Arts cuts will cause local pain

From the Guardian:

It will be months, years even, before we know how severe the effect of the arts cuts will be, and yesterday's announcement of a soft start – a 6.9% first-year cut for most arts bodies – will be seen as good news. But expect some of the biggest losers to be any organisation overly reliant on local government funding. Councils in Manchester, for example, will meet on Friday to agree "a fundamental review" of the £3.7m in grants they give to everything from the Hallé to the Cornerhouse to the Bolton Octagon.

Oh hell. I know The Lowry as a regigistered charity only receives 15% of its revenue from public funding - so for every £1 of public funding that they receive, they must raise a further £7 in order to support their work in their theatres, galleries and within the local community. The good thing about this means that we the public can directly support The Lowry  through additional giving (such as the voluntary ticket levy) and (presumably) simply paying for tickets, buying merchandise within the gift shop and by purchasing food and drink in the bars and restaurant.  The downside is if that 15% is reduced, leaving them with a greater burden of public goodwill to rely on.

The Library Theatre is owned by Manchester City Council and is precariously now without a home and reliant upon major capital investment to deliver their future plans. As for other theatres and organisations in the area I don't know. The Royal Exchange? Contact Theatre? The Dancehouse? greenroom, etc. etc.

I suppose we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, sign petitions, write to your MPs and local counsellors, campaign online, and above all, buy tickets and go and see stuff.

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