thu 28/03/2024

Summary of main Arts Council winners and losers | reviews, news & interviews

Summary of main Arts Council winners and losers

Summary of main Arts Council winners and losers

The Barbican flourishes but the Almeida theatre loses out

A sliderule of 11-15 per cent reductions in annual grants by 2015, compared with this year, has been applied to Britain's major orchestras, opera, dance, theatre and music organisations. One major gainer is London's Barbican Centre - one major loser is the now world-famous Almeida Theatre, which loses almost 40 per cent of its current annual subsidy despite its reputation for innovation and discovery. However, the Arcola Theatre, another small innovative theatre, gets a big boost.

Companies to lose all their grant from next year include Hammersmith's Riverside Studios and Derby Theatre.

 

Losers

  • London producing theatres: Almeida takes a 39 per cent cut on current annual grant by 2015, from £1m a year at present to just £700,000 while Donmar (currently approx £500k) and Hampstead (£900k) cut by 11 per cent in real terms
  • ICA, the troubled contemporary arts centre off Trafalgar Square, and Dance Umbrella must work on less than two-thirds of their current grant by 2015
  • A 15 per cent cut for the major music, theatre, opera, ballet and dance companies
  • An 11 per cent reduction for all the big orchestras

 

All Gone

  • Riverside Studios, Hammersmith
  • Sheffield Museums
  • Derby Theatre
  • Northcott Theatre, Exeter
  • South Hill Park, Bracknell

 

Gainers

  • More than 100 new organisations win funding, including Manchester International Festival (£500k a year), the National Skills Academy (£400k),  Durham and Blackpool theatres and Tyneside Cinema
  • London theatres: Arcola Theatre gets doubled up over three years to around £300k a year, and the Young Vic has a modest increase from £1.5m to £1.8m
  • London visual arts: sizeable increases in funding for South London Gallery, Serpentine Gallery, Artangel, Camden Arts Centre, Whitechapel Art Gallery
  • English Touring Opera from £1.4m to £1.8m
  • Manchester: its International Festival joins the subsidy group with £500k per year, and its Jazz and Literature festivals rise to £97k and £80k
  • The Watermill Theatre from £311k to £470k
  • The Oxford Playhouse from £279k to £396k
  • The Poetry Society from £261k to £370k
  • The Brewery, Kendal from £237k to £335k
  • The National Centre for Early Music from £233k to £330k
  • The English Folk Dance and Song Society from £194k to £314k
  • The National Glass Centre from £180k to £363k
  • London International Mime Festival from £166 to £210k
  • Wolverhampton Arts and Museums from £65k to £133k

You can download the full documentation from the Arts Council of England website

Comments

What about the 317% increase for The Maltings in Berwick-Upon-Tweed? That is a huge increase. Why?

The CEO of The Maltings points to a big turnaround at the theatre which has apparently doubled its programme and audiences, selling around 50,000 tickets a year in a town of 12,000 people. It's a massive increase for a 320 seat rural theatre though.

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