Theatre Royal Bath relaunches THE CREATIVE FUND for 2020, a unique and innovative Arts funding programme for the South West.
The Theatre Royal Bath has today (Thursday 9 January) announced that the CREATIVE FUND, offering grants to arts organisations in Bath and the surrounding areas, will return for 2020. The Creative Fund allows organisations to apply to the Theatre Royal for grants to support projects in ALL forms of the arts.
THE CREATIVE FUND originally between 2015 & 2017, and over the two years, distributed almost £90,000 to a variety of arts organisations, community groups, charities and schools working with the arts. The projects supported ranged from supporting the development of performance spaces and music and art studios, to projects with local artists, hospital patients and disadvantaged children, to providing equipment for organisations and charities including AgeUK and the Golden Oldies. For 2020, the Fund has £35,000 to distribute between the successful applicants.
Chair of the CREATIVE FUND committee, Mel Macer stated “The purpose of the Fund is broadly to support the enrichment of local culture by offering financial support to innovative creative projects happening within a 20 mile radius of the Theatre Royal Bath; and the Fund construes ‘arts’ broadly so we’ll consider projects involving theatre, dance, music, comedy, literature, sculpture, painting and the visual arts, including street performances. The Theatre Royal Bath has created, transferred to the West End and toured successful productions nationally and internationally for some years, enabling us now to assist local arts and educational organisations. The Creative Fund has helped arts development in the Bath area in a unique and innovative way, and we’re delighted to be able to offer this again over the coming months. We believe that no other theatre in the UK is able to offer financial assistance to local organisations and we are very proud to be able to help in this way. We’re looking forward to being inundated with excellent ideas from myriad local arts organisations”
Further information, including guidelines for applications can be found on the Theatre Royal Bath website – www.theatreroyal.org.uk/creative-fund – and applications will be accepted up to the deadline of 5pm on Friday 28th February. The Creative Fund Co-ordinator will be available throughout the application process to support applications and offer advice where needed. They will work with organisations throughout the process, as well as assessing the end results of the successful projects.
The Creative Fund committee will draw up a shortlist, from which the successful applicants will be chosen and announced later in the Spring. The grants given will be for projects taking place in 2020, and the Creative Fund Co-ordinator will continue to work with the successful applicants to monitor the progress of the projects.
The Creative Fund has been established through the success of Theatre Royal Bath Productions, which has toured shows and plays around the country and into the West End to great acclaim for more than eighteen years, with major recent successes including The Price starring David Suchet, and Switzerland, starring Phyllis Logan, which both transferred to the West End following the 2018 Summer Season, and Blithe Spirit starring Jennifer Saunders, which will run in the West End in Spring 2020.
Full details, including application pack and guidelines for applications can be found online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk/creative-fund
For more information, contact the Creative Fund Co-Ordinator Graeme Savage at [email protected] or call 01225 823460.