FOUR Trafford cultural organisations have received funding as part of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) as a financial lifeline.

Nationally, more than 1,300 arts and cultural firms will receive a share of the £257m, as a list of those that applied for grants under £1 million in the first round of the CRF were announced on Monday.

Arts Council England will distribute the funding on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

SBS Audio Visual based in Trafford Park, and specialise in music production business and the have received £60k.

Owner Gareth Turner said: “The funding is going to keep us afloat for the next six months and ride it out until we can start to look at events in 2021.

“That has been our main aim to push through the pandemic and into next year.

“We are a full production events company whether that be people needing stages, production, lights and power and we have had a lot of events in the exhibition centre in Trafford.

“We like to provide the full package.”

The firm has been running in Trafford for seven years and bosses say they are hopeful things will pick up.

Mr Turner added: “As a business you have to adapt in the pandemic but we are confident that the industry will be able to bounce back.

“People still love music events and we will be looking to bring them back when it is viable.”

Also scooping cash were Buy Art Fair Ltd based in Trafford who were awarded £50,000.

The largest amount of money distributed to a Trafford firm was £97,092 to McKinnon and Saunders Limited, which has a full production service for stop motion and 2D digital animation projects from concept to final delivery.

They also help with individual elements of production: from concept and script development to character design, budgeting, scheduling, talent hire, shooting and post production.

Wordsmith MCR, which stages interschool performance poetry events and are also based in Trafford were given £58,844.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the Government had “worked around the clock to get this record investment out to the front line” and “is here for culture”.

He said the grants will “allow our wonderful theatres, museums, music venues and cultural organisations to survive this crisis and start putting on performances again – protecting jobs and creating new work for freelancers.

“This is just the start – with hundreds of millions pounds more on the way for cultural organisations of all sizes that still need our help.”