FUSE has received one of the first grant awards through the Transforming Places Through Heritage fund to open a new experimental Arts Hub in the heart of Bradford. Made possible through new funding from the Department of Culture, Digital, Media and Sport focused on reinvigorating England’s high streets and town centres administered by the AHF (Architectural Heritage Foundation).
“We are very excited to hear the news that FUSE has won funding through the Transforming Places Through Heritage Fund. This kind of grassroots initiative to restore and develop buildings for innovative creative uses is exactly what Bradford needs. The more we take control of our assets and provide spaces in which the cultural life of the city can thrive, the better we will serve our communities and enable Bradford’s powerful creative spirit and energy to be seen and heard. City of Culture 2025 will then become an entirely logical progression.” Eleanor Barrett, The Brick Box CIC
What this award means for FUSE is that they can begin to look at expanding their facilities, based on the needs of their communities, artists, and audiences. They have outgrown their small space in the five years they were there. The award forms the beginning of an ambitious £750,000 expansion project that will see FUSE purchasing the freehold of a building and renovating that property to create a purpose-built facility. This will include gallery spaces, a cafe/bar, performance space (with world-class sound equipment), artist studios, education space, offices, a micro-cinema, and accommodation for artists.
The project will be undertaken in close consultation with their communities and will keep their charitable mission at its heart, which is :(1) to provide opportunities for emerging artists to explore new ideas and expose their work, (2) to provide opportunities for people in Bradford to access world-class modern art, music and culture, (3) to propel the regeneration of Bradford’s northern quarter, and (4) to provide a well-equipped cultural facility for the use of our community.
The new facility, like the old, will continue to work closely and in consultation with the communities, it serves and to re-invest any profits into the provision of its facilities, trading for the benefit of its artists and audiences through the selling or merchandise and music and working closely with other local like-minded businesses to provide the services we don’t offer. They expect the new facilities to be open to the public in 2021.
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