Funding Update
We’re thrilled to say that we received a grant of £93,720 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and reopen.
The funding has helped us restock and hire staff, and enabled us to open the building again for the community, volunteers, audiences, tutors and classes that use the space. Over 1000 people a week use The Cut and it’s been much missed by the community in lockdowns 1, 2 and 3. There are plans for new clubs and groups to start up, as part of Let’s Create, as we come out of lockdown.
We’ve also been successful in fundraising from other avenues and have previously raised nearly £100,000 from the ACE Emergency Relief Fund, BEE Anglia, East Suffolk Council Bounce Back Fund, Foyle Foundation, and Garfield Weston. The interior has been painted, there’s a new light and sound rig, streaming equipment, and the whole building has new wi-fi.
The Cut has also installed new LED lighting and solar panels.
Emma Freud, Patron of The Cut said, ‘This is excellent news. I’m deeply grateful to the Culture Recovery Fund for recognising the genuine value that a centre like The Cut brings to East Suffolk. The artistic community here – both those who perform and those who attend – would be lost without it. From showcasing new playwrights to housing the Herring Festival, from a live interview with Maggi Hambling to spoken word performances – The Cut is such a vital and dynamic centre for this area… and it’s back.’
Tony Casement, Chair of the Board of Trustees said, ‘This is wonderful news and our thanks to ACE in helping The Cut to restart on the front foot and welcome back our community to an improved building and a more stable future. Our volunteer led non profit organisation looks forward to continuing to work with the many other partner groups on new projects as well as developing our theatre, music , art and educational programmes.’
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said, ‘Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.
We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.’
The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.
The devastating effects of C-19 has led The Cut to pause, take stock and have a look at what we do while our doors have been shut and the world has been in lockdown.
We have decided to treat it, on one level, as an opportunity.
If you would like to find out about how you can help please email us
While the building has been closed during all three lockdowns we have:
• Repainted the whole interior of the building with a team of volunteers
• Received emergency response funding from Arts Council England, Theatre Trust and Suffolk CC
• Successfully applied for funding to install solar panels and upgrade the theatre lighting to LED
• Planned, and are building, a new website
• Planned The Cut Digital Archive a series of artist interviews funded by Arts Council England
• Installed the first phase of upgrading the theatre sound system, and are about to do stage two – surround sound
• Planned streaming events and received funding to buy new equipment
Since lockdown we have delivered:
The Great Big Cut Quiz Online in the summer with 130 people taking part, and another 130 in November 2020
COLOUR – Our first online exhibition.
July – August 2020
An Exhibition from our archive featuring 9 artists where colour is key
SITE SPECIFIC – The second online exhibition
August – September 2020
The term refers to a work of art designed specifically for a particular location and that has an interrelationship with the location
Nine artists online who created work specifically for The Cut
A Sense of Place – the fourth online exhibition
Garden Theatre We successfully presented 2 outdoor community theatre performances with Upshoot Theatre Company as a fundraiser for The Cut on 19 September at 2pm and 5pm in a local woodland which was a resounding success!
Driftwood, a Facebook Premier of the film of the one woman show about Walberswick Campsite by local writer Peppy Barlow on 30 September. Peppy Barlow is a playwright and screenwriter.
The Stubborn Light of Things is the latest book, a nature diary, by award-winning novelist, nature writer and hit podcaster Melissa Harrison, following her journey from urban south London to the rural Suffolk countryside. We had Melissa in conversation with fellow writer Catherine Larner on Zoom in November during lockdown 2.
Float
The Cut has been the home for the arts in Halesworth for the last 20 years. That is two decades of providing the local community with a centre for entertainment, performance, music and film or simply a good space to talk and chat. From 2019 our trustees are aiming to raise £100,000 to pay for repairs and improvements so we can continue to the provide you with the best possible venue for your arts and conversation in 2020 and beyond.
Plus regular classes/workshops forart, drawing, photography & photoshop, ballet & dancing, creative writing, poetry, pilates, yoga, qi gong and performing arts for young people.
