The Creative Hub, The Storey Meeting House Lane Lancaster, LA1 1TH

NPO Funding Success

4th November 2022 by Lauren Randall

The board, directors and staff team of digital performance company imitating the dog are very pleased to have been offered funding from Arts Council England for a further 3 years. 

This funding decision will see imitating the dog continue to be part of the National Portfolio of organisations supported by Arts Council England from 2023 – 2026, receiving investment for their programme of innovative theatre work, site-specific installations and creative learning and engagement programmes.

Julie Brown, imitating the dog’s Executive Director, said, “This investment means that we can now carry out our 3-year plan which includes making theatre productions which fuse live performance with digital technology, and touring them nationally and internationally, making large-scale projection works for festivals and events across the country and working with young people, communities and artists, delivering high quality cultural experiences for audiences and participants. 

We are grateful for the continued support from Arts Council England and very pleased to be part of a diverse and high-quality portfolio of organisations across the country. We would like to congratulate new entrants into the portfolio, particularly as this was the most oversubscribed funding round to date. However we recognise that some excellent organisations are no longer part of the portfolio and understand how very challenging this will be for those colleagues.”

David Dolan Martin, Chair of imitating the dog, said “I am delighted that Arts Council England have decided to maintain its relationship with imitating the dog as a member of the National Portfolio for the next three years.  Their confidence in us is a testament to the quality of our work and our ability to engage in a wide range of audiences locally, nationally and internationally.  Membership of the National Portfolio will give us the confidence and security to deliver a diverse and exciting programme of the highest quality.”

Alex O’Toole, Chair of Arts Lancashire, added “We are thrilled that imitating the dog will retain their NPO status for 2023 – 26. It recognises the major contribution that imitating the dog makes to the cultural life of Lancashire and the impact of their work on a national and international scale. It is a tribute to their commitment to excellence in developing and delivering innovative digital theatre and installations.

We extend our most sincere congratulations to the imitating the dog team and look forward to continuing to support their organisational development, their work to provide opportunities for Lancashire artists and to develop local talent.”

Notes to Editors

See more on Arts Council England’s 2023-26 Investment Programme on their website: www.artscouncil.org.uk/investment23 

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk 

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, of which we delivered over £1 billion to the sector in grants and loans. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19

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