Cost-of-living crisis

A commercial contemporary art gallery in central London has closed due to "mounting debts" made worse by Brexit, inflation and a drop in sales.

FOLD, which was founded 15 years ago by Kim Savage, has gone into voluntary liquidation and all future exhibitions have been cancelled.

Savage said that "mounting historic debts, the fallout from the pandemic lockdowns, Brexit, inflation and a general downturn in sales" had resulted in the "sudden decision" to close the gallery.

FOLD was initially a project space in Hackney, east London when it first launched in 2008.

The gallery moved to Clerkenwell and then Fitzrovia eight years ago.

Savage added: "I am deeply saddened to make this announcement and really have tried my utmost to avoid this and to make it work, but I am afraid now the tank is empty".

Increases in the cost of theatre and live music performances have contributed to record inflation rates for recreation and culture, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show.

Data published today by the ONS shows the UK's inflation rate stayed at 8.7% in May - the same rate as in April - and down from a peak of 11.1% last year.

The ONS said that while falling prices for motor fuel was one of a number of areas that contributed to downward pressure on inflation, this was counteracted by increases in others.

It cited rising prices for recreational and cultural goods and services as being among the "largest upward contributors".

The annual inflation rate for this category in the year up to May 2023 was 6.8%, up from 6.4% in April.  

It represents the highest level of inflation for recreational and cultural goods and services since the ONS began recording figures in their current format in January 2006. The last time it was higher was in August 1991 when annual price rises were recorded at 7.2%.

The ONS has attributed some of the rise to cultural services, where average charges for live music events and theatre admissions rose this year having fallen a year ago.

A music festival in Essex has been cancelled due to escalating production costs.

The BBC reports that artists including Bastille, James Bay, Clean Bandit, Texas and Freya Ridings were due to perform at the Hideaway Festival at Crix near Chelmsford.

A statement put out by the organisers said they had encountered "numerous challenges", including escalating production costs and the prevailing cost of living crisis. 

"Despite our best efforts, we are unable to meet the costs associated with delivering a top-quality event on such a large scale," the statement said.

"We also did not feel that it was the right choice to pass on expenses onto our valued customers and raise ticket prices further. Consequently, we have had to cancel this event."

A music and arts festival in the grounds of a historic country house in Perthshire has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

The organisers of the Otherlands Music and Arts Festival at Scone Palace, Perth also cited rising production costs and the loss of grant funding as reasons for pulling the plug on three-day event planned for 11-13 August.

Describing the decision as "devastating" and "heart-breaking", they said in a statement they were "absolutely gutted that we could not make the festival a reality this year".

The statement continued: "An independent festival comes with a whole host of challenges and despite doing everything we can, we are unable to deliver the show to the high standard it needs to be, and therefore it is no longer viable to continue".

The announcement comes as the Association of Indepedent Festivals says the costs associated with putting on an event are becoming "untenable" for indepedent festivals.

This year would have been the second outing for the festival, which took place for the first time in August 2022.

The festival has committed to refunding all ticket holders within 14 days.

A London theatre is raising money to pay a £120,000 bill from rent arrears built up during the pandemic.

Sasha Regan, founder and director of the Union Theatre in Southwark, said she was struggling to pay the bill, which is for the period the venue was closed during the pandemic, alongside other outgoings which have gone up amid the cost of living crisis.

"That sort of amount of money, it's just not viable to add that on to our outgoings with the electricity, which is astronomical, and the rent that we're paying now," Regan, who set up the theatre 25 years ago, told the BBC.

Her daughter Nellie Regan, who is a performer, has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money.

A spokesperson for the landlord said: "We're in conversation with Union Theatre to explore a solution to address their situation.

"Wherever possible we work to retain longstanding customers in our spaces."

Latest data from The Audience Agency (TAA) suggests a “long shadow” from the Covid pandemic is still affecting the sector.

The charity published its findings from its Cultural Participation Monitor on Tuesday (28 March), which found that more than a quarter of the population are attending arts and culture less than before the pandemic.

More than a third (37%) said they were attending less, compared with 12% who said they were attending more. These results were largely in line with those from a year ago, when 31% said they were attending less, compared with 12% more.

TAA says the pandemic has “receded as a perceived risk,” but added that it “remains a key factor for between a fifth and a quarter of people across a range of measures”.

Those attending cultural destinations less appear most influenced by the cost-of-living crisis, with 56% stating that their reduced attendance was because of money.

Elsewhere, TAA’s findings suggest that venues are reporting higher levels of late bookings – with 41% of audience members saying they tend to book last minute.

People are also planning to donate less, with 50% of those who currently donate to cultural organisations saying they plan to donate less across the next year.

TAA Chief Executive Anne Torreggiani says the new evidence confirms arts and cultural organisations are suffering a “double whammy” right now.

“Trying to navigate these complex reasons for income being down is very challenging for organisations,” she said.

“Developing a really deep understanding of your audience is going to make a big difference because what's working for a peer organisation in a different place with a different audience won’t necessarily work in your community.”