We are delighted to announce that the Visionary Arts Foundation are 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 help us produce this year’s Visionary Honours and run our Visionary Impact Programme which supports disadvantaged young adults using artistic platforms such as music, film, theatre, literature and digital media as the sound board for discussion and raising awareness across social issues from better Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Mental Health, to Climate Crisis and Anti-Social Behaviour.
The second round of Recovery Funds made available by the Arts Council, National Lottery and British Film Institute, will help organisations look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain Covid-19 and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.
Founder of the Visionary Honours, Adrian Grant and Managing Director of the Baronet Group, said, “2020 was a devastating year for the arts and entertainment industries with the pandemic shutting down most of our sector, and we are still suffering. My company had two major touring theatrical productions that were cancelled and the Visionary Honours was twice postponed before having to be held online as a virtual ceremony. So I am overjoyed that we have been recognised for the work that we do, the jobs we provide across stage and media, and the value that our shows and others bring to the nation”.
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 2021 Visionary Honours will be hosted by Sir Lenny Henry, with a date and venue to be announced shortly.
Previous winners of these accolades which are given for work creating a positive social impact include Professor Green, George The Poet, Juno Dawson, Hamilton, Doctor Who, Six the Musical, Jesy Nelson, Dave, June Sarpong, Ross Kemp, Rachel Wang and Sulaiman Khan.
The Visionary Arts Foundation will itself be awarding five bursaries of up to £1,000 each to young socially conscious writers, directors, producers and performers as well as providing mentoring from industry experts during a three-month programme.
Many thanks to @DCMS, @BFI, @ACE_National and the government’s #CultureRecoveryFund, we can continue to be #HereForCulture.
