Museum festival & prison record label among latest recipients of Nesta loans
Melanie May | 9 August 2019 | News
Nesta has announced the recipients of its latest round of Arts and Culture Finance investments, with almost £1 million shared between a number of projects including a prison record label and a museum festival.
The recipients are:
- Emerge Festival – a new arts and culture festival, delivered by Culture24, taking place in London on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 September 2019
- InHouse Records – a fully functional record label to be launched in prison, whilst supporting those who leave prison through a Graduate Programme
- The Story Museum – support for the Oxford-based museum to redevelop with 10 new gallery and activity spaces including a dedicated learning studio for school visits
- Saffron Hall – support to help the performing arts venue in an Essex school to expand opportunities to generate its own income
- artFix – a cafe chain celebrating everyday creativity in the community
Through its Arts and Culture Finance Investments, Nesta gives loans to arts and cultural projects with social value from two separate funds – the Cultural Impact Development Fund, which is investing in InHouse Records and Saffron Hall (for a total of £240,000), and the Arts Impact Fund, which is investing in the Emerge Festival, artFix and the Story Museum (for a total of £750,000). Information on how to apply for a loan is available on Nesta’s Arts & Culture Finance site.
Seva Phillips, Nesta’s Head of Arts and Culture Finance, said:
“We’re really excited about this latest round of projects. The variety of loans we’re making shows the breadth of ways that social investment can be used to take commercial risks and experiment with new ideas.
“Social investment can go further than grant-funding alone since the money can be lent out again to other organisations once it has been repaid.”
“Over the next 6 months, we’re really interested in supporting organisations that need finance of £25,000-£150,000 from our Cultural Impact Development Fund. Our team would be happy to have an initial conversation with prospective applicants.”Advertisement
George Neris from artFix, commented:
“Nesta’s investment in artFix allows us to strike just the right balance between financial sustainability and social impact. We maintain an entrepreneurial spirit, while building communities in ways that enable everyday creativity and allow everyday people to live their life as a work of art.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.