Quarter of music and theatre venues fear closure

Exterior of Lighthouse Poole Centre for Arts
13 Jul 2023

Experts warn entertainment venues are at risk as bills and energy costs continue to soar, leaving them 'clinging on' to survive.

A champion of racial equity

Headshot of Kevin Osborne. He is a Black man wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and a black cap. He sits on a brown chair in front of a painting.
26 Jun 2023

The driving premise behind Kevin Osborne’s career has been to help people meet their basic needs, so they can achieve their full potential.

Manchester's Factory venue sells naming rights for £35m

21 Jun 2023

The new £210m Factory International venue in Manchester has been renamed Aviva Studios in a naming rights deal worth £35m.

The insurance company Aviva has secured the rights, with the new name also paying homage to the famous Granada Studios which previously stood on the city centre site.

The venue's much heralded original name was a reference to the Manchester record label Factory, home to bands such as New Order, Happy Mondays and A Certain Ratio.

The Factory brand will not be completely lost, as the venue will be still be home to arts content providers Factory International – producers of the Manchester International Festival.

Manchester City Council – a major investor in the venue – will recieve the majority of the £35m, having approved capital budget increases on the understanding that some of this could be recouped through such deals.

Council Leader Bev Craig said: “Manchester people are very pragmatic. They know that in this modern world to pay for things you need money to be able to do that."

Some of the money from the Aviva deal will help fund plans for £10 tickets and skills training programmes at the futuristic OMA-designed venue.

Creativity, culture and capital

A graphic showing two wheelchair users dancing
20 Jun 2023

Two years on from the launch of an international initiative exploring the creative economy for sustainable development, Fran Sanderson reflects on how impact capital can be a vital tool to support positive growth.

University of Brighton closes art gallery

05 Jun 2023

The University of Brighton is set to close the Brighton Centre for Contemporary Art (BCCA).

It has attributed the closure to “very significant challenges” impacting income and expenditure, such as frozen tuition fees, rising inflation and soaring energy costs.

The gallery opened in 2019 and is one of the only ones to focus on visual art in Brighton.

According to the Art Newspaper, BCCA Director Ben Roberts said the decision had “come out of the blue” following a “very positive” internal review a year ago.

A spokeswoman for the university says the review “explored the future of the BCCA and the need to grow income to ensure financial sustainability”. 

“However, the unprecedented inflationary pressures has meant that the university is no longer able to invest in the gallery,” the spokesperson added.

BFI awards £2.1m through Global Screen Fund

18 May 2023

The British Film Institute (BFI) has awarded £2.1m in funding to 24 British companies working in independent film, TV, animation and video games in the latest round of the Global Screen Fund.

Financed through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the awards of between £50,000 and £144,000 were granted to help companies achieve new international business partnerships, enhance their global reach and generate increased revenue through international expansion and export over the next three to five years.

“The ambition of these companies in developing truly global growth strategies, and in striving to reach new international audiences, is so exciting to see, demonstrating opportunities for further growth,” said Denitsa Yordanova, BFI Head of the UK Global Screen Fund.

“It is so important that we continue to build on the UK’s strength in the global content marketplace, investing to support the screen sector in reaching its full potential.”

BFI also announced that UK Global Screen Fund applications are now open for International Business Development, International Distribution Festival Launch Support and International Distribution Film Sales Support.

The next round of UK Global Screen Fund international co-production funding is due to open on 3 August.

Battersea Arts Centre makes redundancies in face of rising costs

The main entrance to Battersea Arts Centre
16 May 2023

Increasing costs, inflationary pressures and changes to funding have led to the National Portfolio Organisation taking 'tough decisions', including six redundancies.

Forensic accountants to examine Coventry Culture Trust books

11 May 2023

Administrators to conduct own investigation into the charity's spending after hearing concerns about its use of public money.

Coventry City of Culture Trust creditors ‘unlikely to be paid’

Several women walk in a line holding branches above their heads. They look like they are shouting
02 May 2023

Administrators lay bare the extent of the trust’s unpaid debts, with Coventry Council and several arts organisations among those unlikely to recover losses.

Price hikes at Leeds museums and attractions 

02 May 2023

The price of entry to some museums and attractions in Leeds has risen by up to 14%, the BBC reports.

The price hikes apply at venues including Temple Newsam House, Leeds Industrial Museum, Thwaite Watermill and Abbey House Museum, all owned by Leeds City Council.

The rises were implemented due to inflationary pressures and increased staff costs, the council said. 

The average rise in entry prices was between 5% and 14%. No admission price will rise by more than £2, the council said.

Attractions including the Art Gallery and Leeds City Museum will remain free to enter.

A council report laying out the price changes said they aimed to “ensure Leeds Museums and Galleries can provide choice to visitors, offer value for money alongside specific discounts, deliver against agreed income targets in the next financial year and support Leeds 2023, in the year of culture”.

ACE seeks 'urgent' talks on future of Bristol Beacon

The exterior of Bristol Beacon
20 Apr 2023

Concerns raised about the future of trust operating Bristol Beacon, as soaring refurbishment costs prompt the city's council to explore 'alternative delivery models' in order to make back some of its investment.

Kilburn Library in need of major refurbishment

19 Apr 2023

Kilburn Library in Brent is in need of a £765,000 refurbishment to tackle structural concerns about the building, according to council sources.

Both the building and the garden have been described as “in a poor state” by Brent Council’s Corporate Director of Resident Services, amid concerns that further damage to the building may cause it to become “increasingly unsafe”.

“If the Library Service doesn’t act now… then the long-term future of Kilburn Library may be jeopardised,” warned a council report on the library’s condition.

It added that “the building itself may need partial closure if structural problems are not addressed quickly. If no investment is put into the current facilities the condition will decline further.”

Damage to the structure includes large cracks, My London reported.

The necessary refurbishments are expected to cost £765,000. The library has been awarded a £231,000 grant from Arts Council England’s Library Improvement Fund, leaving £534,000 currently outstanding.

If the project goes head, work will begin in November, with reopening set for April 2024. The council is negotiating a temporary move to The Granville, a local community building in South Kilburn in the interim.

As well as tackling structural problems, the refurbishment project will seek to create new hireable spaces to generate additional income and invest in the library’s “underutilised” garden.

“The project will futureproof the library facilities for an estimated further ten years and enable more flexible use,” said Brent Council’s Corporate Director of Resident Services.

“It will alleviate some of the pressures of cyclical maintenance required to maintain its current condition.”

Wisbech museum to charge visitors due to 'financial crisis'

View of the entrance to Wisbech and Fenland Museum
18 Apr 2023

Historic museum introduces admission charges for the first time in its history, warning that its future beyond the end of the current financial year is in the balance.

Coventry City of Culture Trust auction to recover debts

A screenshot from the online auction page
18 Apr 2023

Auctioned items range from laptops and wheelchairs to toilet roll and toys, as one artist has artwork returned after it was incorrectly listed.

Income generation is harder than ever

Royal Shakespeare Theatre view over River Avon, 2015.
18 Apr 2023

All arts organisations are under pressure to diversify income. In the latest in our series of case studies looking at strategies being adopted to tackle this, Catherine Mallyon shares her insights from the RSC.

Closures and cutbacks as National Portfolio 2018-23 concludes

In February 400 people attended a public meeting calling for Oldham Coliseum to be saved
05 Apr 2023

As a new National Portfolio for 2023-26 begins, Arts Professional examines the fortunes of the organisations that lost out on funding in this round.

Kettle's Yard ditches free admission 'for financial sustainability'

The extended Kettle's Yard Gallery
05 Apr 2023

Art gallery owned by University of Cambridge reluctantly introduces admission charges, blaming the decision on rising costs and standstill funding.

Scotland pauses involvement with Venice Biennale

04 Apr 2023

Scotland has paused its involvement with the 2024 edition of the Venice Biennale art exhibition, with a review scheduled to take place to consider options.

A spokesman for the Scotland + Venice partnership, which oversees Scottish involvement, said that in “the present financial and planning environment” it was necessary to “review the current model of delivery” before committing to next year’s art event. 

Scottish involvement in this year’s architecture exhibition in Venice will go ahead as planned.

The spokesman said the review will consider the project’s position “within the wider scope of international opportunities available to Scotland's art and architecture communities”.

“This has been a difficult decision to make, especially given the project's significant achievements over the last 20 years,” he said.

“The decision also acknowledges the impact that the project has on the environment, and the need to consider how it can be delivered more ethically and sustainably into the future.”

Scotland has participated in the biennale since 2003, in part due to the fact that the British pavilion was unable to showcase the range and volume of Scottish and Scotland-based artists working in the contemporary art scene.

The country does not have its own pavilion however, instead staging “collateral” shows on the fringes of the main sites.

The partnership, which involves Creative Scotland, the British Council, National Galleries of Scotland, Architecture & Design Scotland, V&A Dundee and the Scottish Government, has said that Scotland will not be withdrawing from the biennale but will need to find a new model for presenting work there after the review process in completed. 

Formal probes into Coventry City of Culture Trust confirmed

Machine Memoirs
03 Apr 2023

National Audit Office and Charity Commission confirm inquiries into financial management of the charity, after ex-senior staff bypass meeting arranged by Coventry City Council for the second time.

Riverside Studios enters administration

30 Mar 2023

Hammersmith-based arts venue Riverside Studios is entering administration.

The venue, which features a cinema and two performance studios, is set to continue trading while under administration. During the process, it is expected a new buyer will be found to take over ownership.

Venue operators the Riverside Trust are reported to be in financial difficulties due to a debt burden incurred during a redevelopment project. Riverside Studios closed in 2014 for redevelopment before reopening in 2019, a few months before the pandemic.

“Launching the new Riverside Studios with such a huge burden of inherited debt from the building development was never going to be easy,” Chair of the Riverside Trust Board Greg Parston said.

“We had planned and expected to continue to operate with sufficient surpluses to begin to pay off some of our debt in the coming year. That was not to be, however. 

“As a result, it is the board’s view that entering administration now is the best and most responsible route to preserving Riverside for the community as the centre of enjoyment, art and learning that we have worked so hard to re-establish.”

According to The Stage, there are currently no plans to make any employees redundant, of which there are more than 70.

Administrators will be appointed over the next 10 days, alongisde the search for a buyer. The trustees’ have stated preference for a continued charitable ownership.

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