Signup to our Newsletter
Creative People & Places investment to continue in Fenland and Forest Heath
Following a competitive application process, Babylon ARTS has secured funding from Arts Council England, for three more years of the Creative People and Places (CPP) MarketPlace Project from April 2022.
December 2021
We are one of 39 CPP projects, including 11 new projects, that have secured investment in this round of funding. See the Arts Council’s announcement here.
Since 2015, the CPP MarketPlace project has set out to enable more people in Fenland and Forest Heath (part of West Suffolk) to get involved with arts and culture where they live. The project has reached thousands of people through creative projects that have been developed with community groups and individuals across the towns and villages in both districts.
This funding means we can continue to build on our collaborative approach to working with communities, increasing opportunities for people to shape the creative and cultural offer in their place.
Creative People & Places National Portolio funding is unlike other Arts Council funds, which might focus on artist development or capital building projects; instead, it is focused on meeting specific aims including:
- That more people from places of least engagement experience and are inspired by the arts.
- Communities take the lead in shaping local arts provision.
- The aspiration for excellence is central – this covers both excellence of art and excellence of the process of engaging communities.
- To learn from past experiences and create an environment where the arts and cultural sector can experiment with new approaches to engaging communities.
With this funding, CPP MarketPlace will focus on targeted groups, neighbourhoods, villages and towns in the two districts; sowing ideas; growing skills, confidence and ambition and showing just what’s possible when the creative spark of inspiration is ignited.
The CPP Marketplace team will be using the next few months to prepare for the next phase, which will include some new programmes of work that have been informed by what’s been learned so far. We’ll be sharing more information through our website, social media and newsletters, as well as opportunities for discussion in the Spring.
More Information About Creative People and Places National Portfolio:
Arts Council England is investing £38.3 million in 39 Creative People and Places programmes as part of its Creative People and Places national portfolio 2022-25. All successful applicants will receive funding between £750k to £1 million over the three-year period. The £38.3 million is made up of £25.3 million in new money and £13 million funding previously awarded, to cover part of this period.
Developed by Arts Council England with an initial investment of £37m from the National Lottery, the first phase of the programme ran between 2013 and 2016.
Arts Council England supported a second phase of the programme which ran from 2016 and invested a further £17m in the existing projects to deliver new activity for a further three years, as well as investing in 6 new programmes. In 2021, Arts Council England announced that Creative People and Places had become part of the National Portfolio for the period 2022-2025.