Bristol’s pandemic-hit arts and cultural organisations are set to benefit from more than £2.5m of funding from the city council over the next four years.
A new Cultural Investment Programme has been launched to provide grants and support to festivals, events, artists and the people they work with. 
Starting in 2023, it will distribute £2,544,000 through three types of grant, which are targeted particularly at smaller organisation.
The council said previous cultural funding rounds had been reviewed and improved following feedback from those working in the sector.
Deputy Mayor Craig Cheney said following an uncertain couple of years for the creative industries, it was more important than ever to continue to support arts and cultural activity in the city.
“Bristol’s artists and cultural organisations have a local and global reputation for creativity and imagination,” he said.
“The three different types of grant are designed to be a ladder into funding for less experienced grant seekers from across the city, with the potential for them to grow and apply for longer term and wider support as they develop.
“We especially want to reach smaller organisations and freelancers who have been particularly hard-hit during the pandemic.”
In an increasingly young and diverse city, the Cultural Investment Programme aims to support and invest in organisations and enterprises that are led by, or benefit, under-represented groups and help grow a green and sustainable cultural economy.
The three grants are Openness, which is over a four-year period, Imagination (two years) and Originators (one year).
Paraorchestra, the Bristol-based integrated orchestra of professional disabled and non-disabled musicians, was awarded funding through the Imagination grant last year.
Its chief executive Jonathan Harper said: “The grant funding received from Bristol City Council since 2019 has been a vital investment in Paraorchestra’s growth as a Bristol organisation and as a Bristol employer.
“It has enabled us to create artistic work showcasing exceptional musicianship that embeds disabled artists and creatives at the heart of the process.
“It has helped us shape events presented in a range of places across the city – not just in the city centre alongside partners such as Bristol Beacon, but out into the suburbs of Knowle West – presenting international-quality work directly to audiences local to this area.
“I am immensely grateful to Bristol City Council for seeing the potential in us and investing in what I believe is a shared success for our organisation and for the city.”
Jaswinder Singh, director of Asian Arts Agency, which was awarded funding through an Openness grant in 2018 said: “The Cultural Investment Programme is very important for Bristol’s arts and culture scene.
“It enables us to present an inspiring arts events for Bristol audiences and communities and work with local artists. It also enables us to generate funding from external sources to raise Bristol’s profile at an international level.”
Jess Wright from the Zion Community Centre, which was awarded an Originators grant last year, said funding from the programme was essential for the creation and programming of events such as its People’s Museum.
“Our Originators grant gave us the financial ability to plan the exhibition and enabled us to forge a partnership with M Shed.
This exhibition showcased the collections of residents in BS13, exploring the stories behind these very personal exhibits and bringing them to attention of the city.
“Without the programme, smaller venues and innovative projects would often get forgotten, which would have a disastrous impact on the city as a whole.”
The Cultural Investment Programme 2023 – 2027 round will open for applications to the Openness and Imagination funds next March. The Originators 2022-23 fund opened this week.
This fund accepts applications for grants of between £500 and £5,000 and supports Bristol-based individuals and organisations to deliver arts and culture events and activities in the city from May 2022 to April 2023.
Grant-seekers can find out more information about the Originators fund online and through advice sessions in January.
To find out more about the Cultural Investment Programme, click here
Top photo: Paraorchestra’s SMOOSH! Knowle West. Presented in partnership with Filwood Community Centre © Paul Blakemore
