The Box has been awarded a £932,600 Capital Kickstart grant as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, helping to support a number of capital costs that resulted from the Covid-19 crisis earlier this year.
The Box is one of 74 organisations receiving grants totalling £58.9 million today. The Capital Kickstart grants programme helps organisations cover costs added to capital projects such as building works, refurbishments, and large-scale equipment purchases by pandemic-related delays or fundraising shortfalls.
The Box was only a couple of months away from its launch when the first national lockdown came into effect this spring. The government restrictions meant it had to postpone its highly anticipated opening from mid-May until the end of September.
The delay resulted in increased fees for the fit out of The Box’s building and its exhibition spaces. It also had to extend the lease on its offsite store, purchase specialist PPE equipment, create and produce additional signage and develop new digital interpretation.
Tudor Evans OBE, Plymouth City Council Leader, said: “We are thrilled to be the recipient of yet more support from Arts Council England and for the grant that The Box has now been awarded from the Capital Kickstart programme. No-one could have predicted the challenges that 2020 has presented us with and the delayed opening of the city’s major new museum, gallery and archive incurred a range of additional capital costs. This funding will go a long way towards helping to alleviate the financial pressures these have created and will help put The Box in a really strong position to go on to even bigger and better things in 2021.”
Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England said: “We are really pleased to announce seven awards from the Culture Recovery Fund: Capital Kickstart across the South West today. This latest tranche of funding to be announced from the Government’s generous package of support for the arts, culture and heritage sector ensures that many of the regions ambitious and ongoing cultural developments - that have been delayed due to Covid-19 - can now securely get back on track to reopening and serving their communities with fantastic cultural experiences.”
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said: “This government promised it would be here for culture and today’s announcement is proof we’ve kept our word. The £1 billion invested so far through the Culture Recovery Fund has protected tens of thousands of jobs at cultural organisations across the UK, with more support still to come through a second round of applications. Today we’re extending a huge helping hand to the crown jewels of UK culture - so that they can continue to inspire future generations all around the world.”
Today’s awards bring the total investment from the Cultural Recovery Fund in Plymouth to £4,986,492. The funding is supporting 14 projects across the city including Theatre Royal Plymouth, Real Ideas Organisation, Plymouth Pavilions and the Plym Valley Railway.
Tickets to visit The Box can now be booked via www.theboxplymouth.com