The cultural sector in Hull, has received a boost as Absolutely Cultured is awarded £198,000 from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
The funding will support the organisation’s plans over the next three years to increase cultural opportunities within Hull’s neighbourhoods as well as provide professional development and formal training for local creatives.
Stephen Munn, CEO and Artistic Director of Absolutely Cultured said: “This is a fantastic endorsement of our plans and those of the city to ensure culture continues to have a meaningful role in Hull’s future. With this funding in place, we can continue and expand our community-based activities in Spring Bank and Gipsyville where residents will have the opportunity to be directly involved in shaping the cultural offer within their own community. It also means we can continue our artist development programme based at Humber Street Gallery which supports local artists to develop their creative careers and strengthen their national networks. We’re very much looking forward to working with Esmée Fairbairn Foundation over the coming three years.”
Absolutely Cultured has been working with volunteers, partners and communities in Spring Bank and Gipsyville since 2019 on social action projects which use creative approaches to improve things that matter to residents such as tackling anti-social behaviour, improving the appearance of their area and building a sense of community. Future plans include establishing more permanent cultural activity that is designed with the residents themselves.
The artist development work builds on the previous Fruit Factory Network (for visual artists) and Hull Independent Producers Initiative that Absolutely Cultured has been running since 2017/18 with partners in the city. The new programme brings these together into a twelve-month programme for creatives working in all mediums.
More information on the artist development opportunities and how people can get involved will be announced in the coming weeks.
[Tasha Pert – Absolutely Cultured]