Graeae theatre stands to lose £60,000 a year in core funding, after the Association of London Government (ALG) ignored its second request to have the decision to withdraw its grant overturned.
In a meeting earlier this week, the ALG handed down its decisions on which London arts organisations it would continue to support, following a review of its funding scheme.
Organisations including Clean Break Theatre Company (the performance group for women company for ex-offenders and prisoners) and Oval House and Polka Theatre for children, were informed their grants would be forthcoming, after recommendations earlier this year suggested funding would be withdrawn completely.
Polka Theatre, which has been supported by the ALG since it opened in 1979, risked losing its annual grant of almost £90,000. However, at Wednesday’s meeting the ALG agreed to reinstate financial support for the Wimbeldon-based company, which will now receive £85,000 a year until 2007.
However, other organisations including Sadler’s Wells and Graeae Theatre were not so lucky, with the ALG refusing to back down on negative funding recommendations. Graeae theatre, Britain’s premier theatre for and by disabled people, did not even rate a mention in this week’s meeting, despite an earlier agreement to defer the decision on the withdrawal of its £60,000 annual grant. Yesterday, Artistic Director Jenny Sealey was in a state of disbelief over the decision – or lack of.
‘We appealed for a second time and were not even mentioned in the meeting,’ she told Arts Hub. ‘[The] ALG have said to us that disability arts is being covered across London by other organisations. Graeae is the only disabled company of physically and sensory impaired people and is disabled-led, so apart from SHAPE London and Half Moon, I would like to know who else is doing it!’
Graeae now has to find alternative sources to fill the £60,000 a year gap in funding.
And still a third group of arts organisations continues to operate with the uncertainty that their core funding may or may not be secured. Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, Hoxton Hall, London Bubble Theatre, the Young Vic Theatre Company and Wimbledon Theatre all had their funding decisions deferred for a second time, with councillors deciding they needed more time to consider the applications.
Jonathan Petherbridge, London Bubble’s Artistic Director, is one of seven organisations which will have their applications reconsidered by a smaller committee on June 11.
‘It all feels like another major project, but I think the ALG members are being as fair and open as they can, while trying to encourage new organisations,’ he said. ‘I don’t blame them [the ALG], but it puts us in a very uncertain situation.’
The ALG announced the initial funding cuts in January this year, following a review of its funding scheme. According to the authority, it received requests totalling £20 million from more than 200 cultural organisations across London, but only had £12 million to go around.
Funding a wide range of community groups and social service providers, the ALG agreed to defer a number of its funding recommendations, following arts community protests at what was thought to be an unfair process.
Commenting on the latest decisions, Chair of the ALG Grants Committee, Councillor Raj Chandarana, said: ‘It is obviously impossible to fund every voluntary organisation which applied for funding, and we have had to make some very tough decisions.’
‘We have listened very carefully to all the issues raised by the projects that asked for us funding,’ he continued. ‘As a result, we feel that every member of London’s community will be able to reap the benefits of the grants we have awarded today.’
Victoria Todd, Director of the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA), welcomed the latest developments, but emphasised the NCA will continue to lobby for a more strategic approach towards arts funding in London.
‘We’re very pleased to see that councillors listened to the concerns of the arts sector and have been brave enough to reverse some of the negative decisions that they made earlier this year,’ she noted.
‘Initial funding decisions were taken with too much haste and too little consideration for the effect that cuts to part of the sector would have on the whole of the arts ecology. We very much hope that funds will be found to support those organisations that have currently been deferred.’
‘This is not the end of the battle,’ Todd continued. ‘The NCA will continue to fight for funders to adopt a strategic approach to arts funding with more investment in core activities instead of project funds.’
A number of key industry figures echoed Todd’s observation that the debacle had highlighted a lack of unified thinking between different cultural funders in the capital.
Tony Graham, Director of London’s Unicorn Theatre for children, told Arts Hub earlier this year: ‘What [this situation is] really doing is indicating there isn’t a cohesive strategy for London… There doesn’t seem to be a clear sense of collaboration, or “joined-up” thinking, between the ALG, the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).’
Yesterday, Todd also pointed out that many organisations have found themselves in ongoing financial uncertainty, after having their funding decisions deferred yet again, something which the NCA believes needs to be urgently addressed.
‘There are still high quality arts organisations out there that are fighting for funding to continue their ongoing day-to-day activities,’ she said. ‘Without proper funding, the cultural sector cannot develop and grow.’
CLICK HERE to read an earlier Arts Hub feature on the ALG crisis.
