Funding to support black visual arts

Bernie Grant Arts Centre has been awarded £150,000 to help create “a permanent home for black visual arts”.

The Tottenham-based charity was one of 66 recipients of new Arts Council England funding totalling £22.7million, handed out as part of the Arts Council’s new ten-year strategy which aims to support arts infrastructure is “fit for the future” and “can operate safely post-pandemic, improve access, seize technological opportunities and reduce environmental impact”.

The funding also builds on the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, set up to support arts organisations affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The cash received by Bernie Grant Arts Centre will enable the charity to update three of its spaces – the gallery, hub and Paul’s Square – to meet the needs of contemporary artists and audiences, and launch a permanent strand of black vision arts programming

Hannah-Azieb Pool, artistic director and chief executive, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded a £150,000 capital grant from the Arts Council England for our project, Black Art Matters.

“As one of few UK multi-disciplinary arts spaces dedicated to commissioning and developing black artists, this project will allow us to create a permanent home for black visual arts programming, right in the heart of Tottenham; supporting our vision of a world where black-led work is given space, status and a chance to thrive.”