Northumberland to receive £3.8m investment from Arts Council England

It includes increased support to Woodhorn Charitable Trust which will receive just over £1 million from 2023 to 2026 to help sustain its work running Woodhorn and other museums in Berwick, Morpeth and Hexham.

The Maltings in Berwick will get over £538,000 across three years to support its varied programme of work, while additional funding is earmarked for Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival.

There will be new investment totalling £519,000 for Headway Arts, based in Blyth, and theatre company Mortal Fools, which has a presence in Ashington and Prudhoe.

There is also continued support for November Club, based in Morpeth, which has a reputation for innovative theatre productions in unconventional spaces.

There is also another three years of funding for Queen’s Hall Arts in Hexham and for contemporary poetry publisher Bloodaxe Books, also based in Hexham.

Jane Tarr, director, north at Arts Council England, said: “This investment will help more people across Northumberland enjoy culture and creative activities where they live and put creativity at the heart of communities across the region.

"This diverse range of organisations of all sizes throughout the Northumberland will help to bring communities together through culture, attract tourists to the region, and boost the area’s thriving creative industries, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact they create in the years to come.”

Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England, added: “Northumberland’s geography and scattered communities means that taking advantage of creative and cultural opportunities, whether as a career or to help wellbeing, is not as easy for everyone as it might be elsewhere.

“That is why Northumberland is one of our Levelling Up for Culture Places, an area where for too long our investment has been too low.

“In towns from Berwick to Blyth, and in villages in between, we hope the benefits of our investment over the next three years will be enjoyed not only by those already connecting with Northumberland’s excellent cultural offering, but also by new audiences - especially young people.”

Since 2018 to date, through all its funding schemes, Arts Council England has invested a total of £17.1 million in Northumberland.