The Fat Lady's Singing

It looks like Darlington Arts Centre will finally close next summer following Darlington Borough Council's latest proposal to withdraw all subsidies for the building.

In Autumn 2010, the Council initially proposed cutting all their funding for the centre and the building was due to close in Spring 2011. Fortunately, for the current financial year they were able to find enough cash to keep the centre open. This allowed talks with Darlington For Culture (DfC) to proceed with a view to them taking over the running of the centre in 2012.

Despite the past year being only a temporary reprieve, DfC claim they are "shocked" by the latest closure announcement and have vowed to continue the battle to save the building. But their plan relies largely on continued funding from the Council which, as we pointed out in our post in November 2010, seems quite unrealistic given the current financial climate. In addition, the building is in need of substantial investment to make it more practical and many people believe that some of the facilities are less than ideal for the arts activities taking place there.

Over the past few months, DfC have been running some additional events to demonstrate how they might operate the centre. They have had some success in bringing together ideas and helping to put them into practice. We enjoyed visiting their busy arts fairs, held in September and last weekend. The film club, quiz nights, tea dances, expanded writing classes and knitting group are other innovative activities that make more use of the building, even if they are not all directly related to art.

Sadly, this doesn't appear to have been enough to secure the survival of the centre. What is actually needed is replacement funding, raised by DfC or other organisations. DfC say they need more time to gain experience of running the centre and raise money. But direct fund-raising doesn't seem to be a priority yet.

In order for DfC to save the current Arts Centre, they will need to put up the cash, make the Council an offer it can't refuse and get stuck in. We're not sure how they can do this so they need a Plan B, an alternative way forward that ensures that the arts survive and thrive in the town.

The Council and other organisations are already considering elements that could form a Plan B. The recently produced Vision for the Arts in Darlington suggests that a new "hub" for the arts could be built in the town centre.

There would be many benefits from a new centre: cash raised from selling the old building should go towards the new one, it will be in a more prominent and convenient location, the facilities will be more practical and up to date, there will be improved accessibility, better parking and it will give a greater return on the investment made.

Of course, at this early stage there are still a few issues to be ironed out: lack of specifics about what facilities would be included, more detailed costs, no funding yet in place, how the funds will be raised and an unclear timetable.

We are very keen to see the arts survive in the town, but the existing Arts Centre does not look like the best option, both practically and financially. What little money there is needs to be invested in a future for the arts that is more sustainable and better value for money than at present. The suggested new arts "hub" looks like a reasonable solution and a plan that we would be likely to support.

The end is in sight for the Arts Centre in Vane Terrace. If DfC continue to focus on what they already do well - co-ordinating events - and also engage with plans for a new venue and help to influence its development, the arts in Darlington may yet survive the difficult times ahead.

Vicky And Vince,

Love Your Art.

ps. If you want to read our previous posts relating to Darlington Arts Centre, they are here:

Suffer Not In Silence, November 2010

Arts Centre Update, January 2011

Arts Centre Update 2, April 2011

Darlington Art Fair, September 2011

Arts Centre Update 2

Darlington Borough Council, having re-arranged the existing activities at Darlington Arts Centre to run on fewer days, have made the Arts Centre available to Darlington for Culture (DfC) on Monday and Tuesday evenings to run their own programme of events. These would be additional activities, expanding the use of the centre.

Ideas for what to do will largely come from supporters of DfC and at a meeting on 31st March a number of people outlined the ideas they had. They were then hit with a "single whammy" - they must plan and organise their event themselves. This may be a great way to get people more involved in supporting DfC's campaign to save the Arts Centre but it seems like a case of being dropped into the "Big Society" deep end.

It also stopped us putting forward a few vague ideas we have because:

a) we don't know enough about the facilities to work out if an idea is possible
b) we don't know how to assess the overall feasibility of each idea
c) we don't have a broad enough range of skills or experience to take on a broad range of ideas
d) we don't know how to develop the ideas into fully formed proposals
e) we don't have the time to research all the above and work out how the ideas could be implemented
f) we're not in a position to underwrite them financially
g) we can't run three or four ideas on our own

Perhaps a better alternative may be for the steering committee to take each of these ideas, decide how workable it is then organise a small team of people, including the person who suggested it, to plan and implement the idea. This would combine the innovative ideas with the experience and support of others. It could also protect DfC from running unsustainable activities and may also lead to other ideas being considered.

We are hoping to attend the next meeting on Thursday when more details of the programme up to March 2012 will be discussed. But we suspect that our ideas will stay on scraps of paper for now.

Another development coming up in May is that Darlington For Culture are to officially become a Community Benefit Society, a type of co-operative. This approach is more democratic than alternative structures such as the Community Interest Company originally mooted and means that groups and individuals with an interest in the arts can be more directly involved.

This poses an interesting challenge for us: should we become members of this organisation to show our support for the arts in the town? We have discussed this at length between ourselves, debating the pros and cons, trying to predict the future and looking out for alternative proposals that may interfere with DfC's plans. We haven't convinced ourselves either way yet. Here are some of the issues we have considered.

Pros: If DfC take over the running of the Arts Centre it would continue to be used for all its current activities and probably more; DfC's democratic structure would be good for the arts community and should help with funding applications; the cultural parliament meetings that DfC have already been holding helps to direct and validate arts activities in the town.

Cons: Running or expanding the arts centre will be a mammoth task and could be overwhelming; there is no guarantee that DfC will be allowed take control in the future; as a group they have no track record of running such a complex organisation (although the individual experience of the people involved would help); will DfC be able to attract the substantial funding necessary and co-ordinate the resources when Darlington Council finally withdraw all their financial support?

The opportunity for running activities on Monday and Tuesday evenings will allow DfC to begin to show what they are capable of doing. Perhaps we should wait until this is under way before we make our final decision.

Vicky and Vince,
Love Your Art.

Arts Centre Update

We are pleased to hear that Darlington Arts Centre has been given a temporary reprieve from closure.

Unable to maintain their financial support due to the Government cuts, Darlington Borough Council had proposed the closure of both the local theatre and the arts centre. Now, following discussions with various interested groups, the Council have decided to try to sell off the Civic Theatre as a going concern. They will also be able to provide partial funding of the Arts Centre for another year, allowing other groups the time to properly organize themselves and take over the running of the centre by April 2012.

Last Thursday we attended Darlington For Culture's latest meeting where the new proposals had created a more optimistic mood. The council also propose creating an Arts and Culture vision for the town to give a clear and co-ordinated focus to whatever facilities and services will be provided in the coming years.

All interested parties would be involved in creating the new vision and as the seventy or so people attending the meeting fell into this category, we made a start. Tables, paper and pens were set up for four categories: people/service users, artists/producers, venues and education. We wracked our brains, discussed and debated, and scribbled down ideas about what we would like to see provided over the next ten years or so. After about half an hour, several sheets of A1-sized paper were filled with people's thoughts and comments. We look forward to seeing the summary of these ideas and the ultimate vision that, hopefully, they will influence.

It is not yet clear how the Arts Centre will operate during the transition year and whether there will be any reduction in services provided. From Darlington For Culture's point of view there is still a huge challenge ahead to retain the Arts Centre and the cultural activities that take place there. The group's steering committee will have their work cut out for them over the coming months.

Vicky and Vince,
Love Your Art

Suffer Not In Silence

If you'd gone along to Darlington Arts Centre last Thursday evening, you may have struggled to get in the building; there were hundreds of people milling around. Some had come to visit the centre's own theatre, some to learn how to paint or make jewellery, some to see Halima Cassell's ceramics exhibition preview, some simply to have a drink and a chat with friends in the Lounge and some to attend the Darlington For Culture meeting.

This is a thriving centre of culture, entertainment and social activities. Sadly it may close next year due to Government spending cutbacks. We joined the latter group of visitors to hear about an initiative that may avoid the closure of the building and retain the range of popular arts activities in the town.

Last month Darlington Borough Council announced their worst-case scenario for cutting £22m from their total budget. This included withdrawing their generous (compared to other, much larger, councils) funding for both the Civic Theatre and the Arts Centre, leading to their likely closure. Darlington For Culture was quickly set up with the intention of maintaining the services provided through alternative support from other funding bodies, the centre users and the community at large.

The meeting, chaired by Paul Harman who has extensive experience especially in the performing arts, covered three main points; the discussions that had taken place with the Council so far; a proposal to set up a Community Interest Company to take over the operation of the building and an idea for a "cultural parliament" where issues and the needs of the community could be discussed openly and acted upon. The meeting was attended by members from the clubs and groups based at the centre, representatives from the council, staff and users of the centre and also concerned members of the public.

The general feeling from the audience was that losing a facility like the arts centre would be a significant loss to Darlington as a whole, not just the regular users. It was pointed out that the arts centre served a regional community and perhaps additional support could be obtained from further afield. Several people urged co-operation with the council and other bodies rather than trying to go it alone.

A number of related ideas, some more realistic than others, were put forward. But we're not sure that the suggestion to ask the council to do a U-turn and leave the funding in place would be very successful, considering the pressure they will be under to make substantial savings across their budget.

As you might expect, there was some political posturing by a few people in the room. However their mischievous interruptions were greatly outnumbered by the concerns and support from the majority of the day-to-day users of the centre.

At the end of the meeting a vote was taken on whether individuals would pledge £10 each to buy a share in the company. The vast majority raised their hands, moving the process another step forward.

Whether or not Darlington For Culture will become part of a solution is still uncertain. There may not be sufficient support or time to make the necessary arrangements. What is certain is that without a determined push to find a solution, it is likely that Darlington Arts Centre will close next year.

Love Your Art,
Vicky and Vince

Art For All

Darlington Society Of Arts is holding its annual exhibition at the Arts Centre in Darlington. We couldn't miss seeing a large number of paintings, ceramics and mixed media by local artists so off we went.

We were impressed by the quality of the works, the range of styles and techniques used as well as the variety of subjects. We would love to talk about them all but we only have space to mention a few items that caught our attention.

Bella Staithes by Cassandra Anderson is a watercolour of Staithes harbour in unusual shades of purple, pink, brown and turquoise. To us, it seems to be alive with movement and activity, we can almost hear the seagulls and splashing waves. It has an atmosphere that many similar pictures fail to achieve.

Cassandra likes to paint all kinds of subjects. She told us that she paints very quickly and has built up a diverse collection of work. She is now studying Art History through the Open University.

Jack and Rosie Mackenzie are brother and sister and both obviously talented artists. At the show they are exhibiting mutual portraits in acrylic. Both pictures use completely different styles yet both are full of character and emotion.

Rosie's portrait of Jack won the Junior Award. It captures the light and shade on Jack's face perfectly. Jack's portrait of Rosie was highly commended. His technique of bold brush strokes works well to portray his sister in an intimate pose of laughter. It's a pleasure to see some younger artists applying their skills to portraits, a genre that seems to have lost its popularity these days.

The exhibition runs until 19th November 2010 at Darlington Arts Centre.

Love Your Art,
Vicky and Vince

Cockerton Art Group

We had a weekend of surprises while visiting an exhibition of art at a local church in Darlington.

Our first surprise was how many people were there viewing the art works. When we arrived, around 11am, the atmosphere was buzzing and we had to squeeze past lots of other enthusiastic viewers to see the pictures.

The show, held by Cockerton Art Group in the Methodist church on the village green, had around 120 pictures produced by the group's members. As you would expect with a general exhibition like this the subject matter and the mediums used were wide ranging. The quality of the work was excellent and most of the pictures were for sale, with prices typically between £10 and £50.

We moved slowly up and down the rows of tables with the pictures on them, it was easy to view the pictures and nobody seemed to mind if you picked them up for a closer look.

As is customary with our blogs, we will mention a few that we liked. Vince was impressed by Carol Cloughton's picture of sheep on the moors. By the way, did we mention that we collect sheep art? Vicky liked L Roach's use of perspective to draw you along the South Jetty at the harbour in Amble, Northumberland. We also admired the finely detailed fretwork of two ladies by Peter Edge.

After a brief look round we noticed a sign saying 'cafe' so decided to go for a cuppa. Here was our next surprise, the Sunday School rooms had been converted into a makeshift cafe and it was packed with even more people than the exhibition! We managed to find a space sharing a table with a couple who had been to see the pictures too. We enjoyed a friendly chat with them about the exhibition and the pictures that we liked.

Our final surprise was on the way out as we spotted a couple of scantily clad women! Fortunately they were only paintings, by the aforementioned Peter Edge. We wondered what the Minister might say if he saw them in his church!



Love Your Art,
Vicky and Vince