Black Dyke Band to receive £38,040 from second round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund

Black Dyke Band in Queensbury, Bradford has received a grant of £38,040 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and reopen.

More than £300 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country including Black Dyke Band in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary announced today.

Black Dyke Band among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund

This award will aid the band in its return to rehearsals and concerts through its pathway to performance strategy.

Through the funding awarded by Arts Council England, Black Dyke Band will, providing Covid-19 restrictions permit, propose to begin bringing players back to rehearsals in the band room in small groups. When restrictions permit the size of these groups will increase, once the band is able to rehearse and perform again as a complete ensemble the funding will then permit the band to be able to record a series of concerts to be streamed over the internet.

It is also proposed that during the summer months the band will look to hire a number of outdoor venues, where social distancing can be effectively employed, in order to deliver a series of concerts to the public free of charge. As part of these concerts the band will also be looking to support the return to live music of local community bands by inviting them to join Black Dyke Band.

Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

The second round of awards made today will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:

“Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.

Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”

Black Dyke’s Director of Music, Prof Nicholas Childs said:

“ In these challenging times we must create an environment where brass bands can flourish again, firstly finding a route with confidence. Performing in outdoor spaces including the iconic bandstands, sharing the platform with community bands and creating a ‘Pathway to Performance’ for the wider brass banding fraternity. Allowing band enthusiasts to rub shoulders with champions to experience the thrill of a live brass band.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said:

“Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.

We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”

The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.