Park Theatre in Finsbury Park breathed a sigh of relief after being awarded £250,000 as part of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund (CRF). It plans to use the grant primarily to “prepare [their] building so it’s ‘Covid-secure’”.
Successful organisations had to publicly thank the Government as a condition for receiving their funding, according to reporting by The Independent. Recipients were instructed to welcome the funding on social media using #HereforCulture.
The theatre’s Artistic Director Jez Bond said: “We are delighted and relieved to receive the Cultural Recovery Grant.” He views this grant as an opportunity to “support freelance practitioners who have tragically slipped through the net.”
Park Theatre opened in 2013 in an empty office building beside Finsbury Park Station. It describes itself as “a neighbourhood theatre with global ambition” and strives to create content which reflects the world around us.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden described the fund as a “vital boost” for arts organisations: “It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery.”
Creative industries are facing more than 400,000 job losses as a result of the pandemic, a newly commissioned Oxford Economics report found.
