Impact investment is an ideal partner for the arts sector where taking creative risks, experimentation and imagination are second nature, writes Fran Sanderson.
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Research rings warning bells about the potential effects of the cost-of-living clouds rolling in across all four nations. Anne Torreggiani asks how we can brace for impact and support communities?
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The Bunkhouse, a 235-capacity music venue in Swansea city centre, has been purchased under a scheme run by the Music Venue Trust (MVT).
The venue is the third purchase made under the MVT’s #OwnOurVenues scheme by Music Venue Properties (MVP), an independent charitable society formed by MVT.
The Bunkhouse’s operators have signed a “cultural lease” with MVP, allowing it to use the building as long as it operates as a space for grassroots live music for the local community.
MVP has committed to offer the venue a rent reduction and contribute towards building repairs and insurance.
MVT says the venue will now have “permanent protected status”.
In 2023, MVP announced it had raised £2.3m through community shares, donations and loans.
The purchase of The Bunkhouse follows MVP’s acquisition in October 2023 of The Snug Coffee House in Greater Manchester and The Ferret in Preston in May 2024.
Halifax's Square Chapel is the second Arts At The Mill organisation to have its Arts Council England funding paused in the last 12 months.
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There has been a lot of talk about the future of UK arts funding over the summer. Fran Sanderson has been assessing various funding streams to find ways to maximise their impact.
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Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has been gifted £1m from American playwright Ken Ludwig, the largest private donation in the trust’s 177-year history.
The trust has described the donation as “transformative”, adding it will go towards conservation works at Grade-I listed building Hall’s Croft, once home to Shakespeare’s daughter.
An audit of the conservation requirements of the 17th Century property is currently ongoing, with University of Staffordshire archaeologists mapping the building’s exterior to create a 3D model of the building.
“Our conservation work is a central part of our work as a charity and it enables our visitors and audiences to place Shakespeare in time and space as they explore his life story and his work, which continues to speak with profound meaning and relevance today,” said Tim Cooke, CEO of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
“Shakespeare is the great foundation for all of us who work in the theatre, and it's an honour to support the preservation of Shakespeare's legacy in Stratford-upon-Avon,” Ludwig added. “As a playwright, restoring Hall's Croft is a way of giving back for the lifetime of joy and inspiration I've derived from the British theatre.”
Government figures show a more than three-fold increase on the £75m paid out to theatres, orchestras and museums in 2021/22.
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In the last in our series of articles investigating the state of arts sector finances, Arts Professional speaks to cultural leaders Linda Bloomfield, Brian Logan and Sanaz Amidi about the challenges and advantages of being small arts organisations.
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The latest in a series of articles investigating the state of arts sector finances explores how different sized organisations are faring in the current economic climate.
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National Portfolio Organisation Déda has entered voluntary insolvency due to financial issues. The announcement follows research from Arts Professional showing that in 2023, NPOs were collectively in the red by £63.1m.
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The BBC's latest annual report is the first to be published following changes to its operating licence, which no longer stipulates quotas for arts and music broadcasting.
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Arts organisations are only too aware of the limitations of short-term funding. But, in Northern Ireland, a pioneering financial programme provides a fresh blueprint for future funding of the arts, as Sarah Jones explains.
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Arts Council England has offered National Portfolio Organisations the opportunity to cut their activity by 15% to help them deal with reduced income and rising costs.
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Glasgow's renowned Citizens Theatre in the Gorbals area of the city is facing a funding shortfall of as much as £8m, caused by the rising costs of its redevelopment.
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The first of a series of articles investigating the state of arts sector finances highlights a huge decline in the financial health of organisations across the UK.
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Following extensive research into the finances of arts organisations, Sarah Thelwall of MyCake reflects on the serious implications for the sector.
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Annual accounts filed by the Manchester theatre show its reserves dwindled to less than a month of operating costs, while Arts Council England has raised its risk rating.
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A campaign group has written an open letter to the Charity Commission expressing “deep anxiety” over the financial management of Seven Dials Playhouse after the charity failed to submit its annual return and financial statements, which are 89 days overdue.
In their letter, the campaign group Actor at the Centre (AATC) calls on the Charity Commission to “urgently engage” with the trustees at Seven Dials Playhouse to ensure they are “giving due consideration to the representations of the performing arts community in London" and "properly accounting to the public for their management of the charity”.
Formally known as The Actors Centre, the Covent Garden-based charity was founded in 1978 by patron Sir Lawrence Olivier to “create a space where working actors can network and support each other as well as continue their professional training”.
During the pandemic, the organisation was forced to close its premises, losing over half its membership. It received over £450,000 in financial support, including £360,000 from the Cultural Recovery Fund and in 2021, rebranded to become Seven Dials Playhouse, ditching its former membership model.
AATC claims the building was “repurposed” during Covid and has become a West End receiving house with regular ongoing acting training “effectively eliminated”.
A statement from Seven Dials Theatre read out at an AATC meeting on 22 April did not directly address concerns over its financial management but did note that as a charity that is not publicly subsidised, its income is earned through ticket sales, industry and corporate hires and bar sales.
The organisation said the cost-of-living crisis and changes in audience behaviour made “forecasting income extremely challenging”.
It added that "as soon as it is viable", it plans to continue “a programme of professional and artist development".
The Charity Commission said it would be reminding the charity of its reporting responsibilities.
Now more than ever it’s important to focus on the things that really matter, to free ourselves of distractions and to identify earned income opportunities, says Robin Cantrill-Fenwick.
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London's Vault Festival of theatre and performance has announced its closure after funding for its new venue fell through.
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