Three more years of creativity, culture and community-led arts have been secured for Corby and Wellingborough, with Arts Council England confirming £1m of funding for arts programme Made With Many.
The award is part of Arts Council England’s largest ever Creative People and Places (CPP) Portfolio, which sees £42m invested in 45 programmes from 2026-29, to deliver more grassroots-led cultural experiences in areas across England where involvement in arts and culture is below the national average.
Creative People and Places brings together community, grassroots and cultural organisations as partners to take the lead in choosing, creating and taking part in creative and cultural activities.
CPPs are empowering local people to pursue the art they want, where they live.
This funding is made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
Every National Lottery ticket purchased generates money for good causes and enables people in villages, towns and cities up and down the country to get access to cultural experiences where they live.
“The continued funding represents an incredible vote of confidence in our communities across Corby and Wellingborough, and their creative and cultural ambition,” said Made With Many Co-Director Vicky Frayard. “Building relationships with our communities who are at the heart of what we do is magical, and this funding means we can continue that work for another three years.”
The project’s vision states that ‘by 2030, Corby and Wellingborough will be recognised as places where creativity thrives, where residents shape and lead cultural activities, and where the arts bring people together to tackle real challenges facing their communities’.
Local residents, supported by Made With Many, will help shape the next three years of arts and cultural activities, with more than 75,000 people expected to take part and get creative.
Co-Director Victoria Bell added: “Made With Many involves the community at every single stage – there is no point at which we are not listening. This funding will ensure we can take that approach even further, supporting our communities to not just attend cultural activities, but to lead and shape them. By 2030, we want people to walk through Corby and Wellingborough and see creativity everywhere – in community spaces, in the stories being told, in the confidence and pride of our residents.”
Rob Purdie, independent chair of the Made With Many consortium, highlighted the organisation’s track record: “Over the past decade, Made With Many has enabled over 300,000 people to engage with cultural activity they’ve helped shape. This new funding builds on that incredible foundation. Looking ahead, we want Corby and Wellingborough to be places where creativity is part of everyday life, where residents have the skills and confidence to lead cultural projects, and where the towns are recognised nationally for innovation in community-led arts.”
Kate Williams, CEO for Groundwork Northamptonshire, and the accountable body for Made with Many, heading up the consortium of organisations that steer the work it does, said: “Being awarded this funding for a further three years will mean we can continue to embed creative fabulousness into the communities of Corby and Wellingborough. Over the next three years, Made With Many will focus on supporting people and communities who too often miss out on cultural opportunities. We will work together to ensure that creativity becomes a tool for addressing real local challenges including health inequalities, climate concerns, and social isolation, we are thrilled by this continued investment”.
To find out more visit their website here.
