The Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange have secured nearly £1.5million in Arts Council funding to continue providing high quality exhibitions over the next four years.

Arts Council England announced yesterday (27/6) its National Portfolio Organisation grant funding for 2018-22, and the group, which was already an NPO, was awarded £1,447,044 in revenue funding, breaking down to £361,761 per year.

The group said it would use the money to continue to deliver national and international exhibitions and learning programmes of the highest quality, and support the work of emerging and established artists in the region.

James Green, director of Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, said: “This is fabulous news and testament to the expertise and hard work of our staff, volunteers, and trustees. Last year we engaged more people in our programmes than ever before, across our two sites and beyond. This funding will enable us to pursue our ambitions to reach even more people over the next four years.”

As well as presenting exhibition and learning programmes at its two sites, in recent months the group has delivered ambitious projects elsewhere, including innovative artists’ residency programmes in two care homes in Cornwall, including Ponsandane near Penzance.

In July 2016 the organisation commissioned and presented an ambitious temporary installation in the nave of Truro Cathedral by the acclaimed Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi. The project attracted more than 13,000 visitors over 14 days.

Miranda Bird, chair of the organisation, said: “This is a great result for the gallery but also for Newlyn and Penzance. This funding will be used to support jobs for local people and others across the creative economy and will help attract greater numbers to the area.”

The grant is part of a package of Arts Council funding for Cornish organisations, worth almost £10million, which was announced this week.

Eight National Portfolio Organisations in Cornwall will share over £9.4 million over the next four years: The Bernard Leach Trust in St Ives, the Cornwall Museums Partnership, Creative Kernow, the Hall for Cornwall, Kneehigh Theatre Trust, Miracle Theatre Trust, Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange and WildWorks.

Kneehigh Theatre and Cornwall Museum Partnership, which recently added Helston Museum and Cornwall Regimental Museum in Bodmin to its portfolio, have also been awarded significant uplifts of 22 per cent and 27 per cent respectively in recognition of their innovative work.

All other Cornwall-based National Portfolio Organisations will continue to be supported at the same level as 2015/18, despite the pressures on the Arts Council’s budgets.

In addition the Arts Council also announced that CAST (the Cornubian Arts and Science Trust) in Helston would receive a grant of £500k to refurbish their former school building premises.

Cornwall Council has said it would match fund all these investments to support the county's prosperous creative sector, which employs almost 27,000 people, up 12 per cent since 2011, and generated economic £21.1m in 2015.

Cllr Bob Egerton, the council’s portfolio holder for planning and economy, said “I am delighted to see that nearly £10million of Arts Council investment into our cultural gems has been secured. These companies undertake a plethora of cultural activity in Cornwall. Many work on Cornwall-wide initiatives bringing culture to our towns and villages, and encourage communities to create such as via Creative Kernow’s FEAST programme. In addition several of them have an international significance, such as the Leach Pottery and Kneehigh Theatre. Cultural activity both enriches our lives and boosts our economy.”