The Arts and cultural leaders across the UK have welcomed a £1.57bn UK Government support package aimed at protecting the future of Britain’s museums, galleries and theatres.
The package comes after some of the UK theatres, which are not yet able to stage live performances, have closed down, making their staff redundant.
The £1.57bn recovery package announced by the government. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the package would “help safeguard the sector for future generations, ensuring art groups and venues across the UK can stay afloat and support their staff whilst their doors remain closed and curtains remain down.” Heritage sites, independent cinemas and music venues are also eligible for the emergency grants and loans that have been announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Samir Bhamra, the Artistic Director of Phizzical, the Creative Director of the UK Asian Film Festival and the 2021 Senior Producer at Belgrade Theatre working on the 2021 UK City of Culture programme, spoke exclusively to Asian Voice about this move.
The rescue package of £1.15bn that brings much needed relief to the UK’s art and heritage sector, is an ambitious investment that covers loans, grants, support for England’s national cultural heritage, devolved administration and more. Bhamra said, “Theatres and the wider live performance sector have been amongst the worst hit by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, and this pledge from Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden and Chancellor Rishi Sunak will help address the huge uncertainty we have been facing. We are grateful that our concerns have been heard and we look forward to further clarity on how the funds will be distributed over the coming weeks.”
According to Bhamra, the Arts Council has already bravely supported artists and companies with almost £65million with an incredible focus on diversity. £13.1 million of the funding has been made to Black and minority ethnic individuals and Black and minority ethnic-led organisations. “The speed at which they have adapted, processed and delivered this support has enabled many of us to reach and engage with all communities,” he said.
“As the Artistic Director of Phizzical, an Asian theatre company, we have been running a weekly Antakshari over Zoom to make sure that communities feel positive and are socially connected. We have also been running a weekly script development group supporting new, emerging and established writers to create and test new work. Through this process, actors are able to practice and maintain their craft so that when our industries resume, our skills remain polished,” he added.
Bhamra shared that the theatre has consciously made an effort to diversify its leadership artistically to make sure all communities are represented. Belgrade Theatre won the Best Diversity Award in 2016, and it’s now pushing for change in the entire sector. “A key part of the programme we are creating will ensure Asian artists and communities are involved and remain part of our family,” he said.
As performing artists, freelance community members, industry leaders and cultural institutions all are in the queue to receive some relief from this promising package. We asked him whether there is any knowhow among the artists on the process of procuring help from this package. Samir said, “Details of how the funds will be distributed will emerge in the coming weeks. At the Belgrade Theatre, we are already playing our part to ensure freelancers and artists are supported. Examples include, the digital podcasts the three Co-Artistic Directors of our 2021 programme are making support freelancers. We are also supporting Arran Pallan, a bright recent graduate through the Freelance Taskforce.”
Bhamra has an interesting body of work to deal with linguistic diversity within the community. According to him, details of this huge relief package will support many communities e.g. Belgrade Theatre’s 2021 Co-Artistic Director Balisha Karra has been doing extensive workshops with South Asian women in Foleshill in Coventry. “We run conversation cafes and work with an extensive range of partners and freelancers to make sure the arts are accessible to everyone. The arts are more than the glitzy sparkling shows that the West End is associated with. Many regional theatres like the Belgrade are also part of the Theatre of Sanctuary network. This means we work with new migrant communities who have made the UK their home. The work freelance artists and theatres do to engage with them, help them settle into their new environments, create opportunities to showcase their arts so that we can learn about their cultures and experiences and share ours.”
However, he also added, “These communities naturally need more support during this global pandemic. They may access news in languages they are comfortable in from their country, but because each country responds differently, there is room for misinterpretation. I know this because the communities we engage with through the projects we are doing, have identified the isolation, anxiety and worry that people across four continents have. Asians speak a myriad of languages and the government has been slow, but they are doing their best to respond to a pandemic that we are all learning about.”
When asked Samir his purview of the evolution and future of arts in the post Covid-19 world, he explained, “The pandemic has created a moment for all of us to stop, reflect, discard and re-imagine. There have been unfortunate moments where some theatres have had to close down and staff have been made redundant. But I am an optimist and in challenges, we all look for new opportunities. The way we work has already changed. The Belgrade Theatre is conducting more research into how we widen our reach and exploring digital possibilities which will transform our business model. They cannot replace the live experience though. Some companies are putting on Drive In shows for example, the musical Six, or the UK Asian Film Festival is presenting Drive In cinema screenings. My company Phizzical is taking time to listen more to the communities we work with and responding to their needs by creating artistic interventions that promote positive mental wellbeing and instil resilience.”
What does the UK Government support package include?
- A £1.15bn support pot for cultural organisations in England, consisting of £270m in loans and £880m in grants.
- £100m of targeted support for England’s national cultural institutions and English Heritage.
- £120m of capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England paused because of the pandemic.
- Extra money for devolved administrations, with £97m for Scotland, £59m for Wales and £33m for Northern Ireland.
