The Cut is fully open for events and classes, employs full-time and part time staff and uses a roster of dedicated volunteers.
The units in The Cut and the adjacent building house businesses and creative individuals.
We have classes covering a wide variety of activities.
Every week around 1000 people pass through our doors to take part in what The Cut has to offer.
It‘s a creative hub for entertainment, education and enterprise.
The charity New Cut Arts (NCA) is responsible for the running the The Cut Arts Centre and is made up of a Board of Trustees, and a Centre Manager and staff.
We are extremely grateful to funders Arts Council England, Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston, BEE Anglia, East Suffolk Council Bounce Back Fund, and Theatre Trust.
A Brief History
2020 – 2022
The Cut has reopened and is showing a wide variety of shows and has classes in all areas of the building with support from Arts Council England.
2021
The Cut has to close in response to the COVID 19 global pandemic and the doors are shut during Lockdowns 1, 2 and 3.
A fundraising committee is formed to raise funds so that The Cut can survive and raises £100,000 for new lights, a new sound system, streaming equipment, solar panels, LED lights, a new website and more. The building is decorated using a team of volunteers and a series of online events are delivered.
2020 The Cut building is converted to L.E.D. and solar power is installed. The Cut closes in March more or less until July 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic but continues its programme digitally.
2019 Death of The Cut’s founder James Holloway, 1946-2019
2018 The 2020 Vision Appeal raises more money for improvements including soundproofing the Café, replacement back door, renovating café floor, new front and roof doors, and more
2017 New seating in theatre enabled by subscription
The Suffolk Herring Festival moves to The Cut
2016 Funding from Garfield Weston and Foyle Foundations allow for renovations inside and out, including new flooring and external repair and painting.
2014 Satellite screenings come to The Cut
2012
NCA takes on the task of purchasing the ‘east wing’ of The Cut building – previously owned by Micropress Printers. Suffolk Artlink are based in this section of The Cut.
Following a successful funding bid – involving Suffolk County Council, Waveney RDPE and Viridor Credits – NCA formally opens a Media Centre at The Cut.
2011
NCA launches the first Halesworth Jazz & Beer Festival.
Following several successful seasons of hosting the annual HighTide Festival, HighTide itself opens a permanent office at The Cut.
2008
The Cut becomes a centre of excellence for the newly established national Arts Awards.
2nd High Tide Festival
2007
NCA receives the 2007 East of England ‘Community Spirit Award’ from the East of England Development Agency, the East of England Regional Assembly and Government Office East, in recognition of The Cut’s enormous achievement.
The first HighTide Festival is held at The Cut – an innovative new national festival of professional young performing talent – writing, directing, staging & acting.
First Cut Open exhibition open to all – no rejects
2006 – 2007
The Centerprise office units are created on the top floor creating a highly significant ‘arts cluster’ based round the existing open access public arts space of The Cut.
2006
Major funding was successfully secured from Europe, the Suffolk Development Agency and
Suffolk County Council in order to develop the top two floors of the building as ‘Centerprise’ – ten business units to provide a vital non-arts income stream for the future security of The Cut.
At the opening of the 5th Halesworth Arts Festival Ben Bates, Sir Alan’s son, inaugurated The Cut’s theatre as the Alan Bates Theatre.
2004
The first full quarterly programme of arts activity was produced. The Amplifier Project was started for young people interested in creating their own music.
2003
The first half of 2003 was entirely taken up with capital building work mainly carried out by local firms and a core of committed NCA supporters.
A successful bid was made to Suffolk County Council for further funding to complete the refurbishment of the building. Newly refurbished basement office space was let to The Poetry Trust and a separately constituted Halesworth Arts Festival group.
The late great Sir Alan Bates officially inaugurated the old maltings complex as ‘The Cut’ at the opening night of the 2nd Halesworth Arts Festival. It was a night to remember for all of us!
The 2nd Halesworth Arts Festival was successfully staged by a new and independent team of volunteers.
2002
The 1st Halesworth Arts Festival was successfully inaugurated by NCA.
2002
A dynamic series of events were staged creating income for further developments at the New Cut maltings. Audiences still had to endure cold and sometimes damp conditions but they kept coming back for more!
2002
Although three of the applications were successful, funding could not be accessed because of the failure of Arts Council East to back our vision. This was the lowest point in the history of the project.
2001
Four major applications for funding were developed and sent off.
Ownership of the building passed from PanTeknikon to NCA.
A mixture of EEDA and English Heritage funding, as well as considerable volunteer work in kind, enabled the leaking flat roof to be replaced, the old Victorian windows to be secured and basic welfare facilities to be installed.
2000
The ‘500’ Club was started to provide regular income through a local lottery.
Charitable status was granted to NCA & fundraising started. As a result of a mailshot local people donated over £4,000 to get the project started.
March 2000
The NCA group put in an application to the Charity Commission for charitable status.
November 1999
A group, soon to be known as New Cut Arts (NCA), met to discuss the possibility of setting up a charitable trust to fundraise for the development of the building.
May 1999
PanTeknikon agreed to buy the old New Cut maltings over a period of time from Micropress Printers.
March 1998
A newly formed artists’ co-operative called PanTeknikon began to organise exciting one-off exhibitions & performances in the derelict old maltings on New Cut. Some of these events involved performances by the multi-talented Mouth Youth Theatre. Audiences came despite having to brave extremely primitive conditions!
