STOCKTON Arc is to be involved in building up relationships with arts centre across Europe following the award of £398,000 by Arts Council England.

The grant to Future Arts Centres, a partnership of arts centres around the UK, comes from the Ambition for Excellence fund and is for Euro-Vision, an international project planned over the next three years.

Euro-Vision is led by Stockton Arc and the Albany, London. It aims to expand the current network to transform the way arts centres work together internationally.

The project will help build beneficial working relationships with arts centres across Europe and includes commissioning six new internationally co-produced works.

Annabel Turpin, chief executive at Arc, said: "The arts centre sector, whilst thriving in the UK, is noticeably absent when it comes to European collaborations.

"We’re thrilled to have been awarded funding for Euro-Vision which will change that by forging new international creative partnerships across Europe. We’ve seen how much can be achieved through collaborative work between arts centres across the UK and this project will allow us to expand those benefits across international borders."

Future Arts Centres is a partnership of nine founding organisations which supports a wider network of 90+ arts centres. It was established in 2013 to champion the achievements of arts centres at local, regional and national level, raise arts centre profiles and drive their growth and innovation.