Minutes:
The Board welcomed the Director and the Chairman of the Artrix to the meeting and invited them to deliver a presentation containing an overview of engagement and activity at the Artrix in 2015/16 and plans for the following financial year. During the delivery of this presentation the following matters were highlighted for Members’ consideration, with a number of points discussed in detail:
· During the period 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2016 72,924 people had attended the Artrix, including 25,717 children, young people and families.
· There had been 431 performances during the period, including 37 performances promoted by Bromsgrove Arts Alive.
· A total of 496 workshop activities had taken place during the period at the Artrix.
· The Artrix’s 10th Birthday Artistic Programme had been delivered in partnership with Walk the Plank and Motionhouse Dance Company. Over 300 children, young people and families had engaged with the programme.
· The programme had aimed to raise funding for The Artrix and had managed to raise over £13,000, which was £3,000 more than the target.
· Live screenings of performances delivered by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Ballet Live had continued to be screened at the Artrix alongside a lot of successful comedy performances and contemporary theatre productions.
· The Artrix New Generation Festival had engaged with 27 out of 39 state schools in Bromsgrove district since 2014, providing performances, workshops and other activities suitable for children and young people.
· HOW College offered a BTEC National Diploma in performing arts at the Artrix.
· The Artrix had used Catalyst and ACE investment in dance to offer dance residences to local students, which had involved working with professional dance companies.
· The Artrix became an official Fun Place on 3rd October 2015, offering family friendly arts and events themed activities.
· The Out of the Box Youth Theatre had launched a new section for junior participants in September 2015.
· A number of specific community events had taken place at the Artrix including an Ageing Well Day, which had been attended by over 100 people, Over 55s Cinema on a Friday and a Family Fun Festival, which had attracted 680 audience members in July 2015 and over 1,000 in August.
· Specific community events had been held to mark Black History Month, which had engaged with an audience of 80 people and involved a screening of the film The Colour Purple, and LGBT History Month which had been attended by over 110 people and included a showing of the film Pride.
· Worcestershire County Council (WCC) had invested £30,000 in the Artrix which had been used to fund a new full-time Marketing and Fundraising Officer. This was a one off payment from WCC but it was noted that the Fundraising and Marketing Officer’s post to be sustainable and self-funding.
· A Fundraising Strategy and Audience Development Plan had been produced for the venue.
· Average attendance figures during the autumn season had been at their highest since records began in 2012. A total of 60 per cent of all tickets were now sold online and The Artrix had a mailing list of 17,000.
· Audience segmentation had been reviewed which had revealed that the majority of customers lived in Bromsgrove district.
· The Artrix had many volunteers who undertook a valuable role. A new Volunteer Co-ordinator had been employed to develop and refresh the Council’s volunteering scheme.
· A total of 25 new volunteers had recently attended a session organised by the venue’s Volunteer Co-ordinator and work was being undertaken to specifically attract younger volunteers.
· In April The Artrix won the What’s On Award – Best Small Arts Centre in Worcestershire.
· There had been a change in governance arrangements for The Artrix with a new Director and the number of representatives on the board from HOW college and the Council reduced to 2 per organisation whilst 3 new community representatives had been recruited.
· Artrix the Next Decade had been launched on 28th April to promote the venue’s new fundraising campaign and strategic priorities.
· The venue’s Business Plan was in the process of being redrafted. Detailed within the new plan would be the new priorities for the Artrix for the next 3 years.
· Greater use would be made in future of digital technology to increase young people’s engagement.
· There were plans to develop the existing programme at The Artrix to include more family and children’s theatre productions and activities.
· In the future there were plans to deliver more challenging projects that would help to engage with hard to reach groups.
· The Artrix was aiming to produce their own work for young people with a company of emerging artists focusing on specific health and wellbeing problems.
· The Artrix was looking to diversify sources of funding and would be making applications to the Arts Council England, various Trusts and Foundations for grants. Business sponsorship would also be explored in future as a potential source of funding going forward.
· The Artrix was aiming to work in partnership with other organisations, including within the education and health sectors, with a view to deliver specifically funded projects. For example the involvement of arts bodies in social prescribing work within the community.
· The difficult budgetary situation for local authorities and the impact that this might have in the long-term on the availability of Council finances to support The Artrix.
· The potential to access funding and other forms of support from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Members were advised that this had been identified as a potential source of support and options for enhanced working were being explored by local arts partnerships.
· The maintenance costs of the building and the need for capital investment in the long-term. Members were advised that the roof had been repaired and renovation work would be undertaken on the doors and drains.
At the end of these discussions the Board
RESOLVED that the report be noted.