Staffordshire’s New Vic Theatre has been awarded a £1million Arts Council England grant to continue its ambitious Appetite programme for a further three years.
A major investment in the cultural life of Stoke-on Trent, Appetite is part of Arts Council’s Creative People and Places programme and aims to transform arts activity and involvement locally, seeking to get more of the city’s people engaged in the arts.
Partnering with the New Vic on the next three years of the project are Partners in Creative Learning, Six Towns Radio and Staffordshire University, alongside Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
Working in Stoke-on-Trent to get more people to experience and be inspired by the arts, in the past two years Appetite has brought family friendly arts events to the city’s streets, parks, hospitals and more.
More than 300,000 people have enjoyed a feast of world-class arts, from a tipping stage for As The World Tipped by Wired Aerial in Hanley Forest Park, stunning summer festivals and a fire garden in Hanley Park to street piano playing and the outstanding Carousel by Southpaw Dance Company also in Hanley Forest Park.
The project has allowed communities to play a leading part in inspiring others to get involved in the arts, with local people planning future arts events across the city.
Theresa Heskins, New Vic Theatre Artistic Director, said: “Helping to make Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire a great place to live and work is fundamental to the New Vic’s mission, and this award is testament to the tremendous success of the Appetite programme in helping us achieve this. We’re thrilled that we’ll be able to continue working with our partners and with local communities to engage more local people with the best the arts can offer. Our thanks to Arts Council England for continuing to invest in our area to realise this goal.”