Mayor launches ‘landmark’ small venues fund

Small music and performance venues across the North East are set to benefit from a new £2.2 million fund aimed at supporting the region’s creative sector.

Created by North East mayor Kim McGuinness, the Small Venues Fund will provide grants ranging from £3000 to £100,000 to help grassroots venues invest in equipment, infrastructure and revenue-generating improvements.

The three-year programme is designed to ease the financial pressures facing independent venues while supporting the spaces where emerging artists and performers develop their careers.

Eligible venues with capacities of up to 300 seated or around 500 standing will be able to apply when the fund opens this autumn, with an initial £800,000 available during its first year.

The initiative has been developed in partnership with the region’s creative sector, including music development agency Generator, to ensure funding reflects the needs of grassroots venues and the communities they serve.

Mayor McGuinness said: “Our incredible grassroots venues are under threat, yet they bring so much to our region.

“They’re places where artists perform for the first time, friends come together and memories are made.

“I want to see them thriving and that’s exactly what this fund is about.

“Protecting the places where our brilliant home-grown talent takes its first steps and legacies are started.

“This is just part of my plan to make sure culture thrives in the North East, from first gigs to big stages, to skills and training, to backing brilliant events that local people across the region can enjoy.”

Ben Humphrey, from The Straw Yard in Berwick upon Tweed, added: “Venues are much more than performance spaces, they’re where communities are from, where people socialise, and where local culture actually lives.

“Small venues especially are a breeding ground for performers looking to develop their skills and experience and are therefore essential to the cultural ecosystem, not just locally, but nationally as well.

“It is hard for venues right now; rising prices means some venues are being forced to close and they can’t rely on audiences to sustain their operations.

“It is tragic, because without them, the North East loses part of its soul.”

The fund forms part of wider efforts to strengthen the North East’s cultural economy by supporting independent venues and helping nurture the next generation of creative talent.

Mick Ross, chief executive at Generator, added: “Every headline artist, every award-winning comedian, every producer, technician and promoter starts somewhere.

“Grassroots venues are the R&D department of our creative industries.

“For years, Generator has worked alongside venues, artists and industry partners to champion the need for dedicated investment, making the case that these spaces are essential cultural infrastructure and vital to the future of our region.

“This fund is a landmark moment.

“It recognises that grassroots venues are essential to developing our pipeline of talent and without these amazing spaces to experiment, there will be fewer opportunities for people from every background to build careers on stage and behind the scenes.

“Investing in grassroots venues isn’t just about protecting buildings – it’s about backing the next generation of creative talent and securing the future of the North East’s creative economy.

“Championing the North’s creative infrastructure is why Generator exists.

“We’ll continue to advocate, convene and make the case for the investment that gives talent, communities and creative businesses the opportunity to thrive.”

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