Coping with change
Our mission at the Arts Council is Great art and culture for everyone. We have five goals to help us achieve this. The aim of Goal 3 is to ensure that the arts, museums and libraries supported by the Arts Council are resilient and environmentally sustainable. Here in the North there are number of examples of how new partnerships and creative strategies are ensuring our cultural institutions future-proof themselves.
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Capital investment: new buildings bring new confidence
Our Capital funding helps organisations to acquire the right buildings and equipment to deliver their work. March 2014 saw the re-opening of Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre after 10 years’ planning and two years’ construction. The project was funded by £16.8 million from the Arts Council’s National Lottery funded Capital programme. Over the period 2012/15, this Capital investment programme is providing £243.6 million nationwide to support organisations in developing resilience, by giving them the right buildings and equipment to deliver their work, and to become more sustainable and resilient businesses. Further funding for the Everyman Theatre came from the European Regional Development Fund (£5.9 million), the Northwest Regional Development Agency (£2.5 million) as well as over £1.9 million of private funding. Designed by Haworth Tompkins, the Everyman’s new building – which has just won the RIBA NW Building of the Year – retains hallmark features such as the 400-seat thrust auditorium and convivial basement bistro but has a number of important new facilities, as Deborah Aydon, Executive Director of the Everyman and Playhouse explained: ‘The new building has a rehearsal space, a small production workshop, a costume workshop, and, perhaps most importantly it has a big space for our education, youth and community work right in the heart of the building. We have a space for writers to come and work and have relocated all of our offices there. All of these things are features that the old building never had or could not accommodate. Audiences will find there’s much more room front-ofhouse which are really good social spaces for people to use all day and all night that enhance their experience compared to the facilities we had in the old building.’
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Lights Up. Credit: Mark McNulty
Liverpool Everyman opening event. Credit: Steve Aland
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Externally, a remarkable feature is the portrait wall, designed by architect Steve Tompkins and created from 105 images selected from thousands of photographs of Liverpudlians taken by Dan Kenyon. Oldham’s long-established Coliseum Theatre, which is a National portfolio organisation, is to get a new building on a new site, thanks to a creative partnership between a visionary local authority and the Arts Council. Oldham Council is led by Jim McMahon, who was recently awarded the national title of Councillor of the Year in recognition of his strong leadership and his co-operative approach. Under his leadership, the borough has invested in innovative and radical regeneration projects. Among these, the new Coliseum Theatre and Heritage Centre is aimed at attracting ‘a new kind of visitor’ to Oldham in a scheme which will also refurbish the town’s former Grade II-listed Library and Art Gallery building. It will be carried out by the architects Mecanoo, who were behind the impressive new Library of Birmingham. Capital funding to the tune of £5 million will come from the Arts Council, together with £4-5 million from Heritage Lottery and £20 million from Oldham Council.
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Successful micro loans scheme to be rolled out nationally
Following the success of a two year Creative Industry Finance pilot programme, which supported over 400 creative enterprises, the scheme will be re-launched as a national initiative in the second half of 2014. The programme, funded by Arts Council England and operated by Creative United, helps creative enterprises to develop and grow by providing businesses with tailored advice and support, along with the opportunity to access loan finance of between ÂŁ5,000 and ÂŁ25,000. Between May 2012 and March 2014 the programme, which was piloted in London and in the Yorkshire and Humber regions only, supported 437 creative enterprises. 92 of them were in Yorkshire and Humberside and 1,961 hours of business support were delivered, of which 549
Potter Lee Steele. Credit: Katherine Green
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were in Humberside. Overall, ÂŁ876,000 of finance was approved to 59 businesses. Those businesses that received loans saw an average increase in turnover of 25 per cent. People in the North who benefited from the pilot scheme included furniture maker Anthony Hartley; potter Lee Steele; Fettle Animation, a 2D animation production company based in Marsden, West Yorkshire; and Kempadoo Millar, who specialises in Yorkshire designed, sourced and manufactured flat caps. Creative Industry Finance will be re-launched as a national initiative later in 2014, and is open to creative enterprises and cultural organisations across England that have been trading for at least 18 months and are looking for loan finance to support their growth and development.
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Encouraging a mixed economy in the cultural sector
One way for organisations to become more sustainable is to attract more charitable and private support: a mixed economy approach using multiple funding sources can help safeguard arts organisations’ long term futures. The Arts Council encourages the culture sector to become more efficient in this respect in a number of ways. Transforming fundraising Thanks to a three year Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy programme, four organisations in the North are each currently hosting an Arts Fundraising Fellow for 12 months. The aim of the scheme is to create the next generation of leading development directors skilled with the vision, entrepreneurial expertise and ingenuity to make significant difference to the arts fundraising landscape. The four organisations participating in the scheme in the North are Opera North, Tate Liverpool, Royal Northern College of Music and Sage Gateshead. Eleven other fellows have been placed with organisations in London and the South West. The fellows are undergoing an intensive 12 month training programme, including gaining valuable hands-on experience in fundraising. They are expected to make a real contribution to their host organisation. For example, Sarah Johnston, fellow for Opera North, made a difference to the organisation’s relations with the Hull business community: Helen Bowdur, Head of Development, Opera North said, ‘Sarah’s success in researching and making new connections with Hull’s business community has underpinned fruitful sponsorship negotiations and her recent success in securing grants from trusts and foundations has made a positive impact on our income target.’ The University of Leeds is evaluating the programme and is breaking new ground in providing accreditation for the fellowships.
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Northern Arts Fundraising Fellows. Credit: Damien McDonald
The Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Programme aims to transform fundraising across the arts and cultural sector. The programme is the result of an Arts Council England commissioned grant and has been developed and is led by the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Consortium. Consortium partners include the DARE Partnership of Opera North and the University of Leeds, Cause4, the Arts Marketing Association, and the European Sponsorship Association. Adam Cooper, Fellow for Sage Gateshead commented ‘The fundraising fellowship represented the chance for me to do something important. We need great fundraisers to protect our fantastic arts heritage.’ Partnerships with sponsors The Yorkshire Festival, is the first ever arts festival to run alongside the world’s biggest annual sporting event, the Tour de France. The 100-day cultural festival, which started on 27 March 2014, is designed to encourage mass public participation in arts and cultural events in the run up to the Grand Départ.
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The Arts Council has funded the festival with a grant of £1 million, but the festival has also secured £500,000 of support from Yorkshire Water’s parent company, Kelda Group, the region’s biggest landowner on the race route. The festival’s Executive Producer, Henrietta Duckworth, said the support pledged by the company had helped ensure the delivery of a world-class programme of events to showcase the imagination and creativity of Yorkshire’s cultural talent. She added: ‘As one of the region’s biggest environmental investors, employers and landowners, Yorkshire Water has recognised what a fantastic opportunity the festival is for our region.’ ‘They are exploring how local communities and arts organisations can engage with their employees and utilise their land and reservoir sites. With this support, we have been able to
Yorkshire Festival. Credit: Yorkshire Festival 2014
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create an ambitious festival programme featuring world-class artists built around a core of participatory opportunities, across all artforms, taking place throughout the county for audiences from Yorkshire and beyond.’ Richard Flint, the Chief Executive of Kelda Group and Yorkshire Water, said: ‘The 390km route of the Grand Départ will take riders through the heart of many of our reservoir catchments in north, west and south Yorkshire which include some of the most stunning and carefully managed countryside in the UK.’ ‘We’re really looking forward to working with local councils and communities across Yorkshire to ensure as many people as possible can celebrate and watch the race. The event is watched by more than 3.5 billion people worldwide with an additional two million visitors expected to come to Yorkshire to watch the race. What a fantastic opportunity it is to promote what talent and beauty our great region has to offer!’ added Mr Flint. Catalyst for Change Through the Arts Council’s Catalyst private giving investment scheme, organisations are able to diversify their income streams and access more funding from private sources. Catalyst is a £100 million matched funding scheme for the culture sector which is made up of investment from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The scheme has several strands, offering organisations the opportunity to move their fundraising and development expertise on to the next level, whatever their current starting point. The Hallé in Manchester has been allocated £1 million from the Catalyst Endowment Scheme. This £30 million scheme offers match funding to arts organisations with a successful track record of fundraising to help them build endowments by July 2015, to provide an annual income for a minimum term of 25 years. The Hallé’s award is to be secured over a three year period by £1 million raised by the Hallé itself for its endowment. The additional endowment will support the Hallé’s ensembles and education programme in the Hallé Centre – the former St. Peter’s church in Manchester’s Ancoats district – and some ambitious, large-scale artistic projects.
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The Hallé in rehearsal with Sir Mark Elder at St Peter’s. Credit: Hallé Concerts Society
John Summers, Chief Executive of the Hallé said, ‘This is amazing news for the Hallé and its audience, our youth choirs and orchestras, and all of those children and community groups that will use the new centre in Ancoats, Manchester. It also marks the start of a challenging campaign to raise the £1 million matching funding necessary to create the endowment. We are grateful to the Arts Council, Heritage Lottery Fund and the DCMS for having such faith in the Hallé Centre project.’ Tyneside Cinema has run a public appeal as part of its current capital fundraising, anticipating that a large number of people may be willing to give a little to help. Beginning last autumn with a call to previous donors and members of its Friends scheme, the appeal has generated over £40,000. This was accompanied by a suggested 20 pence levy on cinema ticket sales (which have relatively low average ticket prices and a high average frequency of attendance) – currently over 80 per cent of customers have agreed, generating nearly £23,000. The cinema’s seat sponsorship scheme has also just launched with 33 chairs to be sponsored – and over 50 per cent of this target has already been reached.
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Lest we forget, Theatre by the Lake. Credit: Tom Kay
Theatre by the Lake in Keswick was able to double the value of £3,000 gift from a local company thanks to the Catalyst Arts capacity building and match funding project. For a limited period, Theatre by the Lake can claim £1 to match every £1 it receives as a donation. The donation from Studsvik, the nuclear services company with a facility in West Cumbria, went towards Theatre by the Lake’s Festival of Youth 2014: Lest We Forget, a celebration of the work of young people. All the work of the youth theatre members was devised, developed and performed by the young people themselves, with the theme Lest We Forget being inspired by the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.
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Online shopping and support for new artists at Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Manchester Craft and Design Centre (MCDC) in Manchester’s creative Northern Quarter, is home to 24 resident artists and makers. It has long been a place of pilgrimage for those looking for products that are both original and aesthetically satisfying. Now, thanks to a website development project, customers will soon to be able to buy the work of their favourite MCDC artist online. The Arts Council initially supported the centre in the development of its website via the Grants for the arts scheme. Funding also came from Manchester City Council. MCDC is now a National portfolio organisation and the continued development of its website means that later
Manchester Craft & Design Centre. Credit: Shaw
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this year it will be ready to roll out online sales, with the aim of increasing the centre’s income stream. Victoria Johnson, MCDC’s Marketing and Digital Manager, who is leading the project, explained the approach they are taking: ‘During the next stage of the site’s development we are using a ‘buddy’ system for our resident makers, so that the most digitally experienced sell online first, and then pass on their experience and advice to less experienced artists. Once all of our resident makers are live online we will then be using the site to promote/showcase other makers in a curated and selected way.’ This approach ties in with the centre’s ‘spotted’ programme whereby the MCDC team selects makers who are ‘ones to watch’, at regional and national graduate shows and places them on the MCDC website for one year. MCDC also awards an Annual MMU Graduate Solo Exhibition Award to a graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University. This year’s winner, embroidery graduate Elizabeth Jane Winstanley, has an exhibition on display until July 2014. In 2013 MCDC introduced an additional MCDC Spotted Digital Award which gives its recipient marketing support and promotion across numerous digital platforms.
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Steps towards environmental sustainability
Arts Council England is committed in leading the arts and culture sector to become more environmentally sustainable. We are the first arts funder in the world to have embedded environmental measures into our funding programmes and contracts: in 2012 we introduced environmental policy and action plan requirements for more than 700 of our revenue funded organisations. To help our organisations implement this, we formed a partnership with Julie’s Bicycle and a report on the first year of this policy shows some encouraging results: 90 per cent of organisations engaged with the programme and nearly 400 provided enough data to identify savings in energy and water use. Some organisations in the North are in the vanguard of this movement to make environmental sustainability intrinsic to the world of culture and the arts. • Sage Gateshead aspires to be one of the UK’s most environmentally sustainable arts venues. With environmental leadership from the top and an active green team, its actions range from LED lighting upgrades and installing electric car charging to sustainable food sourcing and food waste recycling. It reduced carbon by 10 per cent during the period 2008/09 to 2012/13 and actively engages staff, audience and suppliers (for example via its sustainable travel campaign). It contributes to Newcastle Gateshead Cultural Venues’ joint work to improve their combined environmental, social and cultural impact • Manchester Art Gallery’s carbon reduction target is aligned with the city’s target of 41 per cent carbon reduction by 2020. Energy-saving measures include installing low energy lighting suitable for museum objects and adopting more energy efficient climate conditions suitable for artworks, making it an international leader amongst museums and galleries. Other initiatives range from sustainable procurement and travel to bee-keeping and rooftop gardening • Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, and a member of Newcastle Gateshead Cultural Venues, reduced carbon from energy use, both in absolute terms and per exhibition day, by 24 per cent in the period 2010/11 to 2012/13, saving £10,000 on electricity in the process
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• Chester Performs significantly improved the carbon footprint of its Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre with a reduction in the number of oil-fired generators it used by introducing battery banks charging off generators, therefore bringing down their consumption of oil by around 50 per cent. The organisation then went on to persuade the local authority to install permanent power and water to the park which has since vastly improved the environmental impact of this project • A number of organisations are seeing the value of collaboration: Manchester Arts Sustainability Team comprises 13 arts organisations, venues and events, collaborating to support their own sustainability goals and Manchester’s climate change strategy. Newcastle Gateshead Cultural Venues is made up of 10 venues working to share learning and maximise their positive environmental, social, cultural and economic impact, with different workstreams, including a Green Campaign and Capital Investment Strategy which explores longer term sustainable capital projects for the group • Cornerhouse is Manchester’s international centre for contemporary visual arts and independent film. In recent years it has been making impressive environmental progress such as: achieving zero waste to landfill, establishing a sustainable materials sourcing, recycling and reuse policy, and running a creative environmental communications project which resulted in the Life of a paper cup recycling awareness film. In 2013 Cornerhouse achieved a Manchester Environmental Business Pledge Gold Award