Funding will give arts charity security for year

The charity has been awarded funding until March 2026

An arts organisation has received thousands of pounds in funding to continue its work into next year.

Emma Horsman, the project director of The Cultural Spring in Sunderland and South Tyneside, said the £333,333 Arts Council money would provide some much needed security.

The charity, which has been running since 2014, aimed to introduce arts and culture to people in the local community, she said.

"The funding means we can reach so many more people," she said. "We know our work's not done."

One of the projects the team is working on is called Bitesize and involves bringing "small-scale pieces of theatre to local community venues", such as working men's clubs and church halls.

"It's an opportunity to meet the cast and crew and to break down barriers about what the theatre actually is," she said.

"The cost of going to one of our bite-sized performances is generally around the £5 mark, and that includes refreshments and food."

The aim of the project is to get people more comfortable with the theatre and then help encourage them to go other cultural spaces, like art galleries.

Ms Horsman said the money could mean programs which had been "tried and tested" could be developed even further and be used to give opportunities to a "lot more residents".