£125k fund secures evicted arts centre’s legacy

A £125,000 legacy fund will secure the short-term future of programmes formerly hosted at Stratford Circus Arts Centre.

Operator Stratford Arts Trust is winding down this month after being evicted from its East London home of eight years last November.

ArtsProfessional recently revealed trustees took an undisclosed financial settlement rather than fight landlord Newham Council's decision, which they say cost them a £300,000 annual grant from Arts Council England.

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The trust's remaining reserves and revenue are being directed to new hosts for three of its former beneficiaries.

Eastside Educational Trust has been granted £50,000 to run Creative Schools and Colleges, a programme for young people whose schools offer limited arts opportunities, and mixed-age youth choir New Young Voice Collective will receive the same amount via Spitalfields Music.

£25,000 goes to Face Front Theatre to run Blue Sky Actors: The disability-led theatre ensemble has been prominent in protests outside the Stratford Circus building in recent weeks.

Performers' union Equity has lobbied Newham Council to provide replacement funding to these groups but the council says money is too tight after Covid-19.

Welcoming the legacy funding, organiser James Ivens called for the authority to resume talks over "a stable future" for the arts centre's former partners.

"Sadly, this [funding] does not change the fact that Newham Council's clumsy actions have rid the borough of an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation."

Difficult decisions

Newham Council evicted the arts centre to establish a new 'youth zone' in the borough, but is yet to appoint a cultural partner to lead it.

Georgina Philippou, Chair of Stratford Arts Trust, said the loss of its base and arts council funding "meant the risks to sustaining the charity and its operations in the long term were too high".

Instead, "an opportunity to ensure a legacy for three of our key programmes was developed".

The legacy funds reflect the current running costs for each programme until August 2022. The host organisations, chosen following a "lengthy and rigorous process" for their capacity and track record in delivering those kinds of work, is expected to support the programmes beyond that date, the trust said.

"Our legacy partners share our ethos and passion for these projects, and we are excited they will continue providing artistic opportunities for people in Newham well into the future,” Philippou said.

The partners expressed their commitment to sustain and grow the programmes, especially amid the barriers erected by Covid-19.

"As an organisation we have always worked hard to deliver our work to those young people who need it most. Our values and aims align with the Creative Schools programme and therefore it is welcome news for us to have the opportunity to lead this excellent programme forwards,” Eastside CEO and Artistic Director Matt Lane said.

Community impact

The trust is also funding five one-off development grants for local creatives.

The East London Emerging Artist Research and Development Awards is providing £2,000 each to five individuals: Korantema Anyimadu, Chloe Bailey, Mathias Lemaitre, Maria Majewska and Anna Strickland.

Their projects include an illustrated guide of East London's "unexpected places", a theatre production exploring migration within the Polish community, a zine on Black and Asian heritage, and a series of art therapy workshops for children.

Any remaining reserves held by Stratford Arts Trust after it is liquidated will be distributed to grassroots organisations working in Newham in early 2022.

Outgoing CEO Lucy Atkinson was delighted to see some of its key programmes live on.

She thanked the "incredibly committed and inspiring staff" and trustees who enabled Stratford Circus Arts Centre to engage 2,000 artists, 350,000 participants and more than a million audience members over its lifetime.

"Stratford Circus was built with and for its community and we will miss you terribly."