We are delighted to share that we have received an offer of support from Arts Council England as a part of Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund. This Grant will be used towards the costs of running the studio at the time when we have to stop or minimize our activities, and next 6 months of operational costs.
We are humbled by and grateful for this support, and it is a turning point for our organization. From thinking about survival we can now focus on plans for reopening, supporting our community and bringing back services.
This grant for us is also a recognition of our contribution towards publicly funded arts though work we do teaching pottery and ceramics, serving as a ground for talent development and a place of excellence in making.
We have worked from the early stages of the “lockdown” trying to secure funding or any local authority support, which was futile for a long time. It had been a hard time of co-working, crunching numbers, attending seminars, emergency planning and bare minimum. This acknowledgement by Arts Council England is a testimony to the persistence of our team, our collective faith in the possibility of the positive outcome for our organization.
Thank you for all the support, and positive thoughts you were and are sending us. Your goodwill and care gave us a chance to get where we are now. Despite that the future is so unpredictable to many of us, we hope studio will be an island of stability for many in our making community, we are standing in solidarity with organizations, artists and makers who are facing difficulty at the moment.
Now more than ever we miss having our makers and students around, and we hope we can all be making together soon.
That is fantastic news, I am very pleased to hear you received an offer of support from the Arts Council in England as a part of Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund.
That’s brilliant and must be a huge relief for you. I had been thinking of you. Best wishes,
Maria