Hubbub Theatre Company and Déda Awarded lifeline grants from Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund

Hubbub Theatre Company and Déda Awarded lifeline grants from Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund

Hubbub Theatre Company and Déda, who share the same building on Chapel Street in Derby, have received funding as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF). Hubbub Theatre Company has been awarded £81,051 and Déda has received £202,000. The Cultural Recovery Fund aims to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure organisations have a sustainable future.


Déda and Hubbub Theatre Company are two of 588 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support – with £76 million of investment announced last week. This follows £257 million awarded earlier to 1,385 organisations, also from the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.


Artistic Director of Hubbub Theatre Company, Jen Sumner said:
‘Hubbub are delighted and relieved to have received this financial support to continue our work with our learning disabled actors and community. ‘Hubbub At Home’ has proven to be a vital source of connection in these challenging times where many disabled people are shielding and isolated. It was described by one carer as ‘a little miracle’.

As well as supporting wellbeing, we continue to develop the skills of our actors. (We believe that wellbeing is the bedrock of good work and strive to offer support for everyone in the company). We will develop a blended approach to our delivery as Government guidelines allow, mixing our successful Zoom delivery with small group returns to Deda as feels safe physically and emotionally for our community. This fund allows us to go at the pace we need to be mindful, kind, supportive and truly listen to what our community needs and respond accordingly.

We also continue to engage with national allies Separate Doors and Creative Minds to ensure that learning disabled and neuro-divergent creatives are not left behind in UK arts and culture. We are part of the #WeShallNotBeRemoved network.


We are very excited that we will also be exploring adapting our work, performance, rehearsal and workshops for outdoors and all the possibilities this brings. We will be engaging diverse communities in co-creation and participation throughout this process.

We will also continue to diversify our company at all levels and bring learning disabled leadership to the fore, right up to Board level.

This fund allows us to plan and prepare for the way forward, with our excellent, hard working and committed team in place and our freelancers in regular work. We are extremely grateful.
We also could not have come through this time and to this point without the support of our community of carers, families, friends and supporters. Thank you’

Chair of The Board of Trustees for Hubbub Theatre Company, Clare Limb said:
‘The company has shown itself to be enormously resilient through the Covid-19 Crisis and for that I, on behalf of the Hubbub Theatre Company Board of Trustees, am extremely proud. Models of delivery have shifted seamlessly between online, blended and in person engagement, through such initiatives as Hubbub at Home, The Summer Festival of Learning and Dancing on Your Doorstep; retaining current members throughout and gaining new participants in the process. The Culture Recovery Fund grant provides much-needed funds to support Hubbub's ambitious journey towards reaching more learning-disabled people in more diverse communities through the company's various artistic activities from now to April 2021 and beyond.’

Director of Déda, Steve Slater said:
‘We are thrilled to receive this funding! This will enable us to continue to enrich people’s lives through dance and the arts and provide us with a positive step towards securing the future of
Déda. We have been continuing to engage with the community through the #DerbyWell: project. Déda along with other city-wide organisations delivered an arts trail which consisted of
contemporary interpretations of well-dressings from public, partner and artist submissions. We’re excited to announce that a second phase of works is being installed in various new locations across Derby. Follow #DerbyWell and visit www.derbywell.com for more information on the arts trail and where they are located.
We are delighted to be resuming our Academy and adult class programme in-person and online, in line with Government safety guidelines. This will go on sale Monday 2 November 10am. We’d like to thank Arts Council England and our customers, friends and partners for their continued support and for making this possible.’

Chair of The Board of Trustees for Déda, Graham Lister said:
‘The Cultural Recovery Fund has provided a vital lifeline for Déda and we are most grateful to DCMS, HM Treasury and Arts Council England. Whilst the pandemic presents the biggest threat to the cultural sector in 70 years, it also provides an opportunity for us to pause and reflect on how this crisis may also bring about change and refreshment. Creativity, culture and the connectivity of our communities will be more important than ever before, as we begin the process of restoring our health and wellbeing and our sense of our place in the world. Although these are difficult times, Déda is determined to emerge stronger, better, and even more relevant than ever before.’

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

“This is more vital funding to protect cultural gems across the country, save jobs and prepare the arts to bounce back. Through Arts Council England we are delivering the biggest ever investment in the arts in record time. Hundreds of millions of pounds are already making their way to thousands of organisations.
“These awards build on our commitment to be here for culture in every part of the country.”

Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:
“Culture is an essential part of life across the country, helping to support people’s wellbeing through creativity and self-expression, bringing communities together, and fuelling our world
class creative industries.
“This latest set of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund builds on those announced recently and will help hundreds of organisations to survive the next few months, ensuring that the cultural sector can bounce back after the crisis. We will continue doing everything we can to support artists and cultural and creative organisations, with further funding to be announced in the coming weeks.”

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