Milton Keynes festival awarded more than £88K in funding

Organisers of Art in the Park are promising the event will be bigger and better in 2017 following an award of £88,070 from the Arts Council's National Lottery funded Grants for the Arts.

Organised by Milton Keynes Islamic Arts, Heritage and Culture, Art in the Park celebrates the city’s diverse cultures with a two day celebration of music, dance, visual arts, spoken word performances, workshops and much more – including other festival traditions like a fun fair and food.

This year’s festival will include an ambitious arts programme to support Milton Keynes’ 50th Anniversary. The programme’s theme will be ‘Leaving old lands, and visions for the future’, celebrating migration in the context of Milton Keynes’ 50 year history.

Art in the Park, and its predecessor EF – Festival of Art Integration, have been supported by the Arts Council’s National Lottery funded Grants for the Arts programme since 2011.

“This is a really exciting development for our Festival – celebrating 50 years of our city by bringing different MK communities together to celebrate our diverse cultures,” said Anouar Kassim, for Art in the Park.
“Everybody is welcome to join us on 1st/2nd July in Campbell Park and we thank the Arts Council for their support.”

Hedley Swain, area director, South East, Arts Council England, said: “2017 is a really exciting year for Milton Keynes and it is fantastic to see arts and culture playing such an important role in its 50th Anniversary celebrations. As well as being a great source of entertainment and fun, Art in the Park is also a great way for people of all cultures to come together and celebrate each other’s individuality. We are really pleased to be able to continue our support for the festival and look forward to seeing it continue to play such an important role in Milton Keynes.”