The Poly wins grant in Arts Council England Culture Recovery Fund Round 2

Falmouth’s historic live arts venue, The Poly, has again been successful in winning a vital grant from the government's Culture Recovery Fund.

The £37,940 grant has been described as a "another lifeline" by the much-loved venue following a year in which, like so many other venues, its cash flow largely vanished overnight.

Sue Radmore, Chair of Trustees, said: ‘We're so grateful and relieved to have again been chosen by Arts Council England to receive more vital funding. The ongoing threat from Covid-19 and the recurring lockdowns have made it incredibly difficult to plan ahead in any meaningful way.   

‘A historic venue like The Poly, with its Grade II* listed status, requires constant attention to the building, and even when all our usual income streams are pulling together we face a huge challenge. Earlier funding to take our Guild shop online and to undertake much-needed maintenance work was very welcome, but it simply can’t replace what we lose every day our doors have to remain closed.   

‘We’re thrilled that the Government and Arts Council England have continued their support. This lets us keep on our staff for the coming months, which means we can continue working towards our reopening programme of arts and cultural activities. We’ll also be able to extend our popular community pottery box programme. We’re so excited to be able to reopen our Guild shop and have a fully booked programme of exhibitions from local artists from 12th April onwards. We just hope that this time, everything can go ahead as planned. We plan to reopen our cinema programme from 17th May. The support of the community as we reopen will be vital and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back.’

‘We would like to thank our members and everyone in our community for their support over this difficult time, and look forward to opening our doors once again.’