Manchester Airport Group Donates to the Arts

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has unveiled the arts organisations set to benefit from its sponsorship for 2007/8.

The largest British-owned airport operator, which owns Manchester, East Midlands, Humberside and Bournemouth Airports, is to donate £740,100 to arts organisations as part of its commitment to culture in UK.

Organisations to benefit this year include:

· The Bridgewater Hall - International Series
· Lowry
·  The Hallé
· Royal Exchange Theatre
· Northern Ballet Theatre
· Opera North
· Bolton Octagon
· Bury Met
· Oldham Coliseum
· Feel good Theatre Productions
·  Library Theatre Company
· Liverpool Philharmonic
· Manchester International Festival
· Wigan International Jazz Festival
·  Buxton Festival
· 24:7 Theatre Festival
· Queerupnorth International Festival
· The Spark Children's Arts Festival
·  Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards
· Bravo Awards
·  Manchester Art Gallery
· Imperial War Museum
· Whitworth Art Gallery
· Tate Liverpool
· Tatton Park
· QUAD - Derby's new Visual Arts and Media Centre
· Travelling by Tuba
·  Music at St James

The sponsorship programme, which is now in its 18th year supports a wide range of arts organisations across the North West and the UK. It has helped to create employment , promoted art forms to people who would not normally have access to them and it has also been instrumental improving and expanding the cultural scene on a national level. Almost £9 million has been given to arts organisations since 1989.

Manchester Airports Group Director of External Affairs, Jonathan Bailey, said of this year’s sponsorship announcement:  “The Manchester Airports Group contributes more than £3.2 billion a year to the national economy and is committed to investing and supporting Arts regionally and nationally, encouraging the success of arts and culture in each region that we operate.

“This year we are giving almost £1million to the arts through arts sponsorship and in selecting the organisations we support, we have tried to cover every aspect of the arts: theatre, music, poetry, fine arts, photography fashion and new media.”

And he added: “We passionately believe in the vital role the arts play in enriching and enlivening every aspect of our community and are delighted to be able to contribute to its continued success.”