On Saturday, Arts Council England announced their fourth round of Culture Recovery Fund grants to aid institutions sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. No electronic music organizations were awarded according to their latest data release – but in the meantime, a recipient from their second round of funding has begun to raise questions.
Among the Round 2 beneficiaries was Birmingham event brand Sundissential; a nearly 20-year-running hard dance club night that received £223,822. According to the Companies House listing for Sundissential Limited, however, the company was dormant from 2017-2019. Mixmag notes that on September 1st, just before the Culture Recovery Fund application deadline, the company filed new accounts and changed its principal business activity to “educational support services, performing arts, artistic creation and the operation of arts facilities.”
In response to complaints, the U.K. government organization promised to look into the matter. “Arts Council England has received a number of concerns about the Culture Recovery Fund grant awarded to this applicant, which we are actively investigating,” said a spokesperson. “While we investigate no payments have been made.”
The Facebook page for Sundissential appears to be offline. Prior to that, admins had had made a post thanking Arts Council England for the award. “The grant will support us to plan and deliver our 2021 25th Anniversary Event Program, ensuring (if necessary) we implement the relevant measures to ensure your safety at next year’s events whilst considering the current COVID-19 alert level,” it read.
This isn’t the first time the legitimacy of a Culture Recovery Fund grant has been called into question. In the same round of funding, Boiler Room received £791,652 despite posting net operating losses in the millions for both 2018 and 2019. In a statement emailed to Selector, a spokesperson on behalf of Arts Council England wrote, “The criteria to be awarded a grant are rigorous and we are confident we have applied them in all our decision making.”
Night Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill said that “some culturally significant venues, events and supply chain businesses being missed off the awards, bringing into question the current criteria and assessment process.” London venues like Printworks, The Drumshed, Egg London, Studio 338, Oval Space, Exhibition London and The Pickle Factory all had their applications rejected.
To date, Arts Council England has paid out £427 million of the £500 million allocated for the Culture Recovery Fund.
