheffield City Council’s economic development and skills committee, said while the funding was incredibly welcome, he wished the culture secretary, Michelle Donelan, would do more to support smaller cultural organisations and spaces that are struggling with rising energy costs. “Everyone deserves to enjoy the benefits a thriving arts and culture sector brings, but recent Government decisions have made it even more precarious,” he said.