Theatre / Theatre Bristol
Bristol arts organisation to close ‘due to funding cuts’
An 18-year-old arts organisation has said it is to close “due to funding cuts”.
Theatre Bristol says it has made the decision after losing all its core funding from Arts Council England and Bristol City Council.
The Brislington-based organisation lost its Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status last year, while Bristol City Council has delayed making arts funding decisions until March 2024.
The organisation says its closure will leave a “gaping hole” where theatre and live performance artist support used to be, and it “fears” for the future of creatives in the city and beyond.
Emily Williams, CEO of Theatre Bristol said: “We have spent the last few months exploring various options that would enable Theatre Bristol to continue, we have left no stone unturned.
“The thing we kept coming back to is that we cannot deliver the work we do, if we are fighting for our own survival and without appropriate levels of core funding this would be the case.”
Theatre Bristol was founded in 2005 to develop and support the live performance sector to make it fairer, more equal and inclusive, supporting thousands of artists and freelance creatives to establish and sustain independent careers.
The closure of Theatre Bristol follows the Arts Council announcement in November that saw 130 organisations lose their NPO funding completely, while 35 that retained their funding suffered cuts of £50,000 or more.
Theatre Bristol’s board of directors added: “Our staff now remain our priority. The excellent team has been outstandingly resilient in this turbulent time and we would like to thank them for all the hard work and care they have given to Theatre Bristol.
“They have lived their commitment to developing and supporting the live performance sector to make it fairer, more equal and more inclusive and have delivered much needed sector support and advocacy.”
Theatre Bristol’s last public event will be a coffee morning at its offices in St Anne’s House on Wednesday. There are also plans to create a digital archive of its work over the years.
Main photo: Theatre Bristol
Read next:
- Bristol’s creatives demand end to ‘damaging’ arts funding delay
- ‘The council’s funding delay threatens the future of the arts in Bristol’
- Winners and losers across Bristol in latest Arts Council funding
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