Following a first round of seed funding that backed everything from an immersive cabaret club to handmade jewellery, Creative Blackpool is inviting new ideas for 2027, with grants of up to £5,000 on offer.
Creative Blackpool has opened a second round of seed funding, with £10,000 to award to artists, producers and organisations developing new creative work in the town next year.
Grants of between £500 and £5,000 are available to individuals and organisations living or operating in Blackpool and the surrounding areas. The deadline is midnight on 11 January 2027.
The programme, backed by Arts Council England investment secured to begin delivering Blackpool’s Cultural Strategy, launched this summer with five projects.
LIV, an immersive nightlife experience from Aysh De Belle, Sam De Belle and Mykey J Young, turned The Avenue into an interactive cabaret club when it opened in July and has diversified Blackpool’s nightlife. Young said: “We’ve been really thankful to Creative Blackpool, who awarded us seed funding. That’s actually paid for our rehearsal process and without that we wouldn’t have got this off the ground.”
Elsewhere, Blackpool Social Club contributor Beth Barker is developing Uncanny Town, a series of strange stories from beside the sea that pairs literature with visual art and events. Rachael Leitch is creating Alley Girls, a theatre project celebrating working-class female solidarity. Helen Rodger’s Where We Dance is reimagining the Blackpool Tower Ballroom floor as a collection of handmade jewellery. And comedy and performance duo Black Liver are building Rogues Gallery, a touring show and gallery made with local communities.
Kerry Vasiliou, Partnership Director at Creative Blackpool, said the fund was about giving talent room to grow.
“Blackpool has always had creative talent. What’s changed is that we now have the means to identify it, invest in it and give it room to grow,” she said.
“That matters on its own terms, but it also matters for what comes next. As the town looks towards City of Culture 2029, this Fund is evidence that Blackpool’s creative renaissance isn’t a slogan, it’s already happening, project by project, person by person.”
The second round is open to ideas from any art form, including theatre, music, dance, film, photography, fashion, literature, poetry and visual art, or a mix of them. Projects should pilot something new, strengthen Blackpool’s cultural scene and connect with the town’s wider programme.
They should also either involve local residents, offer professional development, bring new audiences to the town, work with people with protected characteristics, or help further a business plan.
Anyone who would rather pitch in a different way, such as a short video or audio recording, can do so as an alternative to the written form.
There will be two information events from bidders prior to the deadline in January. On 3 December, 2pm – 3.30pm, at Aunty Social, and online on 17 November, 7-8pm.
Full details, including eligibility, the application form and a practice version to work through first, are on the Creative Blackpool website. Anyone funded in the first round is unable to apply again.
