'Bleak alternative': Carriageworks tenants call for precinct to remain independent
Resident companies at Carriageworks have called on the NSW Premier to save the contemporary arts venue from a "bleak alternative" and to establish it as an independently run institution.
The eight tenants, who form the artistic backbone of the Eveleigh-based organisation which entered voluntary administration earlier this month, released a statement calling for urgent resourcing so Carriageworks emerged a "stronger, independent, and more resilient" institution.
The companies said that Carriageworks' financial model supported the not-for-profit and commercial arts sectors, and the future of the site required a "finely tuned balance to maintain vital support for our local and national arts ecology".
"This exceptional arts centre needs to be adequately supported to be set up to succeed rather than the bleak alternative," the statement said.
"To do otherwise would risk a profound and far-reaching impact on the ecology of the arts sector and be of great detriment to the community that it has fostered."
Carriageworks, which is known for producing experimental and cutting edge work across performance dance, theatre, and opera, was the first of the city's major cultural institutions to fall victim to the COVID-19 shutdowns.
As revealed by the Herald, Carriageworks owes more than $2 million to 225 creditors, according to company records lodged with the market regulator, with a June creditors' report likely to disclose its full financial position.
The resident companies that added their support included Contemporary Asian Australian Performance led by Annette Shun Wah, the puppetry theatre company Erth, Felix Media, which produces screen-based works including Australia’s entry at the Venice Biennale.
The dance companies, Force Majeure, Marrugeku, and Moogahlin Performing Arts also want to remain at an independently managed Carriageworks.
The statement said Carriageworks was integral to their ability to create risky and dynamic work and called for a role in consultations about how the venue operates in the future.
As one of only a handful of Indigenous theatre companies in Australia, Moogahlin said it had been critical for it to secure a home in the Redfern area, "a place of significant change and history for our peoples".
"Carriageworks has offered us a space to grow in our practice, to celebrate our culture, to connect to our community," its founders said.
The statement does not directly mention the preference of some senior arts bureaucrats that the Sydney Opera House take over the operations of Carriageworks but the companies have called for a continuation of its independent status.
A government spokesperson said it was exploring options as it worked to secure the long-term sustainability of Carriageworks. This included consulting with the Sydney Opera House, and more widely to ensure the venue continued to serve and inspire the community as a cultural precinct.
Carriageworks, the cultural centre in the historic Eveleigh rail yards, has entered voluntary administration.
Resident company Performance Space was to have hosted its annual Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art at Carriageworks in October.
Last year, more than 50,000 patrons attended 60 Liveworks events in Carriageworks’ theatres, studios, and public spaces.
The companies, which also include Sydney Chamber Opera, acknowledged that state and federal governments had the "unenviable task" of helping the arts sector survive the setbacks of the pandemic.
"Our organisations stand ready to work with Carriageworks and the NSW Government on the solutions to the issues facing our industry sector and especially Carriageworks at this time."
A group of 11 artists, based at Carriageworks' artists' studios, The Clothing Store, last week called on the state government to proactively work with administrators to secure the venue's future while providing emergency funding for the arts.
The government spokesperson said Carriageworks Ltd had received funding for 2020 and was in receipt of the six months’ rent and outgoings relief support package backdated to April 1, 2020.
Future annual NSW Government funding for Carriageworks Ltd was subject to contracted terms and timeframes.