'Sunderland's cultural ambition impresses me' - Arts Council England chief on boosting the arts in Wearside

This is a key group of museums, libraries and arts organisations receiving regular funding from the Arts Council. Here its Chief Executive Darren Henley talks about this funding that affects Wearside, and the difference these organisations can play in people’s everyday lives.

Sunderland’s cultural ambition continues to impress me – I am a regular visitor to the city and it is great to see its cultural renaissance continue.

Sunderland Culture, the University of Sunderland, the Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) Trust and Sunderland City Council are among those that have driven enormous change in the cultural landscape of Wearside in a relatively short period of time. And new developments continue - The Fire Station Auditorium celebrates its first birthday in December. By then work on Sunderland City Council’s Culture House, a futuristic library, will have started in earnest.

The Arts Council has supported this change and will continue to invest to sustain this impressive momentum. Sunderland will see investment of £3,221,508 over the next three years which is a significant increase of 115%.

I am delighted that we have announced more investment to Sunderland Culture to support quality experiences for all through the venues it runs. That includes The Fire Station, I have already mentioned, and others like the National Glass Centre, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Arts Centre Washington and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.

We are also pleased to announce investment in two other organisations on Wearside.

Southpaw Dance Company’s innovative work is rightly gaining national plaudits. Their piece Power of Performance: This Is Us was a highlight of the Rugby League World Cup Cultural Festival opening event.

And Surface Area Dance Theatre, based in Houghton-le-Spring, will also be supported for their work with under-represented communities across the North East.

Our arts, museums, and libraries offer comfort, joy, and a wealth of everyday wonders to neighbourhoods, while our creative sector puts billions into the national economy.

Two million people are employed in the creative industries across the UK. Many of these are people working in libraries, theatres, museums, and cultural venues in our villages, towns, and cities across the country.

On Wearside we are proud to be continuing our support for The Cultural Spring, through our Creative People and Places programme, taking arts and culture right to the heart of local communities.

We confirmed last year that we wanted to invest more in South Tyneside and that it was a priority to make this happen. This year we have announced The Customs House’s funding will almost double while South Tyneside Libraries run by South Tyneside Council will be regularly funded for the first time

There is also good news for Wearside’s neighbours, County Durham, where we are investing more.

Beamish Museum, Durham County Council, Tin Arts and National Youth Choirs of Great Britain remain in the national portfolio, while in Durham, Redhills CIO, the charity set up to preserve the historic Durham Miners Hall and promote the culture and heritage of the Durham coalfield, joins those organisations we will commit regular funding to over the next three years.

We value our strong partnerships in Sunderland and Wearside. I am proud that through this latest round of investment more people will be able to experience the transformative power of the arts closer to where they live.