Supporting artists

The Irish government has announced a pilot scheme to increase the number of workspaces for artists and musicians, with a €6m fund for local authorities.

Announcing the government’s commitment to provide capital funding for the provision of artist workspaces, Culture Minister Catherine Martin said she was “acutely aware” of the pressures on artists and creatives, including those in the electronic music sector, to find suitable workspaces.

The scheme will be run through local authorities, who can apply for funding grants, provided they deliver 40 per cent match funding.

Each local authority can apply for up to €150,000 or €300,000  - depending on location - with funding focused on “the delivery of infrastructure to increase availability and access to artist workspaces”. 

“Much of our cultural infrastructure is initiated by our local authorities, and they have been a crucial resource in the delivery of arts and culture interventions over many decades,” said Martin

The plan follows last year's €3m Space to Create project by Dublin City Council to develop 60 artist workspaces in the city.

Last month, the Irish government revealed that a year into its pilot scheme to provide a basic income for artists, creatives receiving a weekly stipend are spending more time on their practice per week, less time working in other sectors and suffering less from depression and anxiety.

Make Noise Studios, a musicians’ hub in Sheffield, has been saved from closure.

Since opening in June last year, the studio space has welcomed up to 70 bands per week and now employs seven staff members and up to 15 workers on a freelance basis. The facility is also used to teach young and neurodivergent people.

Doubt was cast over its future as it faced eviction, with a developer planning to convert the studio’s current home into a car park as part of a residential development.

Over £2,500 was raised to help save the studio. The developer has now agreed to sell Make Noise Studios the building next door to its current premises.

“We are in a much better place knowing where we are going,” Chico Couto, the company’s Business Manager, told the BBC. “[The developers] are really, really good people and they have been really nice to us.”

Music Venue Trust (MVT) has launched a new campaign calling on musicians to support grassroots music venues.

'The Artist Pledge' is asking for artists to make a commitment to give back to small venues at a point in their careers when they are headlining arenas.

Toni Coe-Brooker at MVT said the campaign is “asking artists today to stand with all of us in the grassroots sector as a show of solidarity".

He added it was important for everyone working with artists – managers, agents, promoters and venues – "to find a way to send financial support back down the pipeline”.

More than 45 artists have so far pledged support, including Frank Turner, snake eyes, The Luka State, Sister, Red Rum Club and Vigilantes.

MVT said that in 2023, 16% of the UK’s grassroots music venues closed or ceased to programme new music due to financial issues such as energy costs, rent and rates.

The charity wants every concert ticket sold at arena and stadium level to contain a levy to provide financial support to the grassroots sector.

Artists can sign the pledge at www.musicvenuetrust.com/the-artist-pledge.

An MP has spoken in Parliament about concerns over a shortage of "essential" studio and exhibition spaces for artists in Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable.

Andrew Selous, South West Bedfordshire MP, told Ministers: “Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and many other parts of my constituency are blessed with an abundance of artists, painters, sculptors and others, but they have very few places where they can create their work and even fewer places in which to exhibit. They need more studio space and more workspaces.

"Providing such spaces should be essential – it aids economic activity, increases footfall and increases wellbeing.”

Julia Lopez, Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries, replied: "The Government are committed to encouraging local authorities and property owners to make spaces available for cultural activities.

"Arts Council England is already supporting artists’ spaces through funding and brokering partnerships. 

“As I say, we support creative industries primarily through Arts Council England, which has initiatives that look at workspaces. I encourage organisations in his constituency and community to make applications for grants, because there are specific funds available.