CHRISTMAS CHEER IN HYSON GREEN AS NEW ART EXCHANGE SCOOPS £800K NEW FUNDING IN 2013!

Scooping an impressive £800k new funding this year, New Art Exchange brings 2013 to a close with the promise of many exciting new opportunities and projects launching for communities, artists, businesses and Nottingham residents in 2014.

Scooping an impressive £800k new funding this year, New Art Exchange brings 2013 to a close with the promise of many exciting new opportunities and projects launching for communities, artists, businesses and Nottingham residents in 2014.

It is true that if arts organisations are to thrive in today’s difficult economic climates, they need to act differently, think innovatively and entrepreneurially, build new partnerships, and attract new and different investors to their work. In 2012, New Art Exchange, an art gallery in the heart of Nottingham’s Hyson Green neighbourhood, set out to do just that, putting in place a strategy for business growth, diversification, development and income generation, and using its much sought-after core funding from Arts Council as crucial leverage and match funding. Their strategy has now started to pay dividends with a range of commercial partnerships and new funding successes throughout 2013, and today New Art Exchange is delighted to announce it has landed new funding from the EU, Arts Council’s Strategic Touring Programme and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, bringing the running total to £800k new investment into its work this year!

But it is not just about the money. A range of new opportunities will be created for the people of Nottingham and further afield to benefit. With support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), New Art Exchange will come together with Nottingham City Council and local business support experts, NBV, to deliver a transformational new programme of business support to Nottingham’s creative businesses – the Creative Futures project. Based in Hyson Green at New Art Exchange, Creative Futures will support hundreds of businesses and people in the City to start creative enterprises, bringing jobs and opportunities to some of the City’s most disadvantaged urban areas. The project launches early 2014.

Councillor Graham Chapman, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources and Neighbourhood Regeneration at Nottingham City Council, commented:

We are delighted by the successful funding bids by the New Art Exchange. Creative businesses are at the heart of our strategy for developing business in Nottingham, and are crucial to the success of our local economy. We want to ensure that local people have the chance to work in these vibrant industries, and the support service that Creative Futures can provide will be essential to delivering this. We welcome this news as the city’s creative sector goes from strength to strength.

NBV CEO Richard Dearden said:

NBV is delighted to join forces with the New Art Exchange and Nottingham City Council to deliver the Creative Futures project. Throughout 2013 NBV have seen an increasing number of people looking to start a new business within the creative sector and the blend of NBV, NAE and Nottingham City Council will enable us to offer a powerful programme of business support to help individuals start and grow a successful creative sector business.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, a leading UK private grant giving trust, has also awarded a grant for nearly £90k to New Art Exchange’s exhibitions programme and its innovative ExperiMentor scheme, which provides specialist support to emerging artists and creative entrepreneurs, supporting them to launch new and exciting projects and business activities.

To top it all off this December, New Art Exchange is delighted to receive a new investment of over £170k from Arts Council’s Strategic Touring Programme. This will support the gallery to commission and tour the work of some of the most exceptionally talented Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic artists in the UK, showcasing internationally acclaimed and culturally diverse art to new audiences here in Nottingham and nationwide.

Peter Knott, Area Director, Arts Council England, said:

In today’s economic climate resilience is the name of the game. It’s important that all arts organisations work in partnership to develop funding relationships and increase their income, and that’s exactly what New Art Exchange have excelled at this year. I hope they continue to prosper in 2014 and beyond.

2013 has seen New Art Exchange create a strong vision for its role in Nottingham’s City neighbourhoods. New partnerships have come to fruition throughout the year with key housing agencies, health charities, schools, businesses and business support providers and many more. New Art Exchange demonstrates that art is no longer about champagne receptions and hobnobbing; art is for everyone – it cuts across the whole of society, and NAE’s approach and new investment successes reflects this.

New Art Exchange CEO, Skinder Hundal says:

We are over the moon about the direction this year has taken us and the new investment and partnerships we have secured. Here at NAE, we have always seen art and creativity at the centre of society, impacting across all sectors of life, unlocking talent and growing positive and rewarding futures. These exciting new investment opportunities put us in the best possible position to launch transformational new areas of business and creative practice. It’s certainly time to celebrate here and now at the end of this fantastic year for New Art Exchange! And moving into 2014 is where the real work begins – watch this space as we launch our new Creative Futures programme and kick start our Strategic Touring activities and many more projects and programmes.

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