James Morris, MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, celebrated a decade of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places at a Parliamentary Reception catching up with Creative Black Country to learn about how National Lottery funding is supporting their campaigns.

The Arts Council's Creative People and Places initiative was launched in 2012 to empower local people create and take part in the arts and culture on offer in their area.

Creative Black Country began in 2014 to explore and develop new projects across the region. Since the launch of the initiative, Arts Council England have invested over £108m of Lottery funding.

This focus's on areas where engagement with arts and culture is below the national average, and there are currently 39  programmes taking place across 56 local authority areas. James said:

“I was delighted to show my support for the Creative People & Places Programme, after ten successful years, and it was particularly great to hear how people in Dudley and Sandwell are able to benefit from Creative Black Country.

“Areas such as the Black Country have historically had a below average uptake for engagement in arts and culture, so it’s encouraging that Lottery funding is being put to good use to change lives and benefit our communities."