The Brewery Arts Centre is delighted to announce that the Northern Rock Foundation has awarded a grant to the Women’s Arts International Festival. Their award, the largest the Northern Rock Foundation board approved at their recent meeting, came from their Culture and Heritage funding stream, reinstated in May this year. The award will enable the Brewery to appoint a Festival Team to develop the event and ensure its long term future. 

 

Sam Mason, Chief Executive Officer, said “We are absolutely delighted that The Northern Rock Foundation has made this award, as we believe that the first Women’s Arts Festival was a huge success and brought a lot of national recognition for Cumbria. The festival in 2009 should be even more impressive, particularly if the potential partnership with The South Bank Centre comes to fruition. I love the idea of the largest city arts centre and the largest rural arts centre in the UK working together on the festival – we can create a truly international event that both the South Bank and South Lakes can be proud of. People should put the dates in their diaries now as this will be a festival not to be missed.”

 

Plans are already underway for next year’s Festival in May 2009, with London’s South Bank as potential Festival partners. Audiences can expect an even bigger and better line-up than last year’s inaugural event, which opened with a rare appearance by Marianne Faithfull and headlined Patti Smith on the first date of her European tour. With other fantastic artists such as Lionel Shriver, Jo Brand, Prunella Scales, Urban Bush Women, Sandie Shaw and Bats for Lashes, the 200 strong line up that was featured over 21days in 2007, made for one of the largest women’s arts festival in the world, attracting thousands of visitors to the area. Music, theatre, dance, literature, film, visual arts, discussions and workshops will all feature once again in a packed two weeks in 2009.

 

It will truly be the Mother of All Festivals.