Grundy Gallery to receive £357k funding boost as Blackpool culture ambitions grow
Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery will receive £357,000 from a £16.9m North West arts funding boost, as the town pushes ahead with bids for UK City and Town of Culture titles.
Blackpool’s cultural ambitions have been boosted with new funding for the Grundy Art Gallery.
The venue is set to receive £357,000 as part of a £16.9m investment in arts and culture across the North West through the government’s Arts Everywhere Fund.
The funding, delivered through Arts Council England, will support improvements to cultural spaces and help safeguard them for future generations.
It comes as Blackpool continues to push its cultural ambitions, having been longlisted to bid for UK City of Culture 2029.
The council has received a £60,000 grant to develop a full bid, with the winner set to receive £10m to deliver a year-long programme of cultural events. Blackpool is also preparing a bid for the first ever Town of Culture title in 2028.
The Grundy has already played a key role in raising Blackpool’s cultural profile this year after hosting a major National Gallery loan of Claude Monet’s The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil.
The exhibition – which saw Blackpool chosen as one of just four venues nationwide – was hailed as a “cultural milestone” and highlighted the town’s growing reputation for attracting world-class art.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the latest funding would help communities take pride in their local cultural venues.
She said: “Cultural organisations across the North West are important custodians of local identity and play a key role in the story we tell ourselves as a nation.
“Our Arts Everywhere Fund is delivering on our commitment to support cultural assets across the country, increasing access and preserving them for future generations.”
Across the region, 130 organisations are receiving funding through three schemes supporting arts venues, museums and libraries.
Major awards include £8.5m for The Lowry in Salford, while the People’s History Museum in Manchester will receive nearly £2.5m for building improvements.
The investment is designed to help venues upgrade infrastructure, improve accessibility and create more welcoming spaces for communities.
Blackpool Council leaders have previously said culture will be central to the town’s future, with its City and Town of Culture bids aiming to boost tourism, create jobs and showcase local creativity.
If successful, 2029 would also mark a milestone year for the resort, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Blackpool Illuminations.
The latest investment in the Grundy is expected to build on that momentum, strengthening Blackpool’s cultural offer and supporting further high-profile exhibitions in the years ahead.
Further rounds of funding are expected to open in the coming months.