Forum Topic

Watermans Arts Centre - Funding Threat

There is a petition up and running for Watermans as the Arts Council is threatening to cut their grant by 100% next year.There are also threads on several websites regarding this.www.watermans.org.uk

Philippa Bond ● 6856d8 Comments

I was amazed to see that the brilliant Tamar Swade is still running the Pandemonium music sessions at Watermans.  A group of us from Ealing used to travel down on the 65 bus with our offspring when this first started.  It was really enjoyable and consequently de-stressing for both parents and children. Those babies are now at university.  We really miss the pantos which were great for a mixed age group (something we could still get the teenagers to join in with) with Dominic Gray. We intend to try the Comedy & Curry in the New Year and I hope they will be open for tea or coffee (which they weren't the last time we tried) because it is an area where we like to walk.

Philippa Bond ● 6850d

"There is a petition up and running for Watermans as the Arts Council is threatening to cut their grant by 100% next year."Maybe there should be also be a petition to ask the management of the Watermans to explain why the £500K a year they've been getting represents good value for the local community, and why it wouldn't be better spent on other arts / culture initiatives.

Ed Yelland ● 6850d

Please give your feedback to Watermans.I know why we used to go there and why we haven't been there more recently - we have been hardly anywhere!Unfortunately the British public just tend to vote with their feet which is very unhelpful to management and I suspect the dreaded politics is involved in the giving of grants.  I can't imagine that they are available to spend on whatever you want - there always seem to be strings attached.  I don't know in this case.However once a place is lost it does tend to be lost forever. Tell it to them.www.watermans.org.uk

Philippa Bond ● 6850d

Ed, this is realy one for the Arts Coucil who distribute over £500 million and decide what they want done with it.Funding enables us to make programmes and activities available to people, that wouldn't otherwise be possible. When I fill the theatre for a childrens show on a Sunday, I cover my direct costs but I can't make a profit charging £6/£4 which I think is expensive enough for the local community who do come regularly. The reason we encourage people to come to experience live theatre at a young age is that it helps them to learn to enjoy live theatre for the rest of their life.A series of dance workshops for people with learning  disabilities ending in a performance on stage can make a huge impact on their lives, but it will never generate enough income to cover its costs. Usually we can share the costs with the participating groups but it still requires a grant for it to happen. Grants are linked to particular activities. It is the activities that the grant underpinned that will disappear. When this happens the whole community loses out.

Leigh Stops ● 6846d

Second time I've managed to post - the post can be seen on the thread but the thread hasn't moved and the number hasn't changed.Mon, 07 January 2008The London Borough of Hounslow is backing Watermans as it campaigns against proposed Arts Council cuts.The Arts Council of England has proposed withdrawing its funding support to the Brentford arts centre, which contributes substantially to its operational costs. A final decision is expected later this month.Hounslow Council is backing the “Support Watermans 100%” campaign. This asks residents and users to sign an online or paper petition urging the Arts Council to abandon its plan.Councillor Peter Thompson, leader of the London Borough of Hounslow, said: “We are extremely shocked and disappointed that the Arts Council is threatening to withdraw funding from Watermans, and ask them to reverse this decision.“By threatening to cut funding from Watermans, the Arts Council is endangering a much-valued and well-utilised venue, a focal point for the community, and an important cultural asset for the west London region.“Hounslow Council and the Arts Council have hitherto enjoyed a productive, strong, open working relationship in the past, so it is extremely disappointing that it has made this proposal without consulting us, or giving us an opportunity to put forward a view.“We were particularly shocked to receive a letter from the Arts Council that told us they planned to cut funding from Watermans without an explanation of their reasons for it. In fact, this proposed funding cut was buried in the small print of a table, which is hardly a sympathetic approach.“This behind-closed-doors, cloak-and-dagger decision-making and lack of consultation is very hard to swallow and we will be making our feelings very clear to the Arts Council about their methods, as well as their decision."We are convinced the Arts Council have got it wrong and urge residents and supporters to sign the petition and send out a clear message that Watermans is valued and we will fight hard to secure its future.”To register your support Watermans, go to www.watermans.org.uk. People can also sign a petition at Watermans.

Philippa Bond ● 6841d

If you are really interested in this subject, could I suggest you visit the BrentfordTW8 Forum..where points of view have been keenly expressed.. many with thumbs down for the way in which the Watermans has failed it's local citizens for several years.Others give it the thumbs up. How do you view a visit to Brentford and the Watermans? A treat?  A visit to somewhere scruffy? An uplifting experience?  A cinema to die for? A visit to somewhere pleasnt and attractive? A place to visit for a look around and refreshment? A place to see a show..or hear music..or view paintings and other art?

Jim Lawes ● 6841d

There is also more on Watermans on the Chiswick W4 site. I have seen your photos Jim and I also have some somewhere not of Watermans but of Acton Baths showing the lack of maintenance there.  There are many municipal buildings in need of plenty of TLC in both boroughs.Fountains Leisure Centre has also been suffering and I suspect the roof still needs mending.  The lack of parking provision there which I believe is LBH policy also makes it less popular than it might otherwise be for such a leisure centre.  The Councils contract other organisations to run many of their facilities.  Are these contracts good enough?  Who is responsible for the maintenance of the buildings? We just seem to see these buildings crumbling in front of us and vote with our feet.

Philippa Bond ● 6841d

Ok, so it's a bit scruffy - and I do wish they could do something about the car park - but they also show a very good variety of films at a reasonable price at hours to suit everybody.  Access is reasonable by public transport.I have enjoyed many an evening's entertainment there and would sorely miss it if it were to fold.  I would be in favour of more diverse refreshments in the restaurant area but it's at least good to have a bar (also serving coffee) whilst you wait for entry to a filmI would also heartily endorse Leigh's comments re facilities for minority groups - these opportunities should not be denied them just because they don't make money. Surely some imaginative alterations could be implemented at not too high a cost rather than removing all funding.

Judy Veasey ● 6839d