CAPITAL PROJECT NEWS FEB 16
ACE INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE
PLUS SMALL CHANGE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE
www.lighthousepoole.co.uk
Ready, willing and even more able Things are getting busier and busier as we get closer to implementing the biggest changes Lighthouse has seen in more than a decade. Although the building has to close for a few weeks this summer so the long-awaited improvements can be made, we’re not going away. Far from it in fact and we have a series of exciting and innovative site specific events taking place around Poole, our website is getting an overhaul and will be constantly updated and there will be a physical box office presence in a temporary ticket office by Lighthouse. We’ll return to a Lighthouse that is more able than ever to do what it has always done –offering a broad programme of high quality performances. The investment in the future of this magnificent building will pay instant dividends in that not only will it enable us to continue to attract the world class performers and entertainers our audiences have come to expect, but we will be fit for the future to meet the changing needs of the wider community. The building update will also enable Lighthouse to attract a wider range of corporate and commercial users. The updates to the meeting and conference rooms, the extension of Wi-Fi throughout the building, the upgraded sound systems, new digital presentation facilities in the function rooms and conferencing-standard sound insulation will generate valuable new revenue by making Lighthouse even more attractive to the business community.
And let’s not forget those who work and volunteer here. Whilst it’s true we can make do with facilities that in some cases have been untouched since the day the building opened in 1978, life will be better if they were spruced up a bit, with improved efficiency and updated systems with which to work. It’s a very simple equation – a better working environment makes for a happier, healthier workforce that produces better results. As audience members, users and supporters of Lighthouse you can be assured we’re as ready and willing as ever; and with your continued help we’ll soon be able to build on our proud tradition of commercial prudence and creative excellence.
Elspeth McBain, Chief Executive, Lighthouse
ACE investment in the future The importance of Lighthouse as a flagship cultural destination and provider is underlined by the continuing investment of Arts Council England. As a National Portfolio Organisation Lighthouse receives £342k per year towards the delivery of the core programme, with an additional £4.1 million contributed to the capital works project and just under £199500 from The Catalyst programme to develop the way it engages with the community, stakeholders and donors. “Our capital investment programme supports organisations to develop resilience by giving them the right buildings and equipment to deliver their work, and to become more sustainable and resilient businesses,” says Philip Butterworth, Arts Council England’s lead relationship manager for Lighthouse. “There’s a very good range of work on show at Lighthouse, from mainstream commercial products to more challenging cutting edge works and Lighthouse is very proactive in developing new and existing audiences, as well as in enabling the artistic development of its partner organisations. Our money will help Lighthouse to run its building more efficiently, thereby improving the offer it makes to audiences and other users.” Lighthouse is well established as a receiving venue for national and international theatre, dance, music, contemporary circus and film, but it also produces or enables 20 per cent of the programme in-house. ACE investment in Lighthouse is a ringing endorsement of its work and has acted as a springboard for the building upgrade. Funding is confirmed until 2018 and Lighthouse delivers very strongly in line with ACE’s principal criteria – artistic excellence, audience development, innovation, diversity and children/young people.
“There’s no other concert hall of that size on the south coast that has such a strong programme – not just the BSO, but it’s entire music offer,” says Phillip. “In recent years the Studio offer has been developed so Lighthouse has enabled work to be made and in some cases commissioned work from regional small and mid-scale arts organisations. “There’s no suggestion that our criteria will change dramatically, but what is perhaps going to become more significant is the way that organisations are able to harness external income generation from sales and donations will be more important than ever.” ACE investment in Lighthouse is also founded on its ability to raise significant partnership funding from a wide range of stakeholders and funders, not least the local authority. “There is a strong partnership with the local authority, which invests strongly in the Lighthouse and with whom ACE has a very good relationship with. We recognise these are challenging times for local authorities, but we have pledged to invest where local authorities keep faith with culture and local audiences benefit.”
Inspiration information Creative spaces inspire bold thinking. That’s the message from Lighthouse Head of Finance Pete Wilson as he considers the benefits business leaders could feel as they follow in the footsteps of some of the legendary artists that have visited Lighthouse. “The most inspirational business people may know all about the bottom line,” says Pete, “but they also have something about them that is enormously creative – they have the courage to think freely then make those thoughts a commercially successful reality.” For nearly 40 years some of the greatest and most influential artists in the world have been coming to Poole – from Segovia and Michael Jackson, to Andrew Motion and Rik Mayall. Millions of people have passed through Lighthouse to attend those concerts, plays, recitals, readings and exhibitions that have subsequently inspired others to express their own creativity. “Incredible things happen at Lighthouse, it is a very creative space and because of that it has a special energy that can only be good for thinking freely,” says Pete. “That connection to all those talented artists means we’re able to provide that’s something absolutely unique in our conferencing and business training offer. “Poole is very lucky to have several nationally and internationally successful business groups based in the town, but it also has an even greater number of companies that have been growing steadily and going from strength to strength thanks to the creative imaginations and entrepreneurship of their leaders. I’d like to think Lighthouse has something to offer all of those businesses, as well as the smaller, local businesses looking for a modern, easy to access venue for a product launch or training day perhaps.”
Shot at Dawn, Guildhall Poole 4,5 May
Why I Love Lighthouse CATHERINE CHURCH Platform 4 has worked with Lighthouse since 2000, initially creating a series of participatory pieces with young people, both for the Theatre/Studio space and in the Function Room. We’ve been in the Studio with our touring devised pieces and made a middle scale show for the main house (Macbeth) for a more general audience as well as the immersive show Memory Points for spaces everywhere in the building, which generated great acclaim nationally in 2013 and again in 2015 with a return to the South Bank.
Last year we became the last artists to perform on the stage at the Purcell Rooms at the South Bank with a show that was partly created in Poole. We are also under commission from the South Bank to make a new piece to commemorate the closure of the Festival Wing. We are currently touring a beautiful studio show, The Legend of the Holy Drinker. This is possibly the best piece of studio work we have made. Lighthouse gets talked about a lot in arts circles because it has good accessible spaces for shows/rehearsal or research and is very supportive, so it is easy to advocate for that. There is some great work being supported at Lighthouse and that needs to be invested in, as it reframes and strengthens its strategic partnerships with associate artists. Catherine Church, Artistic Director, Platform 4
Platform 4’s THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY DRINKER, based on Joseph Roth’s novella, can be seen in the Studio on 16 February. For more info visit www.platform4.org or www.facebook.com/Platform-4-263657753651990/v
Small change makes a big difference There’s much more to Lighthouse than its first class venues, meeting spaces, galleries and offices. We’re reminded every day how much it means to people that they have such an amazing place where wonderful memories are made and it’s right in the heart of our community. The significant investments made by national bodies such as Arts Council England as well as our own Poole Borough Council have enabled us to get these desperately-needed improvements underway that will see our building updated and made ready for the future. That level of support has been absolutely instrumental and we could never have begun this work without it, but what has been even more inspirational has been the response from our audiences, friends and regular users of the building. Since we launched the Love Lighthouse appeal to raise the final £400,000 needed to complete the building upgrade we have been asking our loyal supporters for donations that will help us finish the job properly and the reaction to our carefully controlled mailing campaign has been incredibly encouraging. While we’d never take anyone’s support for granted we have been both humbled and heartened by the number and nature of the replies we have received. Quite clearly Lighthouse and what goes on here continue to inspire people in exactly the way our forebears hoped they would when they first started talking about creating a world class centre for the arts in Poole almost 50 years ago. From simply being here to literally changing people’s lives, these are the things that serve to remind us how much people value what happens here and what a difference it can. More than 200,000 people visit Lighthouse every year so even the smallest donation is making a huge difference to improving our building for the future. Visit www.lovelighthouse.co.uk to find out how you can help.
£400k appeal target
Please get involved By making a donation you can play an important part in ensuring Lighthouse remains a world class venue right here in Poole. ONLINE
lovelighthouse.co.uk PHONE
01202 781306 SEND A TEXT MESSAGE
LIGH12 £5 to 70070