The Hepworth Wakefield awarded funding for 2023-26 as part of Arts Council England’s investment programme.

This significant and essential funding will enable the gallery to continue to provide art experiences that inspire, captivate, surprise and enhance lives. The Hepworth Wakefield is one of 990 organisations to receive a share of the £446 million investment each year, ensuring that more people in more places can find fantastic, fulfilling art and culture on their doorsteps.

Director of The Hepworth Wakefield, Simon Wallis, said:

“I’m so delighted we can continue our valued work at The Hepworth Wakefield with artists, audiences, educators, local and national stakeholders, and philanthropists. The whole gallery team work so inspirationally hard to make ‘levelling up’ a daily reality in Wakefield in partnership with Arts Council, Wakefield Council and our many private investors. It’s a great testament to the brilliant team at The Hepworth Wakefield that Arts Council England have recognised the value and return on investment for the taxpayer in continuing to enable our work at this level. It also helps lever in significant sums of private money to the district. The essential role of Wakefield Council in supporting and understanding the transformational power of culture is absolutely key too: an imaginative and ambitious Local Authority.”

Arts Council England Chair, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:

“As well as continuing our commitment to our many established and renowned cultural organisations, I am deeply proud of the support we will be giving to those new organisations which will help ignite creativity across the country. We are facing economic pressures at present but this funding is about an investment in our future. This portfolio will support the next generation of visionary inventors, makers, performers and artists. In particular, the growth of our funding for organisations that support and develop work for children represents a profoundly important long-term investment in our country’s talent.”

Arts Council England Chief Executive, Darren Henley, said:

“Together, each of the 990 organisations that have been offered funding today will contribute to a portfolio that is rich, varied and truly national. This is our widest ever spread of investment across the country, ensuring that many more people will have access to a wider choice of exceptional art, culture and creative opportunities on their doorsteps. We are in tough times but we must remember creativity brings with it extraordinary dividends, boosting our country’s economic growth, creating jobs, bringing communities closer together, and making us happier as individuals. Everyone deserves to enjoy the benefits it brings, and with this investment, we believe we’ve taken a decisive step towards making that vision a reality.”

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said:

“Thanks to this new government funding package, spreading more money to more communities than ever before, people living in areas from Wolverhampton to Wigan and Crawley to Chesterfield will now get to benefit from the deep economic and social rewards culture can bring. We continue to support our icons such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Shakespeare Company, but today’s announcement will see organisations in places all too often overlooked get the support they need to transform access to the arts for everyone – no matter where they live.”