Hull gets £5.5m arts boost for museums, Freedom Festival and Truck theatre

HULL has been given a £5.5m funding boost by the Arts Council. The national arts funding organisation has named the city's museums service as a new major partner for the first time. As well as now having the same status as 20 other museum services around the country, it also means the city council will receive £2.5m from the Arts Council over the next three years. The funding will support one-off projects in the city's museums and the Ferens Art Gallery with many expected to be linked to Hull's year as the UK City of Culture in 2017. The money will also be used to create a museums partnership with East Riding Council and North Lincolnshire Council. However, it will not be available to cover day-to-day running costs. As a result, it's believed the recent reduction in opening times at the Hands on History Museum and the History Centre will remain in force. Elsewhere, Hull Truck has been awarded a total of £2.3m for the three year period between 2015 and 2018. The theatre company recently received a one-off joint grant from the Arts Council and the city council worth £400,000 to put it on a more secure financial footing. The new funding deal from the Arts Council represents a 47 per cent increase on the previous three-year period. The city's annual Freedom Festival has been awarded just under £500,000 over the next three years while Princes Avenue-based community arts organisation Artlink will receive £196,000 which is a 4.6 per cent reduction on what it was given previously. Councillor Steven Bayes, cabinet member for cultural strategy, said: "Hull City Council welcomes the support of the Arts Council for Hull-based organisations. "The settlement reflects the strong partnership that exists between the city and the Arts Council. "It underlines our shared commitment to the arts and culture in Hull and to the delivery of a successful year as UK City of Culture in 2017. "The Arts Council is a key partner in the delivery of UK City of Culture and has again demonstrated its commitment to that task through this three year funding settlement, which gives some of our key organisations the ability to plan into 2017 and beyond." The new museum partnership is expected to develop a programme of new exhibitions and projects, including a number of graduate internships in Hull.

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Councillor Terry Geraghty, cabinet member for leisure and culture, said: "This award from the Arts Council to the Joining up the Humber' partnership, which has been led by our museums team, is further recognition of their excellent work to deliver great museums and galleries for the people of Hull and its visitors. "The award will give the service a huge boost to continue working in partnership with our museum colleagues in North Lincolnshire and the East Riding across the Humber region over the next three years." The only arts organisation in the East Riding to secure new Arts Council funding is The Junction in Goole which will receive a total of £206,985.