London,
10
March
2017
|
16:27
Europe/London

City fund backing cultural projects and events in the Square Mile announces first grants of new programme

Eight London organisations are the first to receive funding from the Central Grants Programme, a new grants scheme supporting community, cultural, environmental, educational and employment projects in the Square Mile and beyond.

This round of grants from the fund, run by the City of London Corporation, focussed on cultural projects with funding totalling £47,332.

The funding went to a range or projects, from a unique Easter performance about the resurrection of Christ taking place at St Paul’s Cathedral to the expansion of a family festival offering architecturally inspired activities and workshops in the Square Mile.

The City of London is one of the great cultural hubs of the capital, attracting over 6.3 million people from around the world every year, with a wealth of things to see and do and a vibrant mix of artistic activity. During 2015/2016 there were 3,910 events across the City.

The City Corporation is one of the UK’s major funders of culture and heritage and directly supports a range of institutions and activities in these fields. It invests £80m every year in heritage and cultural activities of all kinds and is the country’s biggest funder of culture after the Government, the BBC and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Through the Central Grants Programme’s “Inspiring London through culture” theme, the City of London Corporation will fund a wide range of organisations, large and small, which enrich the Square Mile’s cultural offer and which need extra support or sponsorship to help initiatives to develop.

Organisations which received a cultural grant include Commission4Mission, which received a £7,500 grant for an Easter art programme including the premiere of video-artist Mark Dean’s piece Stations of the Resurrection and Lizzi Kew-Ross & Co’s Being Here performance at St Paul’s Cathedral.

London SymphonyOrchestra Limited also received £7,500 to fund an interactive video installation in City locations designed to engage new audiences in the London Symphony Orchestra’s (LSO) 10-day ‘This is Rattle’ celebration.

Nick Bodger, Head of Cultural and Visitor Development at the City of London Corporation, said:

“We are delighted to be able to support such exciting projects taking place across the City.

“Culture enriches us all; unlocking imagination, creativity and innovation. We want to ensure that we have the widest and most diverse range of events and attractions on offer in the City for visitors, workers and residents, to keep the Square Mile as the creative heart of a world-leading city of culture.”

Speaking about the grant awarded to Commission4Mission, Lucy Newman Cleeve, Project Curator, commented:

"We're delighted that the City of London Corporation has been able to support this video and dance event at St Paul's Cathedral. Christopher Wren designed his churches to be ‘auditories’ in which everyone present could see, hear and feel themselves part of the congregation, and the audience is an integral part of this event.

“It is fitting that the project has been supported and incubated here before ultimately touring to other regions and venues, demonstrating that the City of London is a place where artistic innovation can flourish."

Karen Cardy, LSO Director of Marketing and Communications, added:

“The LSO is delighted to have received this Inspiring London through Culture grant from the City of London Corporation, which will allow us to take an interactive exhibit to various public spaces across the Square Mile, allowing anyone to dip their toe into the world of conducting, inspired by LSO Music Director Designate Sir Simon Rattle.

“Using motion-capture technology, everyone will have the opportunity to enter the LSO’s sound-world and make the Orchestra’s music flow with their movements. Launching at the same time as Sir Simon Rattle’s inaugural concerts with the LSO as its new Music Director, as part of This is Rattle, this is just one of the many ways people across the City, indeed across London and much farther afield, can experience and be involved in extraordinary music-making.”

ENDS

Further interview opportunities available on request.

More images available upon request.

Notes to editors:

Full list of grants

Albert & Friends Instant Circus received £1,417 to support Youth Circus performances in the City’s outdoor spaces over one day in July, as part of the International Youth Circus Festival.

City Music Foundation has received a £2,915 grant to support the staging cost and musician fees at the annual City Beerfest in Guildhall Yard.

Commission4Misson has received a £7,500 grant towards the premiere of Mark Dean’s video Stations of the Resurrection and Lizzi Kew-Ross & Co’s Being Here performance at St Paul’s cathedral.

Open Audio Ltd has received a grant of £7,500 to support an immersive open-air, surround-sound composition entitled House of Sound that will be performed across the City during the Open House weekend, in September 2017.

Open City Architecture has received a grant of £7,200 to deliver A City for All, an initiative that will engage five schools in the build- up to the Archikids Festival.

Stagetext has received a grant of £6,800 to provide access for deaf, defended and hard of hearing people in London’s Theatres.

Thames Festival Trust has received a grant for £10,000 to support the Working River programme which will deliver a Poets on Boats project and other work with schools.

Voces Cantabiles Music has received a grant of £4,000 to support a singing workshop and concert with schoolchildren from Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

About the City of London Corporation:

The City of London Corporation provides local government and policing services for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, the 'Square Mile'. In addition, the City Corporation has three roles:

We support London’s communities by working in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on economic regeneration, education and skills. In addition, the City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, makes grants of around £20 million annually to tackle disadvantage across London.

We also help look after key London heritage and green spaces including Tower Bridge, the Museum of London, Barbican Arts Centre, City gardens, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and important commons in London.

We also support and promote the ‘City’ as a world-leading financial and business hub, with outward and inward business delegations, high-profile civic events and research-driven policies, all reflecting a long-term approach.

See www.cityoflondon.gov.uk for more details.