© Peter Carr

The Granada Foundation’s aims and objectives are:

• To encourage and promote the study, practice and appreciation of the fine arts and the methods and means of their dissemination.
• To encourage and promote the study and application of the sciences.
• To promote and advance education.
• To provide or assist in the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure-time occupation in the interests of social welfare.

In general, the Council looks for imaginative proposals from organisations which will in some way make the North West a richer and more attractive place in which to live and work.

© Joel C Fildes

The Advisory Council interprets the guidelines in a flexible way, realising that it cannot hope to achieve a true balance across all the areas of activity. It does, however, examine the context of each application and tries to make grants in areas where the benefit will be most widely felt.

Our Arts Projects

Here are just some of the projects we have supported:

© Royal Northern College of Music

We supported the Royal Northern College of Music’s Concert Hall redevelopment with a grant in 2013 and more recently, in 2016, the Manchester elements of a music-historical project to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.

“The Granada Foundation’s support has been invaluable to the RNCM, providing vital funds to some of our most significant capital and creative projects. As one of the region’s most important funders of education and the arts, the Foundation’s backing has been so important to our work and enabled us to create exciting, memorable cultural experiences for young people and audiences across the North West.”

© Julie Dodd at Bluecoat Display Centre, College Lane, Liverpool

A grant was awarded to The Bluecoat Display Centre, College Lane, Liverpool, towards window installations and workshops as part of their 2018 creative programme.

“The grant given by The Granada Foundation has enabled us to extend our In the Window creative programme and supported four featured makers to create a bespoke environment around their work (using a range of disciplines) for the benefit of the wider general public walking by our window on College Lane, many of whom might not have otherwise engaged with a craft gallery or maker’s work.

The grant has also facilitated four subsidised workshops which have given local people the opportunity to learn about the maker’s techniques and to learn skills employed in each window.”

© Peter Carr

National Museums Liverpool was the recipient of a grant for The South End Development project for the Lady Lever Art Gallery Lady in Port Sunlight Village, Wirral.

Sandra Penketh, Director of Art Galleries at National Museums Liverpool, said: “The new South End galleries are a true representation of Lever’s remarkable vision. He believed that art should be an inspiration to all. Funding from the Granada Foundation helped us to reinvigorate the rooms in this spectacular space and re-imagine them with this message at heart.”

The Granada Foundation is delighted to be supporting Buxton Festival’s newly commissioned opera Georgiana, at Buxton Opera House as part of their 2019 Festival in this, their 40th Anniversary Year.  We wish Buxton Festival many congratulations on reaching this important milestone in their history.

Our Science Projects

The Foundation particularly welcomes applications from the sciences, and has supported:

© Science Museum Group

The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester was awarded their exhibition Wonder Materials: Graphene and Beyond and more recently, in 2018 to support activities for Year of the Engineer, specifically the Future Engineers learning programme.

“The Science and Industry Museum is very grateful to The Granada Foundation. Their support enables us to inspire the scientists, engineers, and inventors of the future.”

Other projects have included:

  • The British Science Association – ‘Beyond the Classroom: Creative STEM Experiences’ in the North West.
  • Institute of Physics – ‘Lab in a Lorry’ North West Tour
  • University of Manchester Faculty of Engineering – a grant towards ‘Robot Orchestra’
  • Catalyst Science Discovery Centre: Desert Island Science project
  • Norton Priory – Science Display in museum
  • British Science Association – Manchester Branch – Science Tent for Caribbean Carnival of Manchester.