BRADFORD arts and culture groups will benefit from millions of pounds in Arts Council funding over the City of Culture period.

The organisation today announced the organisations it will be funding over the next three years – a period during which Bradford will take on the national title.

The Arts Council will invest £10,057,302 million between 2023-26 in Bradford, an increase of 89 per cent.

For the first time Bradford’s Museums and Galleries service will be awarded “portfolio” status – meaning Cartwright Hall, Bolling Hall, Cliffe Castle Museum and Bradford Industrial Museum will get over £1m of funding over the three year period – £381,770 a year.

Other organisations to be given portfolio status for the first time from 2023 to 2026 are Bloomin Buds Theatre Company – an arts group that creates theatre for working class communities, and urban arts group Tech Styles Dance.

Bloomin Buds will receive £100,000 a year for the next three years, while Tech Styles Dance will get £198,000 a year over the three-year period.

Other Bradford groups will see a big increase in the amount of funding they get over the crucial period in Bradford’s history.

Bradford Literature Festival will see a huge leap in funding. Its annual funding will rise from £305,000 to £1,055,000 a year for the next three years.

The Arts Council said the extra funding will allow the festival to “realise its ambitions to be an internationally-leading literary festival.”

The increase in funding will mean the annual event will receive more investment than any other literature festival in the country.

Kala Sangam – an arts centre in Little Germany, had received just over £100,000 a year as a portfolio organisation.

That will now rise to £361,840 a year until 2026.

Mind The Gap – a theatre company for people with learning disabilities, will go from receiving £250,000 a year to £310,864 a year under its refreshed portfolio status.

CommonWealth theatre group, which has staged ground-breaking performances such as Peacophobia – performed in a city centre car park, will retain its £176,942 annual funding until 2026.

Bradford based Dance United Yorkshire will retain its portfolio status, and the £91,656 funding that came with it.

Ilkley Literature Festival will retain its £140,000 a year funding for the next three years, and City Park based Impressions photography gallery will also remain a portfolio organisation, receiving £206,000 a year.

Haworth based The Bronte Society retains its portfolio status and £236,778 annual funding, and Theatre in The Mill, based at Bradford University, will continue to receive £122,382 a year.

A spokesman for the Arts Council said: “Our investment will help strengthen the foundations of Bradford’s year as City of Culture in 2025.”

Darren Henley, CEO of the Arts Council, added: “This is not a city that is waiting in the wings until its long-deserved time in the spotlight. Bradford hums with creativity and talent every day, with extraordinary cultural heritage woven into its fabric.

“In tough times, this is more important than ever. Our artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries offer comfort, joy and wonders, very often for free. This benefits all of us, our friends and families and the places we live and work. Not only that but investment in culture boosts our economy and leads to more jobs.”

Bradford Council, which runs the museums service, said: “The three-year project will help Bradford Museums and Galleries’ staff develop a deeper understanding of the communities they serve, expand co-creation in developing exhibitions, and improve access to their world class collections insuring that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy high quality art and heritage.”