1. (Fact) - October 2007. The Welsh Assembly government agrees to fund 13.5 million pounds for the accumulated deficit of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, to save it from closure, and the Heritage Minister assures the Assembly that there will be no cutbacks in funding in arts outside Cardiff.
2. (Fact) The current revenue grant of Aberystwyth-based CPR at £118,300 is 0.875% of 13.5 million pounds.
3. (Hearsay) The Heritage Minister upholds the arms length principle of funding for the arts
4. (Fact) - 29th January 2007. ACW notifies CPR by letter of its intention to withdraw revenue funding from CPR with effect from July 2008, despite its own internal 2007 CPR review report’s conclusion that:
(Opinion) ‘CPR is a vital and prestigious player in the arts in Wales. It is at an important transitional stage with new possibilities opening out with occupancy of The Foundry. It’s history, experience, and present interests are important to mobilise into the challenges of new resources for drama theatre and performance, centring now in Wales on the development of a non-building based national theatre.’(ACW Director of Arts, 2007)
5. (Opinion) the letter states that ‘unfortunately… faced with some very difficult decisions within the current financial climate … the main reason [for this decision] is that ACW is focusing funding on front-line activity’
6. (Opinion) ACW 2008/09 Budget Press Release 30th January:
"The development of a sustainable portfolio of arts organisations is a key priority for ACW, as is the provision of opportunities for all the people of Wales to experience and participate in the arts.
"It is therefore essential that ACW can develop and fund organisations able to deliver this aspiration to a high standard, enabling them to grow and reach their full potential. We have been delighted to announce new areas of growth for next year, but this inevitably means we have had to look for savings from elsewhere in the portfolio."
(ACW Chief Executive, Peter Tyndall)
7. (Fact) ACW 2008/09 Budget Press Release 30th January: additional funding from the Welsh Assembly Government has been earmarked for developing the English Language National Theatre for Wales, and for beacon companies and individuals.
8. (Fact) ACW 2008/09 Budget Press Release 30th January: Other welcome developments include: £125,000 for a new community arts initiative for the Heads of the Valleys; £43,000 for Community Arts provision in Cardiff and Barry; £150,000 for Welsh Language Theatre provision; £125,000 to develop Wales's presence at the next Venice Biennale in 2009; £750,000 from the National Lottery to the Wales Film Agency.
9. (Opinion) Arguments of merit, artistic or otherwise, would appear to be disallowed as grounds for appeal within the formal terms of the ACW’s appeals procedure, wherein whether there is a case for appeal is, in the first instance, judged solely by ACW Chief Executive (currently Peter Tyndall), who was of course involved in the original decision-making process.
10. (Hearsay) After adjudicating the Appeals in early March, Peter Tyndall will be leaving ACW to take up a senior post at the Ombudsman.
11. (Opinion) ACW’s notification letter of 29th January to CPR goes on to say that ‘in [ACW’s] view, the current approach to programming by CPR is probably best funded on a project by project basis’
12. (Fact) ACW Project Scheme Guidelines – published February 2008 - allow only one application per organisation per year for projects and one training grant application per year. (For regional or local projects the maximum project grant available will be £30,000. For national or cross-regional projects, or if your project is a high priority for an ACW Regional Plan, ACW may consider applications up to £50,000)
13. (Fact) Over-arching priorities for ACW Project Schemes, where projects must meet one or more of the following:
- Projects delivered in acknowledged deprived communities, especially those
areas that have traditionally received lower levels of grant.
• Projects that promote the work of artists from under-represented groups
including disabled people and people from black and minority ethnic
backgrounds.
• Projects delivered in Welsh or bilingually
14. (Opinion) ACW expects available Lottery funding for projects to substantially diminish over the next few years
15. (Hearsay) February 2008 - A Senior Director of ACW concurs that getting project funding ‘is extremely difficult but not impossible’.
16. (Opinion) Practically speaking, six months notice of revenue disinvestment effectively means that within four months of the new financial year, CPR’s infrastructure will be decimated. The lack of the revenue grant means:
- loss of project-priming seed investment and operational and administrative overheads means
- redundancy of the ACW funded public/ professional programme staff, including:
Judie Christie (Creative Producer/ Curator/ Executive Director/ Marketing, Fundraising and Development Director/ Projects Director
Helen Gethin (Administrative Director/ Financial Administrator/ Marketing & Database Manager/ Resources Manager)
Cathy Piquemal (Projects Co-ordinator and Production Manager)
Siu-Lin Rawlinson (Assistant Producer/ PR and Publicity Co-ordinator/CPR Bookshop Manager)
It will leave the posts funded by Aberystwyth University of: Professor/ Artistic Director; part-time Research Assistant; part-time Publications and Journal Administrator, full-time Resource Centre / Archivist; and full-time Publications and Journal Administrative Assistant.
17. (Opinion) Such short notice is dishonourable to an organization with which ACW has had a thirty-year relationship, and does not provide any real practical feasible transition.
18. (Opinion) Such short notice does not take account of the possible jeopardy or compromise to CPR’s relationship with its partner, Aberystwyth University, a partnership to which ACW itself was party to creating and which it encouraged as a model of effective and efficacious funding partnership.
19. (Fact) ACW’s decision to withdraw revenue funding from CPR was made at the very point ACW is going out to consultation on its five year artform strategies.
20. (Opinion) CPR would appear to have been rendered ineligible to apply for the new Beacon funding available at 1.5 million pounds annually across the art forms.
21. (Fact) 1st February 2008. ACW press release, in which the first three points of draft evaluation criteria for Beacon Company status listed by ACW are:
· An organisation that is an exemplar in its artform/area of work, which has a reputation within Wales, in the UK and beyond and/or which stands comparison with the best of International practice.
· An organisation that develops its art form/area of work by investment in new work or the radical re-interpretation of existing work or practice.
· An organisation that works actively to bring on new talent and create the next generation of artists
22. (Opinion) ..a shift [to project funding] would rob CPR - and hence Wales and beyond - of a curatorial capability only very rarely equalled across Europe. Project funding would quickly sever the lines of communication, collaboration and knowledge exchange that are the very source of projects worth funding... CPR's long, distinguished and properly celebrated history of nourishing performance cultures is not something to be consigned to an honourable history - it is a vital living organism that has essential work to do now…At the very least, the message needs to go back up the bureaucratic line that robbing CPR of an essential lifeline will be an act of cultural vandalism that will have serious consequences for decades to come
(Professor Mick Wallis, England)
23. (Opinion) CPR’s effect may be difficult to quantify, even to describe, but then Art is like that isn't it? To outsiders it may seem a tad cultist in its intensity of language and specificity of thought, but we practitioners, we who make theory into practice, need to be fed new ideas, no matter how alien, rarefied and obscure they may seem to some at the time. It would be an ironic shame is the sometime chaotic, revolutionary and freeform thinking of CPR were to be replaced with straight lines and orthodoxy described to us, or even dictated to us, from above . (Greg Cullen, playwright and director, Wales)
24. (Opinion)CPR has placed performing arts in Wales on the map, it has made it something to contend with whether we are talking of artists, audiences or academics. It has made it a field that ripples out in every direction seeking out and creating relationships and exchanges with every other field possible. It has opened the doors to whole new ways of approaching the world of performance … what sense does it make for anyone to put brakes on this?! It is beyond my understanding. (Vikram Ingemar, Ranan Theatre, India)
25. (Opinion) First of all, I am shocked to see that a remarkable institution such as CPR has enjoyed a miserable public support of 118.000 pounds by the ACW so far. That is all? This is some sort of Moldavian/Albanian level of support for a rich, productive, original and extremely engaged perf arts organization that has consistently been a beacon of experimentation, reflection, cooperation and innovation.. In a normal European country one would expect that CPR would have 3-5 times more subsidy, that would be normal, not exceptional. In this perspective ACW decision is ridiculous and absurd…( Dr Dragan KlaicVisiting Professor, Central Europen University, Budapest, Permanent Fellow, Felix Meritis, Amsterdam The Netherlands)
26. (Opinion)..my shock at hearing of what's happened at CPR is immense given the foundation of the work, the global and inter-generational aspect of it, the significance of the archive and it's importance as as resource, as an academic touchstone, a living archive and internationally vital resource linking communities worldwide (David Baird, Theatre Artist, England)
27. (Opinion) In its history it consistently demonstrates itself as a unique organisation that captures and provokes the cultural debate in Wales, in ways that are consistently playful and insightful. The calibre of its production and the global scope of its partnership are unquestionable. It therefore seems hugely shortsighted to be dismantling the autonomy of the organisation for the sake of decisions that are ultimately driven by a need to cut costs. The long-term impact of the demise of this particular organisation is profound.
(Simon Thorne, Director and Composer, Wales)
28. (Opinion) I am shocked, angry and dismayed to learn that your funding is to be cut as from July 2008…CPR is of vital importance not only to Wales, but nationally and internationally. (Maria Hayes, Artist, Wales)
29. (Opinion)..The loss of this organization would impact across the United Kingdom.
(UK Black Arts Alliance)
30. (Opinion)The organisation performs a valuable and indeed unique service that is respected well beyond its local and national context. The impact of its pioneering interdisciplinary performance work is truly international… {project funding] is no substitute for revenue support and the certainty and ability this gives to organisations to plan effectively and strategically. (Bryan Biggs, Artistic Director, The Bluecoat, Liverpool)
31. (Opinion) To lose CPR would be to lose an essential, 'vital' part of Welsh culture and heritage as well as a future in which Wales can confidently embrace a progressive world vision in its theatre, research and performance practice.(Jessica Naish, Head of Learning and Engagement, Sherman Cymru, Wales)
32. (Opinion) Over time the name CPR has become a hallmark of passion, innovation and intellectual and artistic integrity. It remains a unique and dynamic force of great influence and importance. Surely the Welsh Arts Council realises the incredible value of an established and respected institution that so successfully operates in a manner that is at once intensely local’ and intensely international? Surely they would not risk jeopardising its future? (Geraldine Harris,Professor of Theatre Studies,University Of Lancaster)
33. (Fact) During 2007/8 in discussions variously with ACW Arts Director, ACW Drama Director, and ACW Chair, and in forward planning documents, CPR identified the need – offered ideas and made constructive project proposals - for opportunities in Wales for training, professional development, placements beyond Wales, mentoring and refreshment for directors.
34. (Opinion) CPR has a proven track record in providing high quality programmes for directors’ training, whether that be specific projects as organized in the past by CPR which were led by Peter Brook, Augusto Boal, Eugenio Barba, Tadeusz Bradecki, Roberto Bacci Anatoli Vasiliev etc. or even the development projects for theatre-makers in the last year which have included: Cooking Chaos led by Phelim McDermott Improbable Theatre (Feb (2008); The Point of Theatre? led by John Fox and Sue Gill (February 2008); Reportage Theatre led by Annet Henneman (October 2007) Ways of Working led by TG Stan (Dec 2007); Ways of Working led byQuarantine Theatre (Oct 2007); Carnivalesque Experimentation led by Marissa Carnesky (July 2007); Site-specific performance led by Geraldine Pilgrim (July 2007); Interactive Theatre in Public Space led by Natural Theatre’s Ric Jerrom and Brian Popay (July 2007); Ways of Working led by Lone Twin (Feb 2007).
35. (Fact) In ACW’s Project Scheme Guidelines published February 2008 appears a new training fund priority:
Providing opportunities to develop or refresh rehearsal and directorial
approaches for Wales based theatre and drama practitioners through direct
experience with internationally recognised directors
36. (Fact) The Centre for Performance Research (CPR) is a pioneering and multi-faceted theatre organisation located and rooted in Wales, working nationally and internationally. CPR aims to develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and practice of theatre in its broadest sense, to affect change through investigation, sharing and discovery and to make this process as widely available as possible. Its programmes of work combine cultural co-operation, collaboration and exchange practical training, education and research, performance, production and promotion, documentation and publishing, information and resource
(Fact) CPR produces innovative performance work, productions and installations
Types of activity:
1. Productions for nationwide and international touring.
2. Residencies, special events, commissions.
3. Community concerts and choral events.
4. Performance lectures, edible installations, exhibitions.
Examples:
1. From Honey to Ashes (tour throughout Europe and Brazil)
2. Inside the Folds of a Serviette (site-specific performance for the International Surrealist Conference, West Dean, Chichester)
3. The Traveller (massed gathering of community choirs from throughout Wales rehearsing and performing special commission by composer Karl Jenkins)
4. Playing in the Shadows (exhibition of Asian shadow plays accompanied by a programme of workshops, demonstrations and performances)
(Fact) CPR arranges workshops, conferences, lectures and masterclasses (for the professional, the amateur and the curious)
Types of activity:
1. Summer schools, summer retreats, workshop festivals
2. Major international conferences, symposia, talks and debates.
3. Seasons of short courses and weekend workshops.
4. Explorations of world theatre and dance forms.
Examples:
1. Summer Shift (annual programme of international artists sharing methods and approaches, resident in Aberystwyth for 4-6 weeks)
2. Here be Dragons (5th congress of Performance Studies International – 570 delegates converging in Aberystywth)
3. Cross Currents (annual Autumn series of weekend courses arranged throughout Wales)
4. Peking Opera Explorations (two-year long cultural collaboration with China – in its time the largest ever staged in the UK)
(Fact) CPR curates and produces festivals, expositions and exchanges with theatre companies from around the world;
Types of activity:
1. Nationwide theatre dance and performance festivals.
2. Expositions of contemporary theatre companies and traditional dance/theatre forms.
3. Intensive series of workshops, presentations and master classes exploring vocal traditions of the world.
4. UK wide tours of international theatre companies.
Examples:
1. Restless Gravity International Theatre festival (18 companies visiting/ 80 performances across Wales as part of the Millennium Festival)
2. Gardzienice Theatre Association, Poland (productions, workshops, talks, presentations, conference, films, expeditions – UK introduction)
3. Giving Voice International Festival (entering its 10th biennial edition)
4. Theatre Bazi from Iran (1st UK visit of an Iranian theatre company since the Islamic revolution)
(Fact) CPR publishes and distributes theatre books, the journal Performance Research and houses a resource centre and library that specialises in world theatre and performance and maintains an archive on contemporary Welsh performance.
Types of activity:
1. Resource Centre, Library, Archive.
2. Translation, editing and publishing of books, CD, DVDs and teaching manuals.
3. Publishing a quarterly journal of the performing arts.
4. Bookshop, Conference Bookshop and online sales.
Examples:
1. Audio visual collection of world theatre and dance traditions at the CPR Resource Centre.
2. 99 Georgian Songs (a collection of traditional songs from Georgia specially prepared as a teaching manual for community choirs).
3. Performance Research (embarking on Volume 13 with 42 issues already produced and distributed worldwide)
4. Stock of specialist books and DVDs on contemporary performance work.
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