Worcester City Council has restored funding for the Worcester Arts Council, which works to promote the arts throughout the city.

The WAC is a membership organisation, which previously used the funding to offer small grants to its members, which could be applied for.

The scheme was removed in 2018 and replaced by a community grants mechanism set up by the city council directly, which in turn stopped the WAC from proving this service itself.

Some of the groups that the WAC help include:

  • Opera Worcester
  • Worcester Gilbert and Sullivan Society
  • All Sorts of Performing Arts
  • Worcester Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Worcester Concert Club
  • Worcestershire Early Music
  • The Elgar Festival
  • Worcester Musical Theatre Company

The city council previously was funded the WAC £3,000 annually, to help promote the arts in Worcester.

Following support from the chief executive of the city council, David Blake, and the leader of the city council, and Marc Bayliss, the grant was reinstated.

Chairman of the Worcester Arts Council, George Squires, said: “I am delighted that Worcester Arts Council can once again support local arts organisations, thanks to the restoration of its grant from Worcester City Council.”

The WAC was established in the 1980s and has awarded grants to numerous organisations to help them put on shows, purchase much-needed equipment or protect them against making a loss on productions.

A Worcester City Council spokesman: “Worcester Arts Council do great work for the local community arts sector, and we are very happy to be supporting them.”

During the last full year of operation before the COVID19 pandemic began, the WAC stated that over 5,000 people benefited from these grants, of which over 200 were directly involved in staging events, while the others attended the events.

The WAC encourages art-focused organisations to become members and seek support when needed.

For more information on the Worcester Arts Council, you can visit here.