Thirsk charity Rural Arts is just one of nine arts organisations in Yorkshire to have been awarded an Arts Council England small capital grant.
The £130,000 investment will allow Rural Arts to make much-needed refurbishments and improvements to its grade II listed arts centre.
The focus of these works are to increase the charity’s financial resilience and environmental credentials.
“In the face of a climate crisis, we all need to be asking ourselves: how can we be doing more?”, says Director and CEO Max May.
“As well as running an arts centre, Rural Arts works across 3,500 square miles, meaning one of our biggest emissions is from vehicles. Our grant from Arts Council England includes money to purchase an electric van, which will reduce these by 85 per cent.”
The organisation will also install a rainwater harvesting system, designed to flush toilets throughout the building, and replace all lighting with LED bulbs. The building will also install a retractable seating bank, improve its cafe facilities and be refurbished throughout to unlock over 685 square feet of currently unused or underused space.
Sarah Maxfield, area director north for the Arts Council England, said: “Congratulations to the nine organisations in Yorkshire who have successfully secured small capital grant funding.
“I am delighted that we are able to support so many organisations from across the North to develop more sustainable and resilient businesses.
“Our investment will allow them to produce even more excellent work for the public and I am looking forward to seeing the positive impact these grants will have.”
As part of the project, Rural Arts needs to raise a further £28,000. Anyone interested in making a donation, or exploring a sponsorship opportunity, should contact max@ruralarts.org
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