Paper Dress Vintage receives Arts Council England funding

19 November 2019 - Press release

London venue latest recipient of funding from Supporting Grassroots Live Music Fund
 
Hackney’s Paper Dress Vintage is the latest successful applicant to Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Live Music Fund. The leading Grassroots Music Venue has received a substantial grant which will enable the sound, lighting and accessibility offer at the venue to be substantially upgraded, creating a hugely improved experience for artists and audiences. 
 
Launched at The Great Escape in May 2019, Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Live Music Fund is a £1.5million ringfenced fund to support venues, promoters and other key stakeholders working in the grassroots circuit. Venues across England are being supported in the application process through a network of commercial and charitable partnerships established by Music Venue Trust. These partnerships enable them to successfully engage with the new fund and make great applications that have a meaningful impact on artists and audiences in the touring network. Partnerships available to venues include Whitelight, Yamaha, D&B Audio, Shure, Chauvet, Volunteer It Yourself, and Attitude is Everything, providing a real focus on both best practice and best value.
 
Steve Dix of Paper Dress Vintage said:
“We've just celebrated our 12th birthday at Paper Dress Vintage and this funding award is the best birthday present we could have wished for - thanks Arts Council, we're over the bloody moon! We'll be investing in a new state of the art D&B PA and lighting rig and generally improving our facilities, sprinkling a bit of much needed investment into our magical little corner of Hackney Central.
 
“Grassroots Music Venues have been crying out for this type of investment for years and we're very grateful that Arts Council England recognised the cultural importance of these venues and created a fund specifically to address those needs. Like all grassroots music venues across the country, we’ve received fantastic support from Music Venue Trust across the last five years. They’ve been absolutely fundamental in both making the case for support and in assisting us and other venues to make a successful application.
 
“At Paper Dress Vintage we're very lucky to be surrounded by so many creative people in Hackney, not to mention all the emerging artists who travel from all over the world to play on our little stage. We can't wait to bring even bigger and better shows to you all in 2020 and beyond… Long live MVT and long live Grassroots Music Venues!”
 
Beverley Whitrick, Strategic Director of MVT said:
“MVT is continuing to work closely with venues and Arts Council England to deliver great applications to this fund and to prove the value of investment into these vital spaces right across the country just like Paper Dress Vintage. We are absolutely delighted for Steve and his team, especially as this investment into their infrastructure is exactly the type of sensible intervention that makes a huge, long term difference to artists performing on the grassroots circuit.”