Cheltenham Paint Festival appeal after funding denied
Organisers of Cheltenham Paint Festival are appealing for help after being denied Arts Council Funding.
The annual event is expected to take place in Cheltenham in July, and will feature dozens of artists.
But organisers are worried about the future of the festival as they are struggling to fund the event.
Andy Davies who runs the festival claims they had been encouraged by Arts Council of England to apply for funding after a site visit from a regional director of the organisation. But have now been told they will not gain funding this year.
Andy Davies, said: "Unfortunately we've been turned down again this year and that's left a huge hole in our budget.
"It's an increasingly difficult landscape to get funding, there's an ever increasing number of people applying for an ever decreasing pot of money."
In a statement, the Arts Council said: "We're pleased to have supported Cheltenham Paint Festival on a number of occasions in the past, but The National Lottery Project Grants programme is highly competitive and regrettably, there are always many more good applications than the Arts Council can fund.
"While the Festival's most recent application was unsuccessful, we welcome future submissions and remain in close contact with cultural stakeholders in the area."