Have a think about the venue or venues where you or your organisation work. How much of those buildings are below ground? Victorian theatre? – probably a pit and a basement full of old scenery. New theatre? – lots of underground workshops. Converted church? – crypt full of craft exhibitions. Barbican in London? – eight floors of underground offices and workshops. Why is this question important? Well – you only have to look at the coverage from Tewkesbury, Hull and Northern Ireland to wonder what might happen to the arts community if the ever more frequent flooding, linked to climate change, were to hit the rest of us. This may seem like scaremongering, but it’s clearly an issue that is being taken seriously by the powers that be – and not a moment too soon (p1). It’s interesting to note that Boris Johnson’s plan for helping London theatres to cut their emissions (this means carbon dioxide, not just hot air) is a series of exhortations to specific action, while the DCMS’s document is all about research and finding out more, with a few pertinent case-studies. AP will be showcasing a few more in an upcoming issue (AP180). And while there is some really good practice out there, from the likes of the Arcola Theatre (the first ‘carbon neutral’ theatre), there are many variables over which we have no control. How can we persuade people to come to the theatre by public transport? If you’re based in the middle of a thriving city, that might be less difficult than if you’re a rural arts centre serving a cluster of small towns and villages where the last (and possibly the only) bus leaves at 6pm. But the arts do have a problem: the export market. Our most successful artists are probably those with the highest environmental impact – criss-crossing the globe by air as they fulfil their international touring schedules. How does a company working with the British Council (pp10–11) conscientiously balance the important role of cultural diplomacy with the ecological impact of travel? Cultural tourism is a bastion of the economy – but does the economic benefit justify the environmental impact? These are hard questions for us all – but increasingly urgent. Sharing best practice, and acting on it, is imperative.
Catherine Rose, Editor