Sharing the benefits of growth – new arts fund opens for applications
Cultural organisations and community groups have been invited to apply for grants to deliver arts projects in Shoreditch and Hoxton from a new £300,000 fund created from levies on developers in the area.
The Shoreditch and Hoxton Art Fund will commission arts and community organisations to deliver public art and cultural led events that will to benefit the local community, such as providing education and employment opportunities, helping promote physical or mental health wellbeing or bring people together to build relationships and understanding between communities.
Hackney has long been the creative heart of London, and Shoreditch and Hoxton have a rich cultural heritage from fine art and live performance to architecture and fashion to digital media and creative tech. These areas has experienced great change in recent years as new developments and new businesses arrive in the area.
The new fund has been created by using planning levies charged on new developments in Shoreditch, called Section 106 contributions. All grants must be invested in art and culture-led projects that benefit the local community.
Shoreditch and Hoxton have experienced great cultural and economic changes in recent years, led by a rapidly growing local economy that is now home to global companies alongside a rising number community of start ups and established creative companies all sitting alongside a growing community of residents.
This investment into the arts is to help bring everyone in Shoreditch and Hoxton together ensuring that local residents are connected to everyone in the business community and the opportunities they are creating. We want to make sure that Hackney is a place for all of us, and this investment looks to our creative community to bring us together and make sure that none of us gets left behind.
The Shoreditch and Hoxton Arts Fund is one of the first initiatives in the Council’s new arts and cultural strategy which aims to ensure the benefits that arts and culture can bring can be enjoyed by everyone.