Today we can make a very special announcement: our application to Arts Council England’s Cultural Capital Kickstart fund has been a success, which means that work to transform our home, The Vale, can now get underway.
Global Grooves is one of 74 organisations receiving grants totalling £58.9 million today. The Capital Kickstart grants programme helps organisations cover costs added to capital projects such as building works, refurbishments, and large-scale equipment purchases by pandemic-related delays or fundraising shortfalls.
We’ll be using the much-needed funding to complete our ambitious capital programme to redevelop Vale Mill into a high quality arts and cultural hub, home to The Northern Centre of Carnival Excellence.
Once the first phase of works is complete, anticipated to be in summer 2021, local people will be able to access top notch arts facilities, including theatre, cinema and live arts venue, mixed arts studio and numerous specialist visual arts studios. A year-round programme, expected to consist of live music, theatre, dance and cinema, will begin once the new venue has launched officially later in the year.
The Northern Carnival Centre of Excellence will continue to develop Global Grooves’ world-reaching Carnival arts portfolio, nurturing new and emerging artists, creating large-scale new Carnival productions and hosting a wide range of workshops, courses and masterclasses from internationally renowned teachers and arts.
We are so delighted to have reached this milestone, and for all the support we’ve received along the way.
In total, we have raised £1m for the transformation project from a variety of sources including Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Mossley Town Council, Arts Council England’s Small Capital Fund, Foyle Foundation, Youth Music, Action Together, Jigsaw Housing and Sports England.
Our CEO, Leon Patel, said: ‘Carnival is all about making sure everyone in the community can engage with high quality cultural experiences. This Cultural Capital Kickstart fund grant will enable us to create Tameside’s only dedicated arts and cultural hub and ensure those high quality cultural experiences are right here, on people’s doorsteps. We’re incredibly excited for work to get underway.’
One of our keen supporters locally has been our MP, Jonathan Reynolds. He said: ‘Northern Carnival Centre of Excellence will be a wonderful asset to the borough, and I am really excited to see the project get underway. Well done to Global Grooves and a huge thank you to everybody who has helped make this possible.’
To read more about the funding and other organisations that have been successful, take a look at this article in the Manchester Evening News.