Broadway Arts and Tech programme NEAR NOW awarded £330K NPO funding
We are proud to announce that our arts and technology programme Near Now will continue to be funded by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), after today’s confirmation of £307,293 worth of funding over the next three years from April 2023.
Broadway CEO, Steve Mapp said: “Thank you to Arts Council England for today’s confirmation of 3-year National Portfolio funding which will support Broadway’s Arts and Tech programme: Near Now, which creates opportunities for artists from across the region to develop their talent and engage with audiences. Since becoming an NPO in 2014, Near Now has supported creative practitioners who have gone on to national and international recognition and we look forward to continuing this with our creative incubator, accelerator and residency programmes – an ambitious, new approach to continuing Near Now’s legacy of developing artistic talent.”
Arts Council England Chair, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “As well as continuing our commitment to our many established and renowned cultural organisations, I am deeply proud of the support we will be giving to those new organisations which will help ignite creativity across the country. We are facing economic pressures at present but this funding is about an investment in our future. This portfolio will support the next generation of visionary inventors, makers, performers and artists. In particular, the growth of our funding for organisations that support and develop work for children represents a profoundly important long-term investment in our country’s talent.”
Arts Council England Chief Executive, Darren Henley, said: “Together, each of the 990 organisations that have been offered funding today will contribute to a portfolio that is rich, varied and truly national. This is our widest ever spread of investment across the country, ensuring that many more people will have access to a wider choice of exceptional art, culture and creative opportunities on their doorsteps. We are in tough times but we must remember creativity brings with it extraordinary dividends, boosting our country’s economic growth, creating jobs, bringing communities closer together, and making us happier as individuals. Everyone deserves to enjoy the benefits it brings, and with this investment, we believe we’ve taken a decisive step towards making that vision a reality.”
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said: "Thanks to this new government funding package, spreading more money to more communities than ever before, people living in areas from Wolverhampton to Wigan and Crawley to Chesterfield will now get to benefit from the deep economic and social rewards culture can bring.
"We continue to support our icons such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Shakespeare Company, but today's announcement will see organisations in places all too often overlooked get the support they need to transform access to the arts for everyone - no matter where they live."
Visit the Near Now website to find out more about Broadway's studio for arts, design and innovation and how we work with artists and companies to make, and make sense of, technology in everyday life.
