Longford arts venues face challenge of balancing books

Encouraging the development of arts while meeting the basic demands of paying utility bills is the 2023 challenge faced by Longford's premier arts venue Backstage Theatre.

This week details of the annual Arts Council spend of €9M, which provides funding for arts centres, were announced. Under the programme Longford's Backstage Theatre will be allocated €265,000 to keep the various shows co-ordinated by the centre “on the road” in 2023, representing no increase on the funding awarded in 2022.

“These are difficult times. As a venue we have to cover our core costs,” Artistic Director at Backstage Mona Considine said of operating at a time when the financial pinch has tightened the purse strings of many artistic institutions.

“We are committed to delivering on our programme for audiences, our residencies for artists, and community projects,” Mona told the Leader, “but I think everybody realises that we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis.”

“The Arts Council has been very good to us over the last few years, particularly during Covid, when we received welcome funding increases, which have been maintained. But we hoped for an increase in 2023 to support the significant increases in costs.”

Balancing the books for 2023 will be no easy task. Energy costs have risen dramatically for venues like Backstage, “The spiralling energy costs present huge challenges. The energy support scheme will help a lot, but it will only be a contribution toward the increases. In 2022 this support represented a 40% contribution towards the increase. We also have Local Authority funding. Longford County Council has committed to a three year programme, with increases built into each of those three years and we are really grateful for that support.

“While we must manage all increasing costs,” Mona says the artistic hub remains committed to supporting as many artists as possible: Theatre goers think of Backstage as a venue, but its function draws in a range of artist supports to promote and develop arts in the county. Backstage has supported numerous artists through the core Residency and Activate Residency Programmes.

“We will continue to develop these programmes, strengthening the support to even more artists and continuing to add value to the support offered. Artist in Residence, Catherine Young has been busy creating ground-breaking work during her time with us. Her show “A Call to You” previewed in Backstage in 2022 before premiering at the Dublin Dance Festival to a rapturous reception,” Mona stated. “And we are looking forward to supporitng Catherine's work over the next three years. We are also committeed to the Activate Artist Residency Programme and can assure our audinces of an exciting programme of live entertainment.”

The Arts Council's national spend of €9,486,140 will be distributed to 42 organisations across all parts of the country.

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council, said: “The infrastructure of arts centres, jointly supported with local government, is essential in enabling people of all ages and backgrounds in every part of the country to experience the very best of the arts. It is also essential in providing resources to artists in the development of their work.”

The Arts Centre Funding invests in and supports the infrastructure of Arts Centres required to sustain and develop the arts in Ireland.

Longford also benefited from the Arts Council's Strategic Funding for 2023 announced in early January. Funding totalling €50,475,572 will be distributed to 107 organisations across all parts of the country, which will include a grant of €75,000 to Shawbrook.

The Director of the Arts Council said: ‘These decisions will enable people of all ages and from all backgrounds to experience the very best of the arts. Following significantly increased investment in recent years, these funding commitments will consolidate the position of these critically important organisations.”