Candoco awarded as part of Culture Recovery Fund

As with so many of our colleagues and friends across the sector, the last six months have been devastating for Candoco. To be unable to perform, make work, or to share our inclusive practice with audiences, artists and participants has been heartbreaking. The financial impact has been no less significant: without the ability to perform, we have lost 72% of our income.  In spite of this, we have continued to support our dancers, the community of independent artists we work with and our team during this time. After all, it is the people who work with and for Candoco, that make it what it is. Equally, Candoco is only as resilient and innovative as the disabled and non-disabled artists who work at the heart of it.

The news that we have been awarded £100,000 from the Culture Recovery Fund is truly welcomed and comes as a huge relief. The investment means that we can make a flexible programme of work with our community of artists and creatives – adapting our programme for outdoor and non-theatrical spaces as well as for the digital realm – and to adapt our far-reaching learning activity to offer blended live and online experiences. This pioneering, flexible and creative approach is at the heart of our work.

It is more vital than ever that the work of inclusive companies like Candoco remain active and visible as the sector, and the world recovers from the pandemic. This is an opportunity to support and showcase the creative power of inclusivity and to ensure a more equitable sector for artists, audiences and participants to work in and enjoy the arts.

Charlotte Darbyshire (Artistic Director) and Jo Royce (Executive Director), Candoco Dance Company