Arts Council England to invest £4.6m in diversity scheme

Black and minority ethnic theatre makers will benefit from the scheme

Arts Council England is to invest £4.6m in theatres "to help diversity flourish" in the arts sector.

The council said £2.1m of the money would be invested in Sustained Theatre, to support new plays by black and minority ethnic theatre makers.

The other £2.5m will be given to Change Makers, which aims to increase the number of disabled and non-white senior leaders in arts organisations.

The council's director of diversity said such funding was "vital".

"This programme will increase the presence of diverse artistic talent within the theatre sector in England, something we want to see embedded across the wider arts and cultural sector in the long term," Abid Hussain said.

"It's vital that we see diversity reflected both on and off stage, ensuring that diverse talent is given every opportunity to flourish."

The council said the money invested in Sustained Theatre would also help to support talent development and create new career paths into the sector at all levels.

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The five projects receiving funding are the Bush Theatre in London, Eclipse Theatre, Tamasha Theatre, Tiata Fahodzi and Birmingham Repertory Theatre in partnership with Talawa Theatre Company.

The money invested in Change Makers will support 20 disabled, black and minority ethnic leaders from across the country with bursaries to undertake training placements in arts institutions.

The successful applicants include Jess Thom, who will work with Battersea Arts Centre in south London, and Fareda Khan, who will train at Manchester City Galleries.

Arts Council England said the scheme would help the applicants gain the necessary experience, knowledge and skills to compete for artistic director or chief executive positions in future.

Hussain said the Change Makers programme was a "transformational opportunity" for applicants "to realise their leadership potential".