Salford-based artist-led organisation Islington Mill has the final £746,000 needed to complete its capital fundraising project of over £2m.
The award from National Lottery Heritage Fund will activate a grant of almost £1m from Arts Council England, which will be added to money from Salford City Council and over £500,000 raised through Islington Mill’s artist-led fundraising campaign.
The money will help pay for a new roof, complete weather-proofing of the building, new entranceways, an exterior lift to all floors, a fifth storey walkway, and new live/work/event spaces in a complete transformation of the empty fifth and sixth floors.
Crucially, Islington Mill has also secured the tenancy of its building, securing its future for generations of artists to come.
Maurice Carlin, artist and Co-Director of Islington Mill said: “This latest funding success will secure a long future for the finest surviving heritage building of its kind in the region, in perpetuity for generations more artists to come, guarding against the developing gentrification that has occurred in other urban centres and ensuring that artists have affordable studio space and a creative atmosphere in Salford in which to flourish.”
“Islington Mill is sustained by, and thrives off, the collective energy, ideas and opportunities brought by artists. I am one of many artists who made artworks to raise funds for the Mill. Together we raised over £100,000 which is a phenomenal achievement by any standards.”
Bill Campbell, Co-Director and Founder of Islington Mill added: “At Islington Mill we have always offered both space and time in which artists can flourish, by offering a range of support and encouragement, and holding a safe place for people and their ideas to grow, develop and happen in their own way, at their own pace, when there was sometimes no other place for these things to happen.”
Founded in 2000, to date Islington Mill has supported more than 5,000 artists from 35 countries. It currently houses 50 businesses and 100 artists, with a public arts programme, residency scheme and gallery sitting alongside rehearsal space.
For more information on Islington Mill’s capital fundraising project visit: www.islingtonmill.com
Image:
1. Islington Mill artists. Photo: Islington Mill
2. Islington Mill, Queer Dinner
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