STAFF at two Oxford theatres and an art gallery are celebrating today after being awarded hundreds of thousands of pounds in grant funding.

Oxford Playhouse, Pegasus Theatre and Modern Art Oxford are among 15 successful applicants in the South East region for grants totalling £2.3m over a three-year period.

Arts Council England announced the funding boost as part of a £30.5m nationwide Catalyst Arts programme.

The new funding, provided by the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the National Lottery, is good news for the organisations after their Arts Council England budgets were cut last year when ACE suffered a £100m cut in funding.