Arts excellence is rewarded in £1.6bn package

The Baltic Centre in Gateshead, the Liverpool art biennial and the Wordsworth Trust in Cumbria were among the big winners yesterday in a £1.6bn funding settlement aimed at rewarding excellence in the arts.

Grants from the Arts Council England for the next three years will reward previously unrecognised genres such as carnival and street arts and young people's organisations, including the National Youth Theatre. Even the once-troubled Royal Opera House has rehabilitated itself to secure a 14 per cent increase in grant to £3.1m.

But what Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, hailed as "a new era of innovation, excellence and relevance" saw correspondingly poor awards to under- performing organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the South Bank Centre in London.

And the jury is still out on the crisis-hit English National Opera, which was granted a 10 per cent rise, but must convince the Arts Council to commit extra funding and stabilise its long-term financial future. Many of the best percentage rises are enormous largely because of comparatively low funding hitherto. Yet not even the losers did that badly yesterday. The pot is shared by 1,400 different organisations.

Widespread praise for the Liverpool art biennial secured a rise of more than 970 per cent from £35,000 this year to £376,664 by 2005-06. The Baltic Centre won a 207 per cent increase over the next two years to £815,225, while the Wordsworth Trust is to receive £50,000, which is a 236 per cent rise. Classical music also fared well, with an extra £2.3m for England's eight symphony orchestras and an average 47 per cent increase for the chamber orchestras. Some, such as the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group founded by Sir Simon Rattle, did considerably better.

Three arts venues – Aldeburgh, Suffolk; Dartington, Devon; and the Sage, Gateshead – will receive an extra £1.3m to help to form a nationwide network of "centres of creative excellence" for performance and training.

By contrast, the Royal Shakespeare Company, whose artistic director Adrian Noble quit last year amid consternation over plans for its bases in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, was awarded 5.5 per cent compared with the thriving Royal National Theatre's 16.5 per cent. The South Bank Centre, which has new management but is yet to shake off a long history of failure to redevelop, was awarded 8 per cent.

The grants reflect a new emphasis from the Government on rewarding success and getting tough with organisations that have been seen not to do their job, although it is the Arts Council that distributes the cash.

The old regional arts boards have been abolished to create a unitary Arts Council which is, for the first time, in control of the entire budget for England. Peter Hewitt, its chief executive, said the reforms had allowed the organisation to support "big, bold, adventurous" ventures such as the new centres of excellence.

The winners

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead

2003-04 £265,225

2005-06 £815,225

207 per cent increase

Despite some criticism over content, the Baltic attracted more than 500,000 visitors in its first six months against expectations of 300,000 for the first year. The Arts Council praised exhibitions such as the Antony Gormley display being assembled now and noted the pride local people have in the centre.

Liverpool Biennial

2003-04 £35,000

2005-06 £376,664

976.2 per cent increase

The Biennial is the only international visual arts festival in Britain. It supports Liverpool talent alongside internationally recognised visual artists. The second festival, held last year, proved so successful that the Arts Council has decided to back the event as a regular addition to the British arts scene.

The losers

Royal Shakespeare Company

2003-04 £13.27m

2005-06 £14m

5.5 per cent increase

Its recent "Jacobethan" season with Antony Sher was welcomed by critics, but the company is being penalised for behind the scenes management chaos over redevelopment plans at Stratford and its move from the Barbican in London. The sudden resignation of Adrian Noble, mid-plan, dented faith in the company.

The South Bank Centre

2003-04 £16.59m 2005-06 £17.94m 8 per cent increase

This is a small increase compared with other national venues, although it does give the centre some funding to go out with a bang when it closes the Royal Festival Hall for refurbishment. Hopes are high for Lord Hollick, the new chairman, and Michael Lynch, the chief executive, but there is clearly not enough success to reward yet.