Inflationary costs are piling pressure on arts organisations amid the cost-of-living crisis, write Esther Addley and Harriet Sherwood.
When Sarah Munro was first appointed director of one of Britain’s biggest art galleries, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, she would joke about sticking a tidal mill on its side to make the most of its location on the river Tyne in Gateshead.
Seven years on, amid an escalating fuel price crisis, the cost of heating the cavernous building is no joke – and neither is the tidal energy plan.
Faced with the prospect of fuel bills nearly tripling to top £1m a year, the Baltic is now consulting with renewables experts to see if they can generate their own energy, and thus mitigate a looming crisis that many in the cultural sector are warning could wipe out some institutions. She doesn’t yet know if the renewable plan is feasible, or where they would find the capital funds to invest in it... Keep reading on The Guardian.
When Sarah Munro was first appointed director of one of Britain’s biggest art galleries, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, she would joke about sticking a tidal mill on its side to make the most of its location on the river Tyne in Gateshead.
Seven years on, amid an escalating fuel price crisis, the cost of heating the cavernous building is no joke – and neither is the tidal energy plan.
Faced with the prospect of fuel bills nearly tripling to top £1m a year, the Baltic is now consulting with renewables experts to see if they can generate their own energy, and thus mitigate a looming crisis that many in the cultural sector are warning could wipe out some institutions. She doesn’t yet know if the renewable plan is feasible, or where they would find the capital funds to invest in it... Keep reading on The Guardian.