Bristol's Ujima Radio gets Arts Council England funding

From a press release to news@media.info
Posted 22 August 2016, 4.54am bst

Ujima Radio are in receipt of Arts Council England funding of £135,000 to help deliver their Creative Case for Diversity in Bristol and the region.

Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: “We’re really pleased to be supporting Ujima Radio through our Elevate fund. Ujima is a local community radio station which celebrates African and Caribbean cultures through music and informative talk. Our investment will help them become more resilient as a community interest company, up-skilling members of Black communities in Bristol in the arts and media and partnering with local arts organisations to embed the values of diversity in their work.”

Ujima’s Executive Chair Roger Griffith said “It’s a fantastic honour to be in receipt of Arts Council funding the first of its type for a radio station in England and Wales. This will help us build a cultural footprint to develop future talent and engage new partnerships with a variety of cultural institutions. In addition it will strengthen Ujima and the communities and under-represented groups it serves through Arts, Culture, Music and Heritage by using its media platforms and engagement activities.

The award gives us a chance to prove ourselves and deliver what we already know, ‘that we are more than just a radio station!’ We aim to deliver a range of cultural events and new initiatives which will give voice to develop new and hidden talent and create business.

The Ujima Board and Management Team wish to thank its legion of volunteers for their hard work and ensuring that the radio content has been worthy of winning three successful awards in the last 12 months. We would also like to thank our loyal supporters for listening and attending events such as the historic ‘50 Voices for Malcolm X’ at Bristol Old Vic.

We are proud that our partnership work is central to our work with so many of Bristol’s organisations. With this award we pay particular tribute to Watershed Bristol and University West of England Bristol, for their vital support and business development mentoring which has enabled us to make this huge organisational step change.

The work begins straight away, and to celebrate, we will shortly announce Ujima’s Cultural Autumn Spectacular Season involving Bristol artists, and working with local partners and institutions with live broadcasts.”