Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wales

Subject: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed
From: Vic Smith
Date: 19 Jan 08 - 07:17 AM

The Wyeside Arts Centre, Castle St, Builth Wells, Powys has been a popular venue with an excellent programme for many years in an area that seriously lacks good places for live music and the arts. A lot of excellent world and folk music performers have been presented there in a region where they would otherwise not have been seen.
In particular read the Background section at the end; it could have been written by many Arts Centres and Theatre managers as funds are increasingly diverted towards the 2012 Olympics. It suggests that things are going to get worse before they can start to get better

This from Guy Roderick.

I've been reduced to £3k a year to put on a programme, managed it anyway and now, for our pains at maintaining the place on a shoestring, am about to be forced to close the doors of Wyeside Arts Centre for good.
Please could you spare a few minutes to help us save the Wyeside Arts Centre?
Wyeside faces enforced closure this year. We don't understand the reasons why.
Would you please consider signing this online petition to Wales' Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas? Click on the link below.

www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-wyeside-arts-centre.html

If you know of anyone who would also be willing to support us by signing our petition, would you please forward this email to them?
Letters to the Minister supporting our appeal would add significant weight to our campaign. If you wish to send a letter please include your name and address to ensure a reply. A copy to us would be appreciated, or we can forward your letter for you.

His email address is: [e-mail]

His postal address is: National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA.

Our address is: Wyeside Arts Centre, Castle St, Builth Wells, Powys, LD2 3BN.

On 25th January the Arts Council will be deciding which of its clients to cut. To impress upon them the level of support for Wyeside, we would like to encourage people to sign our petition by 21st January. We will continue to seek signatures and letters of support beyond that date to submit to the Minister for Heritage once the Arts Council of Wales and Powys County Council publicly announce their decisions concerning the future of Wyeside.
What follows is a brief background to our current situation. This information is also on our online-petition website.
On behalf of everyone at Wyeside, thank you very much for your help and support.

Guy Roderick.
Chief Executive & Artistic Director.

==================

Background

There is ample evidence to show that Wyeside Arts Centre is an extremely efficient and effective arts venue, offering its funders and customers excellent financial and cultural value.
We have been explaining a crucial need for a relatively modest increase in revenue support for nearly ten years, to no avail. Instead we have been obliged to do everything possible to keep Wyeside open, involving considerable compromises at a cost to staff, patrons and our artistic aspirations. We have now reached the point where we can simply no longer continue without the improved revenue support we have been requesting.
The Arts Council of Wales sent its Senior Grants Monitoring Officer to review our finances last year. His report said: "margins have been squeezed to their potential maximum and this includes backroom staff at a bare minimum ... the procedures followed are of best practice". He also confirmed our need for extra revenue support.
This report had to be 'leaked' to our Assembly Member in order for us to see it. The Arts Council will not explain why they will not discuss the findings of their own report, even though it confirms that we have been achieving what they were specifically requesting of us as a condition of improved support.
Wyeside promotes and manages over 800 arts and cultural events a year. We operate 7 days - av. 85 hours - a week, open to the public 6 days a week; with an average 40,000 visits per year. Yet we can only afford three full time members of staff; the rest of us are part time, casual or volunteer. Nevertheless last year Wyeside became only the third arts centre in Wales to be awarded Investors in People status, with commendations for our achievements. Their assessor also confirmed our need for improved support.
Wyeside Arts Centre has been denied the significant levels of public subsidy awarded to comparable venues in Powys and Wales. There is an increasingly stark disparity in levels of public investment. We have asked for an explanation but none has been offered. We have asked our public funders to make a 'best value' audit and compare Wyeside with other arts venues, but they have been reluctant to do so; even though the National Assembly has also previously asked for comparisons to be made in the interests of best value.
Over the past five years Wyeside Arts Centre has managed to promote an average 60 live performances a year for an average £4,200 a year in subsidy; offering extraordinary value and demonstrating effective management. The Arts Council of Wales has an extra £1.5 million a year to support live show programmes in venues outside of Cardiff. Some theatres have been granted over £100,000 a year extra to support their programmes. Wyeside has been denied any support whatsoever from this fund. In Wales there are no clear rationales for the public agencies' methods of investing the public's money in Arts venues.
Wyeside is a victim of very poor administration of public money for the arts. At a time when public money for the arts is under such pressure it should not be unfair to expect our public agencies to invest our money prudently. They should be accountable for ensuring best value, rewarding best practice and meeting their priorities efficiently and effectively.
Direct appeals from the Chairmen of Wyeside to the Chairmen and Chief Executives of Powys County Council and the Arts Council of Wales to discuss our plight have been refused. Please help us to urge the Minister for Heritage to intervene and help us save the Wyeside Arts Centre, which has been providing a significant arts service for thirty years and a home to Wales' longest-running cinema. There is no good reason why this excellent, much-valued arts centre should be forced to close.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Guy Roderick
Artistic Director & Chief Executive
Wyeside Arts Centre
http://www.wyeside.co.uk/
Wyeside Arts Centre is an Investor In People

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: katlaughing
Date: 19 Jan 08 - 10:11 AM

That certainly sounds unfair. Would an American's signature do any good? If so, I will sign it. We went through something similar, though not on that scale, when I worked at an arts center in Rhode Island.

Good luck. I hope the petition helps.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wales
From: Mick Tems
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 06:04 AM

Unfair? It's downright outrageous. The traditional arts are being squeezed all the time as the 2012 Olympics nears, and Brown is the culprit.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: Brendy
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 06:22 AM

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-wyeside-arts-centre.html

I noticed the link in the original post didn't link to the site.

This link opens in a new window.

B.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: Brendy
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 06:25 AM

'Would an American's signature do any good?'

I'd say so kat..., there's a few 'foreign' addresses there; including my own.... ;-)

B.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wales
From: Mick Tems
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 07:12 AM

REFRESH

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 08:10 AM

I may be being stupid here Vic but while the funding for this venue does seem unfair (it reads to me they are being penalised for doing something right and for good management) and much as I personally dislike the thoughts of money redirected to the olympics, I'm struggling to relate.

In particular read the Background section at the end; it could have been written by many Arts Centres and Theatre managers as funds are increasingly diverted towards the 2012 Olympics. It suggests that things are going to get worse before they can start to get better

to

The Arts Council of Wales has an extra £1.5 million a year to support live show programmes in venues outside of Cardiff.

Please clarify.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 08:13 AM

I can bring a bulldozer.

Oh, sorry, I see, you wanted help to keep it open......

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 08:21 AM

OK I signed - it will show as anon.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: Vic Smith
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 09:51 AM

GUEST,Jon asks me to Please clarify.
Well, Jon, I'm afraid that I cannot. I know nothing of the particular circumstances or micro-politics of this venue, I've never been there but I was told by a friend and fellow-tour organiser who wrote "I can vouch for the excellence of this venue and the hard work its staff put in having had the pleasure of visiting it a year ago. I encourage support for this petition." I posted the email from Guy Roderick because it was a particular case that seemed to be symptomatic of the worrying position over Arts Funding that we find ourselves in the UK at present.
I must admit that I was also puzzled by the apparent dichotomy of the extra £1.5 million a year to support live show programmes in venues outside of Cardiff and the apparent pittance being received by what appears to be by all accounts a well-run venue with an adventurous policy. Just how many deserving venues are there in Wales? I can only suggest that you email Guy Roderick with your question.
In both 2006 and 2007, I promoted and tour managed major tours that took me to around fifty Arts Centres in Scotland, England and Wales. Obviously, they varied greatly. There were a couple that had more or less given up the ghost of attracting people to a variety of events and had given themselves up to programmes consisting almost entirely of tribute bands, but generally there are dedicated administrators who feel that they want to make a contribution to their community. There was the one in North Yorkshire where the administrator was funded for 20 hours/week but regularly worked 40/50 hours because she felt that she needed to be there to direct her army of volunteers. There was the one in Surrey; it had been given a massive Millennium Grant for refurbishment and then administrative funds were suddenly withdrawn. The administrator continued working for nothing because she could not bear to see all the money spent in providing her community with a state-of-the-art venue going to waste. And these funding anomalies happen all the time. Have a look at the
Arts Council of Wales website and you will read - ACW reserves the right to amend or withdraw any or all of the funding schemes without notice.

This is the threat that hangs over Arts Centres and it is clear that some administrators live in fear of the decisions of their Regional Arts Council boards and meetings. In a funny way this worked in my favour when last year I was organising a tour for the superb Gambian kora player,
Jali Sherrifo Konteh. Part of my publicity circular mentioned that most of the tour was taking place in October and that was Black History Month More than one Arts Centre told me that Sherrifo had got the gig because their contact at their regional Arts Coucil had said to them, "What are you doing about Black History month?"

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 10:11 AM

Thanks for your comments, Vic, It does seem as if something is horribly wrong with the system.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 10:43 AM

Thanks, Brendy. I've signed it. I hope they prevail.

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wal
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 10:44 AM

(I've signed too btw)

Subject: RE: Popular Arts Centre to close,Help needed - Wales
From: Mick Tems
Date: 21 Jan 08 - 02:54 AM

Refresh