The news comes as the Culture Secretary today announces that by 2025 areas outside London will benefit from a £75 million boost in cultural funding.
Cultural investment outside London via the Arts Council is expected to rise to almost £250 million by 2025 – the equivalent to a 19% increase by the final year of the Spending Review period. Arts Council England (ACE), which will oversee the distribution of the funds, will see its overall budget increase over the period.
The government set out a commitment to raise cultural spending significantly outside the capital in its Levelling Up White Paper. ACE currently spends £21 per head in London and an average of £6 per head in the rest of England.
The boost in financial support will ensure a better distribution of arts funding, help level up the country, and increase accessibility and opportunity in areas which have been culturally under-served in years gone by.
Areas in the East Midlands are part of more than 100 ‘Levelling Up for Culture Places’ which will be targeted.
Organisations old and new will be encouraged to bid for funding.
Local authority areas in the East Midlands on the list include Amber Valley, Bassetlaw, Boston, East Lindsey, Erewash, Mansfield, Newark & Sherwood, North East Derbyshire, North Kesteven, North Northamptonshire, Oadby & Wigston, South Holland, and West Lindsey.
The East Midlands is already home to a number of organisations which receive ACE support including the Nottingham Playhouse, Derby Museums, and New Perspectives Theatre Company.
Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said:
“Everyone should have access to culture, regardless of their background or where in the country they happen to live.
“There is a wealth of untapped creative potential across the East Midlands, and this funding redistribution will help to unlock it.
“We are taking these steps to ensure cultural organisations are given the support they need to engage and inspire more people as we look to level up access to culture across the whole country.”
The government is already backing the East Midlands, which has benefited from nearly £70 million from the Culture Recovery Fund. More than 60 per cent of this unprecedented fund has been spent outside London.
The government will shortly also announce the recipients of £48 million from the latest round of the Cultural Investment Fund package. This funding will go to more than 50 organisations, the majority of which will be outside London. Libraries, museums and creative projects in areas in need of levelling up will benefit.