- Area:
- Cymru
- Programme:
- Pawb a'i Le
- Release date:
- 14 10 2008
The redevelopment of one of Wales’s most popular arts centres received a major boost today, thanks to a grant of over £70,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.
The Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff has been awarded £71,469 under the Big Lottery Fund’s (BIG) People and Places programme, which aims to bring people together to make communities stronger and to improve rural and urban environments.
Founded in 1971, Chapter is one of Europe's leading arts centres and boasts a diverse mixture of facilities such as cinemas, a theatre, gallery, performance spaces, visual arts spaces and a busy café bar. It's also the home for many artists and arts organisations. The award of over £70,000 from BIG will be spent on the second phase of a larger £3.8 million project to redevelop and expand the public and artistic spaces at the centre.
The money will be spent on providing two new spaces for community activities at the Old Cantonian High school building. The new rooms will provide fully accessible meeting and participation space for all sectors of the community. These will be available for anyone to book hourly at a low cost seven days a week for fourteen hours a day. The 150 voluntary organisations that currently use the centre will benefit from this funding, as well as individuals from the local community who can hire the rooms for social events and parties. Those using the new rooms will also have access to other new and refurbished facilities at the centre such as the café bar and other social spaces.
As part of the whole redevelopment package, the funding from BIG will provide better facilities to meet the needs of local, national and international artists, performers and filmmakers and increase the numbers of visitors to the centre. And as well as improving the building and the landscape locally, the funding will also enhance and regenerate a cultural Mecca in the Welsh capital.
Delighted with the award, Chapter’s Director, Janek Alexander, said: "This award is fantastic news and an important milestone for us. The redevelopment of Chapter is the largest improvement scheme in the centre’s history. Chapter plays an important part in the lives of many people and we want future generations to experience the diversity and opportunities the centre offers. The whole project will safeguard Chapter’s future as we complete an ambitious programme of change to improve our facilities for the public."
Chapter will remain open throughout the redevelopment work with a full programme of activities both on and off site. They will launch the new facilities with a month of special events in spring 2009.
Highlighting the importance of the People and Places programme, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Janet Reed, said: “Programmes like People and Places are making a difference to the lives of so many people in communities across Wales. It delivers on our promise to use Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head on and leave a lasting legacy. I’m sure this project will have a positive impact on the lives of many people in the community and will continue to do so for years to come."
The £66 million People and Places programme awards grants of between £5,001 and £1 million for a broad range of community projects. For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760171431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £1 million a week in Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £22 billion has now been raised and more than 300,500 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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