Skylight Circus Arts secures Arts Council Funding to transform Rochdale creative hub
Skylight Circus Arts has been awarded £125,990 from the Arts Everywhere Fund through Arts Council England to upgrade its Rochdale base and expand access to creative opportunities across Rochdale and Greater Manchester.
For over 35 years, Skylight Circus Arts has been bringing people together through circus, building confidence, creativity and connection in one of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities. This new investment will strengthen the organisation’s home at St Chad’s Fold, transforming it into a more accessible, sustainable and flexible creative space for local people.
The funding will support a programme of improvements including energy-efficient heating, enhanced security, new aerial infrastructure, flexible seating and upgraded theatre equipment. It will also enable the purchase of a small electric van to support outreach work in communities with low cultural engagement.
Together, these developments will help Skylight reduce its environmental impact, improve reliability of delivery and open up more opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to take part in circus.
“Circus brings people together, builds confidence and helps people discover new skills. This investment means we can create a space that truly matches the ambition of our work and the communities we serve. It will help us welcome more people in, reach further out across our communities and keep creating joyful, life-changing experiences through circus for years to come.”
Martine Bradford, Creative Director
“This is fantastic news for Skylight, each year we work with over 10,000 participants across local communities. Capital investment was urgently needed for us to continue to provide life changing experiences for local people”
Jim Riley, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Transformation for Skylight Circus Arts
Skylight Circus Arts is a Rochdale-based charity using circus as a tool for creativity, wellbeing and inclusion. Working across Rochdale, Greater Manchester and the North West, the organisation delivers classes, performances, school programmes and inclusive projects for people of all ages and abilities.
Skylight works with children, young people, families and adults, including those experiencing disadvantage, disability or social isolation. From weekly classes and youth performance to outreach in schools and community settings, the organisation uses circus as a powerful tool for creativity, wellbeing and inclusion.
This investment will help secure the long-term future of the organisation while enabling more people to access high-quality arts and culture close to home.
The project is also being supported by Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency
““Arts and culture are the beating hearts of our communities, they have the power to unite us in the face of division and break down barriers to opportunity. We want to harness the power to help us build a brighter future for the people of the North West.”
Lisa Nandy, Culture Secretary
“Our museums, libraries and arts organisations have the power to change lives, they give us access to new worlds, teach us about our heritage and give us new perspectives on life. I’m so pleased that we’ll be supporting so many of our cultural organisations in the North with this capital investment, which will ensure that they can continue to deliver incredible arts and culture to their communities.”
Rebecca Ball, Area Director, North. Arts Council England
About Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Between 2023 and 2026 we will have invested over £467 million of public money from Government, alongside an estimated £250 million each year from The National Lottery, to support individual practitioners, arts organisations, museums and libraries, and to help ensure that people in every part of the country have access to culture and creativity in the places where they live. Visit our website to learn more about our work.
