The Leverhulme Trust Board today announced the winners of its first Arts Scholarship competition.
More than fifty organisations have been awarded grants, worth £9 million in total. Students across the whole range of the fine and performing arts, from music, dance and drama to circus skills, will benefit from bursaries to allow them to develop their talent, or from innovative teaching awards to further their artistic development.
This major investment in arts organisations across the UK will support the training of young people, from school-age children, through to undergraduates and postgraduates. It comes at a time when funding of the arts in the UK has been a subject of some public debate. Sir Michael Perry, the Chairman of the Trust Board, said: “We wish to demonstrate our commitment to training the next generation of fine and performing artists. Without such opportunities we are at risk of losing the most talented individuals from this crucial area of cultural activity”.
Organisations funded include renowned institutions such as RADA, the Royal College of Music and the NFTS, through to less familiar providers of specialist arts training, including the Phoenix Dance Theatre in Leeds, JMK Trust and Belfast Community Circus School.
Dame Judi Dench, a patron of the JMK Trust, said: “Congratulations to JMK. I am thrilled that they are one of the recipients of the Leverhulme Trust award. Without the support of charities like this, many arts organisations would struggle to survive. Long may they continue”.
Lord Puttnam, past Chair and long-term supporter of the NFTS, said: “The Leverhulme Trust's grants towards art organisations will make an invaluable contribution to nurturing and developing the UK's next generation of creative talent - and is all the more important at a time when the place of the arts and creativity in the curriculum in England are generally under threat”.
A full list of awards made can be found here.