The funding is aimed at supporting jobs and creating opportunities for young people to learn creative skills in an attempt to “cement Britain’s place as a cultural powerhouse”.
Investment will be targeted at organisations in urgent need of financial support to keep them up and running, carry out infrastructure work, and improve long term financial resilience.
“The funding will allow the arts to continue to flourish across Britain, creating good jobs and growth by fixing the foundations in our cultural venues, museums, libraries and heritage institutions,” said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
“As a government that is on your side, our Plan for Change will ensure that arts and cultural institutions truly are for everyone, everywhere.”
Overall, cultural sectors support 666,000 jobs across the country while the creative industries are worth £124bn to the economy.
Some of the recipients of the funding include the Creative Foundations Fund which works to support capital works to keep venues open across the country.
A new £20m museum renewal fund is also involved which will work to keep civic museums open and engaging.
While receiving praise, the government announcement has also drawn ire from people in other industries that have missed out.
Chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) – which campaigns for the “night time economy” – Michael Kill has castigated the Arts Everywhere fund.
He claims it does not support contemporary and countercultural spaces, and does not help the whole arts industry.
“The ‘Arts Everywhere Fund’ is a misleading title – this funding does not recognise the importance of counterculture or the contemporary arts that keep our cities vibrant,” Kill said.
“Over £270m has been pledged to museums, libraries, and heritage institutions, but there is nothing for live music venues, electronic music, festivals, or grassroots nightlife. These spaces are the lifeblood of creativity, driving cultural evolution, attracting tourism, and providing jobs for thousands.
“If the government truly wants to cement Britain’s status as a cultural powerhouse, it must support the full spectrum of the arts – not just its most traditional forms. Nightlife and contemporary music are not an afterthought; they are a cornerstone of our creative industries.”
The Music Venue Trust chief executive Mark Davyd has also criticised a government plan to invest £67m into cultural infrastructure.
“I suggested that to address the collapse in music in our communities, DCMS should find £20m to open 40 new grassroots music venues,” Davyd wrote on social media.
“They thought I was being daft or making a joke, because, of course, there’s no money and we all know that. Except we’ve got £15m to build yet another hall for the National Railway Museum and £5m to build a poetry centre, and nobody thinks that £20m is funny.
“Cultural funding in the UK needs a massive overhaul. A government that claims it wants to support communities to access culture, and is pinning its hopes for growth on the creative industries, needs to get started on that rethink without further delay.”