Arts projects share £30,000 Liverpool BID funding

Lantern window installations, Chinese New Year projections and a series of live radio broadcasts will be staged in Liverpool with the help of £30,000 of special arts funding.

Five projects have been chosen by Liverpool BID (Business Improvement District) in the latest round of grants from its Arts & Culture Fund.

The fund aims to support smaller arts projects that will help drive footfall, activity and animation within the city centre.

The latest recipients are the city’s Lantern Company, Svara Radio, Pagoda Arts, dot-art and 20 Stories High.

Julie Johnson, chair of Liverpool BID’s Culture & Commerce Business Improvement District, explains: “It’s so vital that we support arts and cultural groups in and around Liverpool city centre. These events bring colour and animation to our streets, as well as encouraging people to engage in the arts.

“We know that art in the public realm breaks down barriers and improves access to culture. It also brings a positive benefit to the city centre and our businesses. It increases footfall, drawing people in and letting them see the breadth of creativity and vibrancy in the city.”

The Lantern Company will create lantern installations in city centre businesses which will come together in an illuminated winter window gallery trail, while Pagoda Arts will use its funding for a cross-culture programme of events around Chinese New Year which in 2026 is the Year of the Horse.

Meanwhile theatre company 20 Stories High will create a Williamson Square Timeline project, billed as ‘a communal, collaborative, community musical experience’; Svara Radio will stage a ‘Public Service Announcement’ event involving a community-led line-up broadcasting from six high-visibility locations, and dot-art will use its grant to support its annual art’s schools programme, providing a platform for children to express creativity and display their artwork in the Walker Art Gallery and St George’s Hall.

Top: Photo courtesy of Lantern Company.