Lighthouse & Arts Council England
Lighthouse has been a key part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio since it was established, benefiting from support over the years that has enabled us to grow into a resilient and financially sustainable organisation. We’ve learned today that our funding application for NPO 2023-26 has not been successful. We appreciate that in this extraordinarily competitive funding landscape difficult decisions have had to be made, particularly in locations like Brighton & Hove that are served by such a vibrant mix of arts organisations.
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Lighthouse has played a leading role in the city’s arts scene for over 35 years. In that time we have pursued our mission to create leaders in the cultural and creative industries and provided a home for diverse young talent developing new ideas in contemporary art, film, music and sound.
Alumni from our Guiding Lights mentoring scheme have gone on to make over 60 feature films, nominated for BAFTA’s, BFI Vision Awards and BIFA with world-renowned mentors including Sam Mendes, Barbara Broccoli and Danny Boyle. Our Lighthouse Young Creatives programme supports the new generation of creative talent, and tackles inequality in the creative sector. Over 80% of our participants continue to build their creative practise and 44% have secured ongoing employment in the cultural sectors.
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We have welcomed the Arts Council’s support but are confident in our ability to continue to develop our programmes and make positive social change happen for our city and beyond. Now more than ever we are committed to making a positive difference to the lives of creative people; and diversifying who gets to explore, shape and succeed in the creative and cultural life of the UK.
We have exciting plans for building the spaces, experiences and connections that will encourage diverse new ideas, voices, practices and communities and will continue to build new partnerships with those who share our vision for a more equitable future for contemporary culture.