Grants totalling more than £1.2 million are to be awarded to arts organisations across Manchester over the next three years, with fourteen different organisations in the city – more organisations than ever – each getting a share of the cash. The grants are being made as part of the city council’s Cultural Partnership Grants programme which was first established in 2012 and has already seen over £4m distributed through the programme to organisations in the city.
Now in its fourth round of funding, the programme invites charitable and not-for-profit arts, cultural, and heritage organisations that work in Manchester to bid for grants to support their core costs.
What does this funding go towards?
With funding support offered to successful organisations over a three year period (2026-29), the grants crucially also help provide a degree of longer term financial certainty to cultural organisations and support them to plan ahead.
The latest funding round also sees more organisations in the city supported than ever, thanks to an increase in funding made available by the city council for the programme.
This means 14 organisations will receive grants this time, up from 12 in the last funding round which covered the period 2023-26.
How were organisations chosen?
Arts organisations were invited to bid for the grants last August with each application judged on its merits against a defined set of criteria to decide on successful bids – including a commitment to the creation of high-quality work with life-enhancing impacts, to diversity and inclusion, and widening participation in the arts.
The priorities of the funding programme were further informed by the council’s cultural strategy, Always Everywhere: Manchester’s Cultural Ambition, which was launched 18 months ago.
Funding was awarded to those organisations meeting the criteria and based in the city or otherwise able to demonstrate that they have a strong offer and a track record of delivering cultural opportunities for Manchester residents. The grants reflect the council’s continued recognition of the importance of culture and the arts to Manchester and to everyone who lives in or visits the city.
Councillor Shazia Butt, Executive Member for Crime, Policing, Culture and Corporate Property, Manchester City Council, said: “We’re a city that has a long history of supporting culture and the arts, and have a strong belief in the positive difference they make to our city – to our communities, our visitors, and our economy.
“We have some amazing world-class arts and cultural organisations right here on our doorstep and want everyone to benefit from the fantastic opportunities they bring, which is why we’re determined to do everything we can to support and invest in the sector, to help further drive up participation, and bring culture and the arts to everyone, everywhere, in the city.”
Which organisations have been awarded funding?
As in previous rounds of the Cultural Partnership Grants programme, the latest portfolio of organisations chosen to receive a grant represents a wide cross section of the arts – from visual arts, music and theatre, to museums and heritage organisations – with the successful organisations working in neighbourhoods across the city.
The 14 organisations receiving grants through the 2026-2029 Cultural Partnership Grant programme are:
- Afrocats
- Brighter Sound
- Castlefield Gallery
- Company Chameleon
- Contact
- Hope Mill Theatre
- Longsight Community Art Space
- Manchester Histories
- Manchester Jewish Museum
- Odd Arts
- Olympias Music Foundation
- Reform Radio
- SICK! Productions
- Venture Arts
Organisations receiving funding for the first time this year through the programme include Sick! Productions, Olympias Music Foundation, and Afrocats, while Company Chameleon is returning to the Cultural Partnership Grants’ portfolio 2026-29.
You can find out more about the 2026-2029 Cultural Partnership Grant programme across Manchester here.
