A CASH injection of £850,000 will be a boost for arts and culture in Basildon over the next three years.

The grant has been awarded to the Creative BasildON creative people and places programme as part of the Arts Council England's Creative People and Places National Portfolio 2022-25 programme.

The programme brings arts and cultural activity to the borough, with lots of opportunity for residents and local organisations to get involved as participants and audiences

It has already enjoyed great successes through lockdown with Open Labs taking over empty shops and Our Towns bringing street art to town centre walls. Basildon council leader Cllr Andrew Baggott says: "Many congratulations to the partnership behind the Creative BasildON programme. This additional funding will provide even more opportunities for local people to commission, create and participate in cultural activity. "The latest artwork in the town centre, and the fantastic series of events that ran over the summer were great examples of what can happen when communities come together. I look forward to getting involved with the next programme of events." Creative BasildON, first funded in 2019, is part of a portfolio of 39 'Creative People and Places' projects across England, funded through the National Portfolio as a long term approach to investing and developing further arts and cultural activity in a range of places which historically have had limited opportunities and funding. Recently appointed programme director Ruth Heritage says: "I am so pleased for Basildon and our residents that this brilliant programme has been extended into 2025 and beyond, and it showcases the hard work and vision that our board and communities share for the future of Basildon. "The team and I are bringing wide experience, energy, and ambition to build on lockdown successes, to enable more residents to experience and participate in more arts and cultural activity more often through embedding arts into communities, and to place Basildon lives and stories at the centre of our programme.' 'I am privileged to be working with communities, partners, and residents on a series of exciting projects and commissions which will draw from a range of arts practices from contemporary performance in live art and music to literature and storytelling to dance and all spaces in between, provide opportunities for local artists and creatives to work alongside communities and industry, and bring new live, digital, and physical arts experiences to residents and visitors alike.' The programme is led by a board of Basildon partners and community representatives including Things Made Public CIC, Basildon County Council, Essex County Council Libraries, Placemaking organisation FutureCity, Eastgate Shopping Centre, TIME Music Charity, and Chaired by Hephzi Angela from GH Scientific / Basildon Street Science. Things Made Public, the lead organisation for the programme commented: "We are delighted that Creative BasildON is seen as a flagship project and has been welcomed into the Creative People & Places National Portfolio. "Creative BasildON is committed to ensuring that local people are leading and shaping a long term cultural vision for Basildon. We're delighted to be working with Ruth and look forward to continuing to support the team as the programme grows and evolves over the next four years." Programme Manager Sammy Oxford, who oversaw delivery of the Our Towns and Open Labs projects in 2021, said: "This last year saw us work alongside community groups including Peaceful Place and Women Together in Basildon, and we aim to build on this to work deeper in community collaboration. "We are developing our community voices activity, where residents can learn about and become involved in shaping and creating our cultural programme. "We'll be providing new paid creative opportunities for young people and also for people wanting to gain skills through volunteering. "We welcome you talking to us about our plans and will soon be announcing more and new ways you can be involved as residents, community groups, partners, and of course creatives. We can't wait for you to come on this journey with us.' Visit Creative Basildon's website for more information and announcements, and to sign up for its newsletter. You can also follow the programme's social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and [L] https://twitter.com/CreativeBasild1 [L+]Twitter.[./L]