ITC questions the basis of Sustain

The Independent Theatre Council (ITC) has expressed concerns about the impact of Arts Council England’s (ACE) Sustain fund, following the announcement of its third tranche of awards, which allotted £6.2m in 18 grants ranging from £92,000 to £1.5m. “Many of our members have been put off applying,” Charlotte Jones, ITC’s Chief Executive, told AP. “People have been told they are not eligible for funds, when other organisations are seen to be getting money for the same reason.” Theatre organisations are reporting their disquiet informally, with around 15 calls being received by ITC in the past week. Jones criticised the format of Sustain at an early stage, saying that ITC would have preferred a system of loans. She also pointed out that “it’s hard for [companies] to maintain their resilient attitude in the face of big payouts to big players”. ACE has announced all the rejected bids as well as those that were successful, in line with its transparency policy, and Jones is anxious that “if you let people know that you’ve got this kind of deficit… then questions will be asked by your other funders and partners”. ACE has already assured AP that funding will be fairly spread among arts organisations (AP200). Althea Efunshile, ACE’s Chief Operating Officer, said that the latest round of Sustain awards showed “the wide variety of applications the fund has received – from organisations of all sizes and all artforms, across the country”.