In this issue
Over the last two months the value of the Arts and Creative activity to our health and well-being, our sense of community and identity, to the education of our children and the entertainment and distraction of millions of people has never been more apparent.
The Arts have been a refuge and a resource. An escape and a delight and we have all felt comforted, enlightened and inspired by a myriad of creative expressions brought about by circumstances beyond our control. People have crafted, performed, taken part and enjoyed in great numbers and from all age groups.
Much of this activity has happened spontaneously and at little cost to the end user. The first impulse of the arts has been to serve an audience and to reach people, not to make money and turn a profit. Added to this, most of the people who normally work in the creative industries have found themselves without work or income and with little prospect of a return to any form of normality for many months. Venues are closed, freelance and independent workers face real hardship.
In this special edition of City Arts News we list some of the assistance that is available for the arts. Unfortunately it cannot reach everyone.
Also listed are schemes such as the Artists Pledge project which is helping people to sell work and generate much needed income - please take a look and if you can, buy something - if it's local, even better.
The City Arts Unit is part of Hull City Council and we exist to support, promote and develop the arts in Hull. We will continue to work with artists and arts organisations to help them through this crisis. It is going to take many months and there will be some very difficult hurdles to overcome. In the mean time I would urge everyone to support their local or favourite art form in whatever way they can, in the same way that the arts have supported the nation in these difficult days.
If you have something that you would like to share through City Arts News please let us know using the link on the right.
Best wishes - stay safe.
Paul Holloway
Arts and Culture Manager, Hull City Council
Consultation – Impact of Covid 19 on Arts and Culture Sector in Hull
Arts Development are in the process of assessing the impact that Covid 19 has had on Hull’s arts and culture sector. We would like to hear about the impact of the current pandemic on artists, arts organisations, and the voluntary arts sector locally. This will help us to form an overall picture to ensure that the Arts and Culture are included in the Council’s understanding of the economic impact of Covid 19. We are aware that the situation is constantly changing and developing so we plan to organise a follow up survey later in the year. Thanks for your support and we look forward to hearing from you.
Please follow this link to survey monkey to share your situation.
Arts Development support
If you are in need of support and advice or have an idea for an arts project we have experienced arts development officers who can help.
We want to hear from artists and arts organisations and will help if we can.
Complete the online form with your idea or development needs or email cityartsenquiries@hullcc.gov.uk, and one of the team will get back to you.
City Arts News
City Arts News has 5,000 subscribers, who all share an interest in the Arts. If you have an arts related idea, problem, project or suggestion that you would like to share with our readers, please let us know via the 'submit content' link in the right hand column.
Arts Council support
The Arts Council have compiled a comprehensive list of support available for arts organisations and individual artists, which can be found via the following links:
Organisation support
Individual support
Digital Culture Network
From working and collaborating with others remotely, to continuing to engage with audiences and generating income for your organisation, the Arts Council's Digital Culture Network aims to help artists become more digitally engaged. Various online resources to support.
ACE are running a series of webinar events in the coming weeks, full details are on the Arts Council website
Arts Professional - CovidCulture: the latest news and information for the arts sector workforce
Arts Professional are removing their subscription paywall for all Covid-19 related news*, resources and content to support arts workers. This includes online seminars for understanding your digital audience, core digital skills and resilience as well as audience questionnaires with expert advice.
Check out their website for more information.
Public Health England - health and wellbeing advice
Visit the Public Health England website for information about mental health and wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wellness Webinar: Mental resilience during Coronavirus
Tuesday 19 May, 13.00 to 14.30
Hosted by Music Publishers Association with Jack Williamson, CEO and Founder of Music+You. For more information and to register click here.
Youth Music Funding
Fund A funding is now on Round 18 with the deadline on Friday 31 July. Fund B is currently closed while they streamline and improve the application process and is due to re-open in the autumn.
Check out their website for further information.
The Society of Authors have launched The Authors' Emergency Fund
Applications are open to all professional authors who are resident in the UK or British subjects. Grants are likely to be up to £2,000 and designed to meet urgent need.
Check out their website for more information.
KCOM community grants
Next round opens 1st July, closes 1st August
Anyone living in Hull or the areas of East Yorkshire where KCOM provide phone and broadband services can apply for a grant. Your application must be on behalf of a local community group, charity, voluntary group, club, school or other not-for-profit organisation, although you don’t need to work or have any formal association with them.
The grant must be used to benefit people living in the KCOM region. It can be used for specific purchases or to run activities or an event.
Previous grants have been used to stage poetry competitions, create gardens, run community-based weight loss programmes and to buy everything from sports equipment to school library books – the options are almost endless. Grants must be used within six months of being awarded.
Every three months the community panel – made up of KCOM employees who live and work in the region – considers every application received during the period and selects six finalists.
After that, they open voting to the public for two weeks to decide the winners
Check out their website for more information
Absolutely Cultured - response to Covid-9
Please check out their website for up to date information
Help Musicians - Support & Advice for musicians
Help Musicians, the Incorporated Society of Musicians, The Ivors Academy, the Music Managers Forum, the Music Producers Guild, the Musicians' Union, and UK Music have collaborated to set up a really helpful 'Corona Advice for musicians' website.
This includes information and links for musicians covering a full range of issues of concern during the Covid pandemic.
Musicians Union support
MU Coronavirus Hardship Fund
A £1m hardship fund for MU members with genuine and pressing hardship.
MU subscription holiday for members in hardship
From Monday 4 May, MU members in dire financial need can apply for a 3 month holiday from their MU subscription.
PRS Emergency Relief Fund
PRS members who are suffering genuine hardship through loss of work due to the Coronavirus pandemic can apply for a grant of up to £1000 each, depending on need.
Open for applications until 23:59 Friday 15 May 2020.
Music Producers Guild
Music Producers Guild are campaiging with a petition urging support for those not covered by Government’s Self employment support.
XTRAX - Championing Outdoor Arts in the UK and Internationally
XTRAX have a resources page with useful tools and advice around COVID-19 and their sector.
Check out their website for more information
Freelands Foundation Emergency Fund
For artists and freelancers in the visual arts sector living in England and Northern Ireland. Open from Thursday 7 May, the new fund will support grants of £1500 to £2500 per person, assessed by need, with £1 million going to those living in England.
Applications via a-n
Save Our Venues
Music Venue Trust (MVT) has announced a new campaign #saveourvenues, in response to the continued economic threat to over 500 grassroots music venues throughout the UK. Following on from the launch of their Grassroots Music Venues (GMV) Crisis fund last month, #saveourvenues is aimed at artists, music fans and the wider music industry and aims to raise both money and awareness.
To date the GMV Crisis Fund has raised over £182,000 thanks to significant donations from Amazon Music, SJM, a number of high-profile artists and music fans throughout the UK. From today The GMV Crisis Fund will be re-named the #saveourvenues fund and will form part of a wider initiative that will see artists raising money for individual venues with whom they have a personal connection.
Check out their website for more information.
IVE Training Online
From May - September
IVE are launching our popular and highly successful Quality Principles training digitally via Zoom. The programme offers you the opportunity to translate and explore the Arts Council’s Quality Principles in your offer to children and young people.
Check out their website for more information
Artists Pledge scheme
Emerging Artists are pledging to support one another during the health crisis by buying each other’s work through instagram. The Artist Support Pledge, set up by Matthew Burrows, was set up to alleviate some of the stress the pandemic has caused, as many artist are without work.
The idea is simple: Artists who commit to the pledge will post images of a work that’s for sale, for no more than £200, and each time their sales reach £1,000 they promise to buy another artist’s work for £200.
Read full article about this initiative on artsnet.
Check out the instagram page to see the work in this initiative
BBC Culture Night on BBC Radio Humberside
Do you have any online events/gigs/happenings going on that can be plugged on #BBCCultureNight? Also looking for people to curate hour-long mini-festivals/takeovers in the last hour of the show, looking for collaborators to join in the chaos. Get in touch with Joe Hakim on twitter @JoeHakim_
Aesthetica Art Prize
Calling all Artists: Entries are open for the @AestheticaMag Art Prize. Enter your work onto the world’s stage and win £5000, a 12-week group exhibition and publication. Categories include #painting #sculpture #photography #installation #video.
Find our more via the Aesthetica website
Government support
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Employees or PAYE zero hour contract workers could be entitled to the Job Retention Scheme. Employees placed on temporary leave known as furlough could receive 80% of their wages, up to £2,500 per month. The scheme is now live.
Furlough scheme is now extended to the end of October
Workers furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue to receive 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500
Bounce Back Loans Scheme
Small businesses can borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 as part of a 100% government backed loan scheme. The first 12 months of the loan are interest free.
Self Employment Income Support Scheme
The Government’s income support scheme for self employed and freelance workers. From June, if you’re self employed you may be eligible for a taxable grant of 80% of your average trading profits, in a single instalment of up to £7,500.
This week HMRC have started contacting people who may be eligible to apply for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme. Self Employment Income Support Scheme webinars
Check your eligibility for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme
Support for Businesses
The Chancellor has set out a package of temporary measures to support businesses across the UK through the period of disruption caused by COVID-19, including SMEs.
HMRC
HMRC’s tax helpline offers advice for businesses and self employed people concerned about their tax payments due to coronavirus. If you’re unable to pay, HMRC can discuss payment plans, suspending debt collection and cancelling penalties and interest when administrative issues arise. 0800 0159 559
8.00 to 20.00 Mon – Fri, 8.00 to 16.00 Sat, closed Bank Holidays.
Hull City Council Crisis Loan
Visit the Hull City Council website for further details of crisis loan scheme.
Local Community Grants
Hull CVS document which has lists of local grants.
Unfortunately Arts Development are unable to accept applications to our Arts Grants programme at the present time.
We will reopen the programme in due course once the current crisis has receded.
Advice and assistance for artists and arts organisations is available from the Arts Council and via the Business Support Advice tag on the Hull City Council website.
Thank you for your patience.
Paul Holloway, Arts and Culture Manager
Hull City Council
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