The Factory Manchester has been awarded major funding as part of Arts Council England’s announcements today that sees more funding move from London to the rest of the country.

The flagship cultural venue for the North designed by world-leading architects Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), has been awarded major funding as part of Arts Council England’s announcements today.

The National Theatre, Southbank Centre, Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company will lose £2.5m of Arts Council England funding per year between them.

Arts Council chair Sir Nicholas Serota said funding for 2018-2022 would “take more money out of London” as an extra £42.5m per year will be spent outside London, with 183 organisations added to the funding portfolio.

The funding includes £7m capital from the Lottery fund and £9m annual revenue from 2018-22.

The capital funding will be paid to Manchester City Council. The total capital cost of the project is £110m comprising £78m Exchequer funding, up to £20m from Manchester City Council, the Lottery funding announced today and a minimum fundraising target of £5m.

Manchester International Festival, the operator for Factory, has been awarded £9.730m per year of which £9m is for The Factory and £730k is for the continuation of the biennial festival.

The Factory project is Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture’s (OMA) first major public building in the UK led by project partners Ellen van Loon, Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten. The beginning of enabling works on the building will be marked by a Groundbreaking Ceremony on 8 July.

The Factory will be a unique new venue that will capture the extraordinary creative vision and breadth of Manchester’s cultural life.

It will form part of the vibrant new St. John’s neighbourhood, which is being developed by Allied London, in partnership with Manchester City Council, on the site of the former Granada TV Studios.

It will offer audiences the opportunity to enjoy, in a new world-class facility, the broadest range of art forms and cultural experiences – including dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, popular culture and innovative contemporary work incorporating multiple media and technologies.

 Its economic impact will be considerable creating or supporting almost 1,500 full-time jobs and adding £1.1 billion to the city’s economy over a decade.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:

“Factory is going to change lives as well as the cultural landscape – not just here in Manchester but nationally and internationally.

“The economic benefits to the city and wider region are huge. The impact it will have on arts education and the development of creative and technical talent is significant. And the range, scope, and scale of cultural opportunities it will provide for audiences from far and wide to come to the city and enjoy in this transformative and unique space will be unrivalled.

“Factory is, without doubt, what the arts world and Manchester has been waiting for.”

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