1.
Other forms of financial support
•
Investment
We can cite two examples of investment programmes that have been
strategically developed: firstly, an interest-free loan scheme
for artists from Arts Council of Wales which made small sums of
money (up to £5,000?) available to artists with repayment
terms of 36 months. A ring-fenced sum was made available on a
first-come-first-served basis, pending a simple application and
statement of intent. The scheme enabled artists to undertake
projects, production and research that they could otherwise not
afford, and with much less work than a funding application. This
scheme ceased in 2012.
A second example is the Collectorplan Scheme (again,
administered by ACW) which offers interest-free loans for
purchasing works of art from a participating venue. We have less
detail on this scheme but it is effective to our knowledge.
We’d be interested to see the development of an equivalent
investment programme(s) for cultural organisations, with an
equivalent strategic approach. For example, an interest-free loan
to enable the purchase of a building for cultural use that could be
paid back over a 25-year period. We would like to see this backed
by corporate investment among other sources, as a means for
businesses in Wales to deliver their corporate social
responsibility and develop relationships with the cultural
sector.
It is also useful to understand the word ‘Investment’
as infrastructure rather than financial. In many artforms the
production of work is supported as part of its presentation (eg WMC
dance studios, orchestra rehearsal spaces, Sherman theatre scenery
production, WNO's costume department). There is a whole ecology of
arts support that needs investment in its infrastructure. We make
this point because from our experience of the Visual Arts in Wales
we recognise support for many Visual arts organisations is weighted
heavily on ‘presentation’ and lacks any strategic /
infrastructural support for production.
•
Rent reduction and rates relief
1. G39 successfully negotiated a significant reduction in the
asking price / market value of its current premises. We simply made
an offer which was accepted. We think this may be for a couple of
reasons - firstly, the premises had been vacant for a number of
years prior to our tenancy, and also we requested a 10-year lease
(ie guaranteed income for that period).
2. That said, our rent bill is significant. We would prefer to be
able to invest this sum in the organisation by having a different
approach to premises (eg owned premises / non-building-based).
Rented premises does not allow for long-term development and future
planning.
3. From our experience with Cardiff Council, the process for
securing discretionary rates relief as a not-for-profit
organisation is quite opaque and lacking in clarity regarding the
application process and assessment criteria.
4. The Empty Shops Network is an interesting initiative for
approaching this from a different position: a commercial or retail
space is offered temporarily to a non-commercial pop-up cultural
project. NB This solution alone is not sufficient to deliver a
cultural strategy because it doesn’t allow for long-term
planning, legacy or audience relationship building.
•
Availability of business advice (e.g. how arts organisations should
be legally constituted)
This was previously offered through the Cultural Enterprise Service
- an advice and training service for creative businesses and
individuals that was successfully pioneered in Wales and has since
been duplicated elsewhere (including Scotland). Regrettably CES
lost its funding in early 2000s, and no initiative (or combination
of initiatives) has adequately addressed that need.
•
Support from the Arts Council and others to help reduce dependence
on public subsidy
The Resilience Programme is, in our experience, an effective way of
delivering this. There is certainly room for more programmes of
this nature, and from a diverse range of delivery partners, eg Arts
& Business Cymru. However the Resilience programme has an
agenda - while it is useful in targeting those areas that may be
structurally weak for organisations (board/ management/
Fundraising/ legal) it also comes with the overarching ethos that
it is making organisations
• Sharing fundraisers
Lots of roles that could potentially be shared across
organisations, or centralised access: marketing, H. Wales
Millennium Centre has a ‘shared services’ agreement
with some of its tenants which offers bolt-on services in addition
to their tenant agreement (eg the Tessitura consortium providing
ticketing facilities; soft services; catering; infrastructure /
software)
•
Creative Wales
The Creative Wales is uniquely Welsh. It offers growth and
development to a rigorously challenged and sifted pool of artists
to develop what they do. Without it many of the projects that are
happening now, in schools, in hospitals and in arts education and
galleries would not be possible. Many of the artists that have gone
on to represent Wales internationally have been supported by
Creative Wales awards. The trickle down effect of what people
achieve through Creative Wales is to be applauded. The award is
transparent and democratic and should be seen with many of its
equivalents in other areas of activity, such as the Sport Wales
Elite Cymru or Talent Cymru - another grant that supports achievers
with the knowledge that it raises ambition and expertise across the
sector.