Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation invests £32 million
Following the sale of Picasso's portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto (also known as The Absinthe Drinker) last year, the Trustees of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation are now able to invest the £32m on an active grant-giving programme to support culture, heritage and arts.
Mark Wordsworth, Chairman of the Trustees of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, says: "Previously we have concentrated on fine art and arts education, but we have decided to help a broader scope of people and projects directly with the funds invested from the Picasso sale. Andrew Lloyd Webber is delighted that the money he gifted to the Foundation is now being used to contribute to a wide range of projects and is making a significant difference to many people's lives."
The Foundation has announceed a £250,000 donation to UK charity Nordoff Robbins, which specialises in providing music therapy sessions in its own centres and units as well as in hospitals, day centres and schools nationwide. Nordoff Robbins plans to use the money to help maintain its music therapy unit at the famous BRIT school in Croydon and to fund their work at the unit. The charity delivers music therapy and other music services to help those with a range of challenges including autism, dementia, depression, stroke and terminal illness.
Other beneficiaries of the Foundation's support announced today include:
• Chickenshed, an all inclusive youth theatre company, towards their BTEC programme.
• All Saints Church, Margaret St, London, towards their ongoing interior refurbishment project
• Burghclere Primary School Band, for the provision of a percussion teacher and percussion equipment.
• Time Spanners, a 21-piece community music group with physical or learning disabilities towards professional support musicians.
• Haringey Shed, an all inclusive performing arts group, for the refurbishment of new premises.
• The Orpheus Centre, a performing arts college for disabled young adults, to fund arts bursaries over a three-year period
Further major grants are to be announced within the coming months.
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