Antony Pickthall - Bluecoat, Liverpool

To Whom It May Concern

I am writing to express my concern at the withdrawal of revenue funding by the Arts Council of Wales to the Centre for Performance Research (CPR).

As a former Marketing & Development Director of CPR, I am dismayed to learn of the proposed cut to CPR’s revenue grant, at a time when Wales needs to be making more not less connections with the rest of the world.

CPR performs a magnificent and precious function within the Wales arts ecology. It is a strategic portal for those who seek the innovative, the inspirational and the moving in theatre and performance. Its events and activities create a valuable series of opportunities for the broadest possible range of people to engage with the work of world leaders in theatre and performance fields. The fruits of its activities, dialogues and partnerships - particularly since the move to Aberystwyth and the development of the ground-breaking joint-venture with the University of Wales, Aberystwyth - have made Aberystwyth a seed-bed for international co-operation. The last few years have seen exciting developments in the development of strategic international relations across Europe, the USA, Asia and Australasia. This could all be lost if the cut to revenue funding goes ahead. CPR has suffered more than most as ACW has undergone regular re-organizations. The fact that CPR performs a complex and internationally focussed function within Wales makes it especially vulnerable to the uncertainties of project funding.
CPR more than matches its existing Arts Council funding with the funding from the University. CPR’s database is part of Wales’ intelligence on the rest of the world and a uniquely inspirational mechanism for bringing the world to Wales. The function CPR performs is akin to that of a national resource – like the Millennium Centre.

It is a cost effective investment for Wales and it should be maintained as a revenue client. I know of no other organization that does and can this work in this way – in Wales. Wales is the envy of many organizations which only do a part of what CPR does, because of the work that has been developed over the past 35 years.


All of this will be wiped out if CPR is not able to invest in the development of its projects.


Yours sincerely,


Antony Pickthall
Bluecoat, Liverpool