Cash injection for this summer's revamped Long Division festival

Supplied by the Arts Council, it will be used to provide extra artists for this summer’s event which include electronica and jazz musicians for the first time.

The cash announcement comes as Long Division also revealed details of its seed-fund programme, which will give artists from the WF postcodes a chance to apply for funding to create new work.

Called a ‘Manifesto For a New Wakefield’, it is not just limited to musicians, other artists are invited to apply including those working in visual art, photography, sculpting to film and animation. Festival director Dean Freeman (pictured) said: “We’re incredibly pleased to receive Arts Council funding and I’m especially pleased that so much of it will go directly to artists as there is little access to this kind of money for grassroots artists, despite the large and successful organisations we have in the district.

“Wakefield born or based creativity is all too often overlooked. I don’t want Long Division to just be about importing culture to the city on an annual basis - we need to nurture our own all year round.

“I really hope this will be the beginning of a fresh wave of new thinking from a new generation.”

Information on the seed fund can be found on www.longdivisionfestival.co.uk.

Running from June 1 to 3 at venues across the city, the festival headliners will be announced on January 31.