THIS week, the government's main arts funding body has pledged a whopping £13m over the next four years to ten Oxford museums, theatres and other arts organisations.

That makes those cultural bastions of our city part of Arts Council England's National Portfolio for 2018-22.

Reporter Pete Hughes spoke to a few of them to find out what a difference the often vital funding will make.

In Oxfordshire there will be Seven National portfolio organisations for 2018/22 (Funding shown is for the full four years and includes any additional funding awards):
•    Modern Art Oxford - £3,569,388
•    Modern Poetry in Translation - £200,000
•    Oxford Contemporary Music - £743,132
•    Oxford Playhouse Trust - £1,517,896
•    Pegasus Theatre Trust - £1,199,892
•    NEW The Story Museum - £700,000
•    University of Oxford - £5,267,752

The Story Museum

Oxford Mail:

THREE years ago, Oxford's Story Museum did not even exist.

This week, it became part of the fabric of the nation's culture.

The fable factory in a former telephone exchange in Pembroke Street has been listed for the first time as part of Arts Council England's National Portfolio.

The £700,000 funding guarantee over the next four years is in itself not a huge amount compared to the £2m the Arts Council has already pledged towards the museum's ongoing enormous renovation of its four-storey building.

What it hugely significant is the fact that the government's central arts funding body has given the museum a recognition and validation of its meteoric rise to become one of the city's most popular attractions for locals and tourists.

For co-director Tish Francis, it is a milestone in her team's journey.

She joked that when she heard the news on Tuesday morning the phrase that immediately came to mind was the Red Queen's quote in Through the Looking-Glass: "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

She said: "I was actually at a bus stop, phoning colleagues in the office, and there was this eruption of squeals.

"We are thrilled: it is a huge vote of confidence in what we do."

Whereas captial funding is only allowed to be spent on building projects, the Story Museum can use this funding on the basic work they do everyday: paying salaries and running projects to get children and adults across Oxfordshire excited and inspired by tall tales.

A fantastic example of that work is Alice's Day, co-ordinated by the Story Museum, which this Saturday will take over museums and public spaces across Oxford in a celebration of the city's world-famous pint-sized explorer.

Ms Francis added: "This funding is saying to us that we are part of the National Portfolio, and we will know at the start of each year that we have got that element of core funding in our budget which, for an organisation which started on cash handouts, means we have matured so much."

Arts Council area director Hedley Swain said: "We are delighted to increase our investment in Oxfordshire with The Story Museum joining the portfolio.

"This is a place which offers magical, inspiring journeys to far-away places for all the family.

"All of our National Portfolio organisations will play an essential role in reaching more people, developing local, national and international talent, and making where they’re based great places to live, work and visit."

Oxford Playhouse

Oxford Mail:

FREE family theatre touring the county, home-grown shows and more investment in local artists.

These are some of the promises Oxford Playhouse was able to make for the next four years this week after being awarded £1.5m Arts Council funding.

The theatre, which last year had a £800,000 makeover, said the funding was a recognition of 'the high quality of the Playhouse programme, its extensive work with young people and emerging artists and the active part it plays in the life of the city'.

Although Arts Council funding makes up just ten per cent of the Playhouse's turnover, managers said it allowed them to keep ticket prices low, 'bring world-class theatre to Oxford', ensure the diversity and quality of shows on stage and 'invest in creative learning and education'.


Playhouse director Louise Chantal said: "This is fantastic news for the Playhouse and its audiences.

"Put simply, funding from the Arts Council and our other core supporters means we can be a theatre for everyone in Oxford, not just the few. 
"After today's decision, we are now able to put into place our exciting plans for the next four years."

While being grateful for the funding, however, the theatre also pointed out that the £379,000 it receives each year in revenue funding is still significantly less than the £500,000 it contributes annually to the public purse in taxes, VAT and National Insurance payments (£579,390 in 2016-17).

Ms Chantal added: "The funding confirmed today is only one part of a complex financial jigsaw, and the fact remains the Playhouse continues to earn more than 80 per cent of our turnover from sales.

"The most important funder of the theatre continues to be the people of Oxford who buy tickets, ice creams, programmes and coffees at their local theatre, and we thank them for their continued support too."

Modern Art Oxford

Oxford Mail:

FOR the gallery which exhibits some of Oxford's most esoteric, alternative – and sometimes downright obscure – art, this week's Arts Council funding is not just a nice extra – it is vital to its very existence.

The current main exhibition of photographic portraits by Iffley Road chip shop owner Kazem Hakimi is a prime example of why Modern Art Oxford relies on government support: to champion local artists.

The gallery's other current exhibition of 'space tapestries' by London-based Aleksandra Mir demonstrates its other mission, to give a platform to emerging alternative art from across the UK, and give the people of Oxfordshire a place to see it.

This week the gallery, which celebrated its 50th year in 2016, not only got million of pounds in revenue funding, it also won an extra £499,999 for a programme of repairs, refurbishment and upgrades that will increase the building’s operational and energy efficiency.

Gallery director Paul Hobson said: "As a charity, this investment is absolutely vital; it will help us to continue to create world-renowned exhibitions and projects for all of Oxfordshire’s communities to enjoy, and will ensure much-needed investment in the gallery’s historic building in the centre of Oxford."

Oxford University Museums

Oxford Mail:

LAST year, Oxford's four most established and internationally-renowned museums ran education sessions for 136,500 schoolchildren and engaged 117,000 adults and children in educational activities.

The enormous role the four Oxford University museums – the Ashmolean, Museum of the History of Science, natural history museum and Pitt Rivers – play in attracting international tourists and bolstering Oxford's academic reputation is invaluable.

Arts Council England's £5.2m contribution this week will enable the museums to 'continue delivering a rich programme of activities for the public, educational visits for schools, activities for families and community outreach programmes'.

The funding will also support conservation, collections care, technical services and digital resources.

Natural history museum director Professor Paul Smith said: "The funding settlement from the Arts Council is a real vote of confidence in the quality and impact of our work across the four university museums.

"The funding we have received to date from the Arts Council has enabled us to transform the way in which our museums interact with the public, and the continued investment will enable us to continue innovating and providing exciting programmes for visitors."

Modern Poetry in Translation

Oxford Mail:

MOST of us know at least a smattering of the great English poets – 'I wandered lonely as a cloud,' or 'My love is like a red, red rose' – but what about the infinite lines of great verse penned in other languages?

Oxford's very own Modern Poetry in Translation magazine champions beautiful and inspirational lines from around the world.

The 2017 issue, ‘Songs of the Shattered Throat’, focuses on poetry in the languages of India.

This week, the organisation based at Queen's College, Oxford, was awarded £200,000 to help it keep up the good work for the next four years.

In addition to revenue funding, the magazine got £10,000 additional investment for each of the next four years to extend its work with 'underrepresented languages and communities'.

The organisation was actually founded fifty years ago by poets Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort: with this week's good news, the team will be hoping they can confidently look forward to reaching their century.