hcmf// receives grant fom government's Culture Recovery Fund

As announced by the Culture Secretary on Saturday, hcmf// has been awarded £50,000 as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF). The award will help the festival to navigate the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and continue its direct support for artists.

hcmf// is one of 588 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support thanks to the latest announcement of £76 million of investment. This follows £257 million awarded earlier in the week to 1,385 organisations, also from the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme, which is being administered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.

Established in 1978, hcmf// is the UK’s largest international festival of new and experimental music, with 50+ events traditionally taking place at venues in and around Huddersfield, over 10 days in November each year.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s hcmf// will take place online for three days (Friday, November 20 – Sunday, November 22, 2020) over what would normally have been the festival’s first weekend. Along with 3 live broadcasts in association with BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show, there will be streamed performances, podcasts and artist talks – which will make hcmf// 2020 accessible to audiences nationally and internationally. Two specially-commissioned audio-visual installations at venues in Huddersfield will provide diverse audio-visual experiences for a socially-distanced public, whilst specially designed online events will enable families with young children to get involved in making music together.

During this year, the festival has already provided over 30 commissions for new work to be performed either at hcmf// 2020 or for next year’s edition.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

“This is more vital funding to protect cultural gems across the country, save jobs and prepare the arts to bounce back. Through Arts Council England we are delivering the biggest ever investment in the arts in record time. Hundreds of millions of pounds are already making their way to thousands of organisations.

“These awards build on our commitment to be here for culture in every part of the country.”

Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:

“Culture is an essential part of life across the country, helping to support people’s wellbeing through creativity and self-expression, bringing communities together, and fuelling our world class creative industries.

“This latest set of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund builds on those announced recently and will help hundreds of organisations to survive the next few months, ensuring that the cultural sector can bounce back after the crisis. We will continue doing everything we can to support artists and cultural and creative organisations, with further funding to be announced in the coming weeks.”

Graham McKenzie, Artistic Director of hcmf//, said:

“We’re delighted to be awarded a Cultural Recovery Grant which will enable us to continue to support composers and musicians, and provide a platform for their work at this hugely difficult time for the sector.”

For more information visit http://hcmf.co.uk/