33 arts organizations in Suffolk will benefit from £500k in funding after public outcry over arts funding cuts.
The council started this fund after a lot of pushback. People were angry about planned cuts to arts funding, leading organizations across Suffolk to protest last year. Big names like Dame Judi Dench and Andrew Lloyd Webber also criticized the council’s decision, and they ultimately reversed the arts funding cuts.
After the backlash, the council created a £500,000 fund. Arts and heritage groups in Suffolk could apply, and they received 131 applications requesting £2 million total.
Bungay Folk Festival 2025 got £6,500, while First Light Festival CIC received £20,000. Furtherfield got £18,869, and Karen Goddard received £9,800. Seagull Theatre received £20,000, and Roly Poly got £12,359. The Hal Company received £18,900.
Eastern Angles Theatre Company got £20,000, and Cohere Arts received £21,021. Bentwaters Cold War Museum got £13,967.20, while Bawdsey Radar Trust received £4,000. Dunwich Community Heritage Centre got £12,000.
Woodbridge Tide Mill Charitable Trust received £11,210, and Aspire Black Suffolk got £20,000. Future Female Society received £14,634, and Ipswich Community Media got £9,000. Red Rose Chain received £20,000, and SPILL Festival Ltd got £24,286.
The Hive received £14,950 from the fund, and Ipswich Transport Museum got £1,540. Clip Sound and Music CIC received £7,010, while Eyes Open CIC got £7,205. Stowmarket Culture Group received £15,000.
Quay Theatre got £9,640 from the council, and The Food Museum received £20,000. Gainsborough’s House got £22,750, while Long Melford Heritage Trust received £4,000. Sudbury Heritage Centre received £7,000.
East Anglian Traditional Music Trust got £9,875, and Haverhill Town Council received £20,000. ID Creative received £7,312, while Suffolk Artlink got £27,174. Theatre Royal got £20,000 from the fund.
Philip Faircloth-Mutton spoke about the funding and said the council is excited to help. He also said smaller projects will get support and expressed his happiness about the creativity in Suffolk. The funding, he stated, would support local arts.