Two cultural organisations in Ripon have welcomed ‘lifeline’ government funding totalling more than £170,000 this week.
Ripon Museum Trust was awarded £117,500 and Ripon Amateur Operatic Society received £54,339 from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.
A total of 1,385 organisations across the country received funding.
Helen Thornton, director of the trust said it was “absolutely delighted”, adding:
“This grant is a lifeline for a small independent museum trust like ours. This investment will get us through the very challenging times ahead as what we can offer schools and groups is reduced due to the covid pandemic and the safety measures we have put in place.”
Ripon Amateur Operatic Society, which is run solely by volunteers and is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, received £54,339.
RAOS has been unable to perform any shows in 2020.
Its city centre arts space at 49 Allhallowgate, acquired by the society several years ago, has also been unable to provide facilities for other organisations, artists and performers since March.
Society chair Linda Aikman said:
“This grant will allow us to make the venue completely covid-secure so we can safely allow audiences in again in line with guidelines and legislation.
“It means that the membership, including our youth theatre, can confidently rehearse and perform again, can deliver some much needed entertainment to the local community in a safe way, and not be constrained by financial aspects.”
The Ripon Amateur Operatic Society headquarters in Allhallowgate
Linda, added:
“One of the challenges we were facing was how to bring what we do to a limited audience without making a loss. The grant now means that performances can go ahead without us having to charge extortionate ticket prices to make ends meet.”
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Hannah Ruddy, the society’s marketing and publicity manager, pointed out:
“We will be using the grant to support local artists and give them a viable platform to perform once again at the same time as providing the community with the cultural opportunities that have, unfortunately, been so adversely affected by the pandemic. We would love to hear from local artists and performers who could benefit.”
The society is also embarking on a separate project to make the building more accessible and usable to more people. Fundraising for this aspect – which cannot be funded from the CRF grant i-s ongoing.
Subject to local or national restrictions, the society will stage its first performance of the year at Allhallowgate at the end of November.
Details will be published on www.riponoperatics.org and Facebook Page @riponamateuroperaticsociety as soon as possible.
