Southampton’s Culture Trust has been awarded National Lottery Place Partnership Funding of £1.57m by Arts Council England (ACE) to support Southampton’s ambition to become a leading centre for culture in the UK.
The Trust will use this latest funding to forge ahead with a wide-ranging programme aimed at developing culture, festivals, events and tourism.
As a legacy of the bid to become City of Culture 2025, the Trust will bring the community together, strengthening partnerships and contributing to the transformation of Southampton and the region. The grant has been hailed as the latest vote of confidence in the city, following ACE’s commitment last year to invest an additional £11.5m as part of its National Portfolio Organisations, including our own Turner Sims and John Hansard Gallery, over the next three years to support the city’s culture and creativity sector.
Our University is a proud city partner of Southampton Culture Trust and Louise Coysh, Associate Director Arts & Culture, said “This is such incredible news for Southampton and the result of hard work from Southampton Culture Trust, along with so many committed individuals and organisations. Time to realise our cultural ambitions, Southampton!”
Claire Whitaker, Chief Executive of the Trust, said “This latest vote of confidence from Arts Council England sees our city being rewarded for placing culture at the heart of its vision for opportunity and growth.
“Our first event is a major one-day conference which is free to delegates and will bring the city’s cultural sector back together. We’ve put together a strong programme and I would urge everyone who has an interest in our community and the cultural, creative industries, tourism and destination sectors, to come along.”
The conference will be held at MAST Mayflower Studios on Thursday 9 February, and you can book your space now.
