Micro-grants of up to £200 have been launched to help not-for-profit creative groups in Stoke-on-Trent share their creativity with people in outdoor open spaces in the city, as part of #GetCreativeOutdoors

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has teamed up with Creative Lives for a second year to administer the grants, which will be open for application until Friday, 2 July 2021.

#GetCreative is a national creative campaign that is being championed by partners including Arts Council England and the BBC to highlight the joys and benefits of creativity, and to help people to express themselves and reconnect with each other after a long, isolating year.

For last year’s Get Creative Micro-grant scheme, creative groups in Stoke-on-Trent ran eight remote lockdown projects – from community gardening, to telephone poetry, to a ceramic street gallery. Almost 900 people across the city got involved.

Supporting the creative sector and in particular grass roots organisations is always incredibly important, but in 2020 it was even more so as this was offering support to creative groups who wanted to offer hope and a connection to residents during such a difficult and unsettling time.

Following on from the success of 2020, this summer, as restrictions ease, the grants are looking to support creative groups to breathe new life into outdoor spaces and bring communities back together in safe and inspiring ways.

Each of the funded projects will take place during July and August 2021, and will be advertised on the national Get Creative website as well as on the Visit Stoke website. The activities and events will also be promoted across various social media channels using the hashtag #GetCretiveatOutdoors and #MyStokeStory

Micro-grant funding for ‘Get Creative Outdoors’ in Stoke-on-Trent is reserved specifically for amateur, voluntary and non-for-profit creative groups. However individuals and larger creative and cultural organisations are welcome to join in with this local drive to take creativity outside in the city’s streets, parks and squares this Summer.

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