Joint fund to help two popular music venues in Preston

This year has been somewhat of a disaster for local pubs. They were initially open then closed then open now closed again. A minority of pubs in Preston are still accessible which is good news for traders and now thanks to a grant from the Cultural Recovery Fund by The Arts Council two pubs in particular have been given this grant. 

 

The Continental and The Ferret are both popular pubs in the city of Preston and have struggled in 2020 to be kept afloat due to the pandemic but The Arts Council have stepped in and provided a boost of an excess of almost £400,000.

 

This is great news for The Continental which is still open under current restrictions. Although The Ferret appreciates the fund it is closed despite recent events of socially distanced live music performances. 

 

The funding came in in rapidly following the news that the Lancashire district was placed under the tier three band by the government. 

 

In reaction to the funding news, the owners of The Ferret and The Continental expressed these sentiments,  

 

“The music and arts side of the venues have always been run on a not-for-profit basis and, indeed, over the years has been heavily self-subsidised in order to be sustainable. Our commitment to this has never wavered, despite the hard work and time it has taken to provide a quality programme of events in Preston.”

 

They also stressed the concern of essential funding in many other sectors, 

 

“There is a crisis in the arts, hospitality and entertainment business, and many places may not survive. The Arts Council have recognised this and secured funding so that arts and culture venues survive and, more than that, thrive once we come out of the other side of this”

 

Even before the pandemic music venues were in danger of closing by up to a thousand cuts so it comes as no surprise that these places were under fire when the pandemic struck. Lack of venues means musicians cannot promote their work  resulting in a decline of interest in music in general. 

 

This joint fund means both venues can secure their future as performance spaces and allow them to come back better than ever to support artists, staff and subsidise shows.

A positive performance space has been proposed as organisers explain, 

 

“We will continue to run both performance spaces on a not-for-profit basis and will aim to continuously improve what we do. Once performance is permitted again, even in a distanced fashion, we intend to roll out a programme at the earliest opportunity. We also plan to provide some opportunities and support for local organisations and individuals, in whatever art forms, who would like to use our programme and our spaces. We can now guarantee that at the end of all of this there will still be shows to go to and enjoy in Preston and we intend to use this award to make the city in some small way, a better place to live in.”

 

Anyone with a proposal for use of the performance space can contact robyn@newcontinental.net 

 

The Continental and The Ferret in Preston will be receiving a grant from the Cultural Recovery Fund awarded by The Arts Council.

 

^Alex Ashworth CCG Art Blogger