Arts Council England has awarded £150,000 to build on the success of a 21st Century version of ‘The Grand Tour’ – revealing the cultural treasures of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire alongside new contemporary artworks – which was part-funded by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The Grand Tour – which has had two seasons, running July to September 2015, and March to October last year (2016) – gave visitors to the D2N2 LEP’s area of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire a chance to see restored art and cultural artifacts alongside new and contemporary pieces in a variety of locations; including Chatsworth House and the Nottingham Contemporary. It took its name from 18th century aristocrats’ habit of taking a cultural tour of Europe. Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire’s new version of The Grand Tour featured contemporary artists such as Simon Starling, Rose English and Sir Peter Blake; and historical pieces from the Joseph Wright Collection (based at Derby Museums, pictured above) and Devonshire Collection. The programme received £35,000 funding from the D2N2 LEP.
Now Arts Council England has awarded £150,000 from its ‘Cultural Destinations’ programme, which gives cultural organisations additional resources to improve their reach and impact. The new funding will enable Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, which promotes those areas, and its partners to research and develop another two seasons of The Grand Tour, set to run in 2018.
Brendan Moffett, Chief Executive of Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, said: “The announcement by Arts Council England to invest £150,000 in the region to increase the number of cultural tourists is excellent news for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Not only will it have an impact in the number of visitors we attract, it will also have a positive effect on the wider visitor economy, which helps to deliver local jobs and support local businesses.”
D2N2 is the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and works to grow its area’s economy, with the aim of creating 55,000 new jobs (from 2013-2023) across its eight key sectors. One of these sectors is the visitor economy; which creates and builds on opportunities for tourism in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
David Ralph, Chief Executive of the D2N2 LEP, added: “The visitor economy is one of the eight key business sectors we’ve identified as having potential for growth and expansion in the region. The Grand Tour is a great example of how an innovative idea and strong partnership work can help bring new visitors to the region.”
For more information on the Grand Tour, visit website www.thegrandtour.uk.com
For more on D2N2’s key sectors, visit www.d2n2lep.org/key-sectors
Further information on D2N2’s work can on its area’s visitor economy can be found at www.d2n2lep.org/key-sectors/visitor-economy
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Sean Kirby D2N2 Communications Manager 01159 578749 |  | Sam Burbage D2N2 Social Media and Marketing Officer 01159 578254 | ||
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