• • 
    
  • Share 1195
  • 
  • 
• Comments (155)

To receive updated content, refresh the page (F5 for a web browser).

Vadim Muntagirov and Daria Klimentova in Swan Lake by English National Ballet. The company has seen a funding cut of around 15% Photograph: Tristram Kenton

4.48pm: As already said, the Arts Council is declining to say which new organisations applied but did not make it. The Rose Theatre in Kingston was one of them. Artistic director Stephen Unwin suggests there is an unfair imbalance in London with the Olympic boroughs doing well. He said:

"We are very disappointed by today's news. The Arts Council made its goals clear, and the Rose's application demonstrated that we are meeting those goals: through the quality of our home-grown productions, our extensive programme of community engagement, and our work with and for young people. 350,000 people have visited the Rose since we opened in January 2008 and 50,000 have been involved in Rose Plus, our award-winning Learning and Participation Programme.

"With cuts announced for the Waterman's in Hounslow, the Orange Tree in Richmond, the Battersea Arts Centre in Wandsworth and Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, the funding situation in South West London is now worse than ever and the contrast with East London – especially the Olympic Boroughs – is stark. It's clear that a large part of the Mayor of London's cultural strategy has been ignored:

Cultural provision varies markedly across the capital. This is especially the case with the outer London boroughs where the sector faces particular challenges in terms of resources and recognition, receiving significantly less on average from both local and regional funding bodies. (Cultural Metropolis, 2010)"

Sir Peter Hall, the Rose's Director Emeritus, said:

This morning's news is sad stuff indeed. I am only too well aware that the Rose is one of many arts organisations in some turmoil today and it is indeed an indictment of our times that so many are equally at risk. Since it opened its doors three years ago, the Rose has produced a strong artistic programme and the building itself, unique in its architecture, has become an important cultural centre. The Rose has achieved this with the support of the local authority, Kingston University and a loyal and enthusiastic audience. Yet it has been without the crucial Arts Council subsidy that would have given it security. The Council's decision not to back the Rose can only be described as an absolute slap in the face.

And Dame Judi Dench has offered her support:

"Whether it's as a cultural centre for the local communities or as a landmark theatre providing world-class drama, I ask that you join me in helping the Rose to bloom.

The Rose will continue to stage productions of the very highest standards, attract visiting companies from across Britain and around the world, and present a huge range of one night events, concerts, comedy and talks. We will also continue to make an enormous contribution to the economy of Kingston upon Thames.

But this is a difficult day for the thousands of people who care about the Rose and have invested so much time, energy and money into make it work."

4.44pm: There's been a rich discussion taking place in the comments below this article – thanks to everyone for your contributions. To highlight a few, finkennedy tells us:

I've extracted all the cuts/increases that relate to theatre companies and published them on my blog, categorised as Small Cuts, Large Cuts, Small Increases, Large Increases and New Clients. But I might have missed some so do let me know.

There's also some thoughts from a playwriting perspective.

Then there's this comment from Wurstundgritz on cuts to Manchester's Castlefield gallery:

Some very bad news for visual arts in Manchester: Castlefield Gallery loses all its funding. This is a key venue in the city, with a good reputation, established by artists in 1984. Cutting all its funding is incomprehensible.

Plus there's a response from new writing company Out of Joint about the unexpected cut to its funding, Side Gallery's reaction to the decision to axe its funding, and many, many more.

4.27pm: The actors' unions Equity have also expressed their concern. General secretary Christine Payne said:

"Arts Council England has been given an impossible job to do by the Government, which has cut funding to the arts by 30%. In today's announcement many theatre companies which are highly valued by audiences and actors alike received news ranging from bad to awful as a result of Government cuts. We are now likely to see a major down-turn in plays on stage, new writing and numbers of actors and others employed.

"Added to the cuts announced by Arts Council England today is the bonfire of arts funding by local authorities. The performing arts are taking a double hit, which could mean that many Equity members will be forced out of the profession."

Equity President Malcolm Sinclair said:

"I fear that this is a move away from artistically lead local theatres producing work for local people. This hits at the very heart of our theatre.

"The United Kingdom is a world leader in the performing arts – theatre, film, television – not because we are somehow naturally good at it, but because as a society we nurture it. Government cuts to the arts spell the end of that nurturing and could also spell the end of the UK being seen as a beacon of world theatre."

Equity Council member Samuel West said:

"The government must understand the consequences of a 30% cut to the arts budget together with a 28% cut to local authority funding. The arts are being squeezed on all sides.

"We're looking today at the results of a cut of £100m to Arts funding.  That's just 10% of the figure awarded in bonuses to RBS bankers this year.  The creative sector is the second most profitable one in this country. But for how much longer?  The impact of these cuts will be greatest on the smaller organisations, particularly in the regions and rural areas. These are the groups that provide the lifeblood of our great national institutions. Cut support to those lower down the pyramid and eventually those at the top will starve."

4.22pm: The union BECTU is warning of job losses. It released this statement:

The Arts Council of England announced that more than 200 arts organisations will lose their funding, in addition to more than 300 facing a cut in real terms. Among those losing out are the Northcott Theatre in Exeter and Derby Theatre whose funding is being axed, which contradicts the Arts Council's statement today that the backbone of regional theatre was being "increased by 1.1% in cash terms".

BECTU General Secretary Gerry Morrissey commented: "There are 200 arts organisations whose workforces are now facing unemployment – and there is nowhere those organisations can turn for alternative funding, despite the government's blithe protestations that enlightened rich people might care to dip their hands in their pockets.

"Economic studies over many years have shown the beneficial economic effect arts organisations have on their communities. The impact of the closure of an arts organisation will ripple out across the community – many small private sector companies supply their services to the arts organisations and closure could tip these hard-pressed companies over the edge as could a major scaling back of their business needs."

As news began filtering out of who faced cuts, BECTU condemned the incomprehensible funding decisions that on the one hand included axeing the funding of the Northcott and Derby theatres , a 39% budget cut for the Almeida Theatre and 22% cut at Talawa Theatre company – but on the other hand more than doubling increases for other organisations.
BECTU will be meeting the Arts Council on 8th April to discuss these cuts.

4.19pm: Here are some of the interesting newly funded groups:
• Academy of Ancient Music getting £170,000
• HighTide Festival in Suffolk getting £200,000
• Clod Ensemble - £120,000
• Protein Dance - £190,000
• Open Clasp theatre in the north east - £100,000
• Blackpool Grand Theatre - £120,000
• Company Chameleon, a north west dance company - £145,000
• Kendal Arts International - £290,000
• dreamthinkspeak, a south east theatre company - £157,000
• Inbetween Time Productions in the south west (visual arts) - £190,000
• Wildworks theatre in the south west - £205,000

4.10pm: The Guardian's head of books Claire Armitstead gives her verdict:

Commiserations to indie publisher Tindal Street - which appeared to be the biggest casualty in the publishing world with the loss of all £40,000 of its grant - met with a bemused reaction at its Birmingham headquarters and a swift rebuttal on its website.

The company said: "For its National Portfolio programme the West Midlands regional office of ACE has offered the Birmingham publisher £40K for 2012-13 and £40K for 2013-14, tailing off to zero in the third year.

"This is a reduction of around £8K (16%) per year, for the first two years, on its previous regular funding settlement; and 100% in the third year. (It is not a 100% cut, as stated on the Arts Council website.)

"The company applied for only two years' funding in the expectation of increased book sales income in the third year, through their recently formed trade partnership with Atlantic Books and the Independent Alliance.

Publishing Director, Alan Mahar said: 'This offer demonstrates continued support for our policy of regional excellence in literary fiction. It is in line with our plans to expand our publishing programme through our new trade partnership and become self-sustaining over the next three years. It represents a 16% reduction on our current agreement, but it is an achievement to continue to receive regular funding for a two-year period, after which we plan to be independent of public funding.'

Faber and Faber - the lead member of the Independent Alliance, an umbrella organisation set up in 2005 to give indie publishers more heft in the marketplace - is among today's winners, as one of ACE's 11 new literature portfolio organisations.

It will get £40,000 each year from April 2012 to 2015 for its New Poets not-for-profit scheme, which is designed to support emerging talent in poetry through mentorship, professional advice and pamphlet publication.

Poetry has traditionally been the publishing sector most dependent on Arts Council backing. Newcastle-based poetry publisher Bloodaxe loses 11.1%, Manchester's Carcanet is down 6.3%, and London-based Anvil Press loses 42.1%.

The overall number of literature organisations receiving regular Arts Council England (ACE) funding falls from 58 to 53.

Here's Lyn Gardner's take on the day's events:

It's clearly going to take days if not weeks to really absorb the effects of the Arts Council's funding decisions on theatre, although those who have been axed including Nitro, Riverside Studios, Shared Experience and Trestle don't have that luxury and are going to have to absorb very quickly with only a year to make the transition from being funded to not. Along with the losses—including the excellent Third Angel—there have of course been some terrific additions to the portfolio with companies such as Propeller, dreamthinkspeak, Coney, Mercury Musical Developments and Open Clasp being added to the mix. What of course we don't know, unless they tell us - and in a spirit of openness some, like the excellent Otherwayworks, have - are the previously unfunded companies who applied but who were unsuccessful.

I quite understand the reasons why, I wouldn't want my unsuccessful job applications discussed in public, but without that information it is quite hard to assess whether the Arts Council really has got its finger on the pulse of theatrical activity across the country. It may be of little comfort to those who did not get funding, but several have told me that they found the process of applying useful to them in the longer term, and I suppose at least the Arts Council now know—if they didn't before-- that these companies are out there. What seems to me crucial in the longer term is that with funding now settled over the next four years that Arts Council officers don't just look after their own but really take an interest in some of the terrific companies out there who deserve support.

It's great to see the portfolio refreshed, although there are few surprises. None of us really thought that ACE might be really radical and cut ROH by 50 per cent. Those kind of decisions would have helped create a very different landscape and though it feels as if what ACE has done is generally a positive step, it still seems very much a case of swings and roundabouts. So on one hand outdoor work gets a considerable boost with Kendal Arts International who deliver Lakes Alive becoming an RFO and Greenwich and Docklands Festival getting an uplift, but then the Without Walls consortium --that fed into those festivals and others uplifted organisations such as Brighton and Norfolk and Norwich—has not been successful in its application. So will Grenwich and Docklands and some of the others actually be any better off.But maybe some of ACE's new £80million touring budget will help address some of these anomalies.

There are others. The National Rural Touring Forum gets a 161% uplift while rural touring companies such as Forest Forge and Northumberland Touring Company lose funding. I'm not saying these decisions are right or wrong, but simply the situation is so complicated that it's hard at this stage to take a view because it's hard to understand the strategy behind the decisions. I'm delighted that Slung Low and Coney have got NPO status but wonder why Third Angel has lost its funding. If the Almeida is thought to be able to cope with a substantial funding cut, why not the Donmar which attracts a similar audience, has the capacity to exploit the commercial potential of its shows and can attract philanthropy too? Some smaller organisations have got NPO status but very small amounts and if they accept it will now be excluded from applying to Grants for the Arts. It's possible some may decide to turn down becomming an NPO.

What certainly hasn't happened is any real shift in the funding relationship between London and the regions or in the funding of regional theratre buildings—most of which are subject to around an 11 per cent cut.

The exceptions are the withdrawal of monies from the Derby Live programme and the troubled Northcott. Again nobody ever expected that ACE would withdraw funding from any of the regional theatre buildings and in this instance the devil will be in the detail of the funding agreements hammered out over the next year between these organisations and the Arts Council. If you are a company who was turned down for NPO status then now is the time to hammer on those regional doors because these theatres are going to be desperate to make relationships, and the Arts Council must assess them on the strength and success of those relationships.

3.58pm: So as expected, a mixed day of emotions. Lots of winners, lots of losers.

Here are some of the more eye catching winners (not comprehensive):
• Norfolk and Norwich Festival, money more than doubled, or 87% real terms rise.
• Lincoln Arts Trust, quadrupled to £206,000, or 285% rise.
• The Arcola theatre in east London, doubled or 82%.
• English PEN, trebled to £230,000 or 190%.
• Fuel Theatre in London almost quadrupled to £203,000.
• Ockham's Razor in London, trebled, or 173% real terms rise.
• Punchdrunk up 141%
• mima in Middlesbrough up 143% to £500,000.
• The Maltings in Berwick, quadrupled to £208,000, up 270%
• Farnham Maltings, more than doubled, up 244%

3.40pm: The Place (contemporary dance) in London is getting a 20% real terms cut. Its director of communications Tim Wood said this:

"Judith Mackrell makes good points about dance not doing well out of this settlement (apart from the handful of newly funded organisations).

"The increases to some of regional dance development agencies are welcome and will help preserve some national distribution of dance activity, but is off-set local authority funding cuts to those organisations. The cut to Youth Dance England is invisible in these figures, as their funding came from a different ACE pot.

"While some companies appear to have big increases, many of these previously used the RFO funding for core costs and got Grants for the Arts awards to fund their productions – that funding is now rolled together in the NPO grant.

"As for The Place, we've been told that our work is good and important and should carry on, but we'll have to do it for less money. We don't yet know how we'll manage that.
"There's a frustration that dance never got the big uplift that other art forms (regional theatre, visual arts) had during the boom years of arts funding. That's a point that Dance UK always make. They have, of course, been cut."

3.35pm: A few people have asked about a list of the casualties, those not getting any funding who did previously. The list is here. The arts council is not however releasing a full list of the 1,333 applicants.

3.27pm: It's remiss of me not to have included the comments of culture secretary Jeremy Hunt (not that they were sent to me). He said:

"While this is obviously a difficult day for many arts organisations, the government has limited cuts to frontline arts organisations and at the same time increased significantly the amount of Lottery money going to the arts.

"This means that the Arts Council's overall annual budget will reduce by £20 million (11.8%) by April 2015, putting it in a much better position than many other parts of the public sector.

"The UK has some of the best culture in the world and we are doing all we can to support it through the challenges of dealing with the deficit, including measures to boost the amount of private giving going to the arts."

3.20pm: Drake Music in London is getting a 11.2% real terms increase.

Carien Meijer, Drake Music's ceo' said:

"This increase is a fantastic endorsement of the wonderful work created by disabled artists and musicians, both professional and amateur, across England and will enable us to build capacity and extend our reach. Drake Music breaks down disabling barriers through innovative approaches to teaching, learning and making music. Our focus is on nurturing creativity through exploring music and technology in imaginative ways. We put quality music-making at the heart of everything we do, connecting disabled and non-disabled people locally, nationally and internationally. Through our diverse offer, DM continues to explore different ways of working at the intersection of music, disability, art & technology and break new ground artistically and in terms of participatory practice."

3.09pm: Here's a quick verdict from Observer theatre critic Susannah Clapp:

There are some good awards: Lakes Alive, HighTide, Gecko, Arcola, Fuel. Almeida is a surprise – but I don't see them withering under the blow. In my view the RSC could have taken a further cut: it's had loads of dosh.

3.07pm: This from Observer dance critic Luke Jennings:

Bitterly disappointed to see ACE funding withdrawn from Ballet Black and Henri Oguike Dance Company, and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company shouldering a 28% cut. These are small troupes which embody the notion of diversity, and in creative terms punch far above their weight. Leeds-based Northern Ballet's 25% cut seems brutal too, given their tireless tour schedule (650 performances in the last four years), and exemplary contribution to their communit

Found at www.guardian.co.uk