Waygood gallery artists hope to secure future funding

Mar 9 2010 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

ARTISTS from a troubled project are attempting to drum up support in the hope of securing future funding.

Waygood artists and volunteers have launched a website to which they are encouraging supporters to add messages.

It was announced last month that Newcastle City Council was to ditch Waygood as its operator for a new art gallery being developed on the city’s High Bridge. The Arts Council also told Waygood’s management it was considering withdrawing funding for the project.

It followed a turbulent year in which Waygood’s chief executive was the subject of a successful bullying claim by a former employee and an independent review found Waygood bosses had insufficient management skills.

The website, www.wishesforwaygood.tumblr. com, has been designed as a place for people to show their support for the future of the gallery.

Dee Shaw, one of the artists who has had a studio at Waygood for four years, and been an associate artist for more than eight years, said: “We know that there is a huge amount of support for Waygood both within the studio artists and the wider community.

“We as Waygood studio artists and supporters believe that this decision from the funding partners is short-sighted and isn’t in the best interests of the artists, students, recent graduates, volunteers and visitors who have been involved in Waygood since its beginnings 15 years ago through to the present and into future.”

Organisers of the petition say they will collect positive messages and send them to the funders. A final decision on gallery funding will be made by Arts Council bosses on March 31.

An Arts Council spokeswoman said: “We have formally notified Waygood that we are considering withdrawing revenue funding from the organisation. This is because we consider Waygood has failed to adequately address our serious concerns about their governance, business planning ability and capacity to work in partnership.”

A city council spokesman said: “The city council shares the concerns of Arts Council England over deficiencies in Waygood’s strategic and management capability. Also, its capacity to deliver the business plan as highlighted by the independent governance review. The plan lacks robustness and does not adequately demonstrate a capacity to deal with risk, future uncertainties or to generate the growth required in the long term to ensure value for public money.

“Therefore the city council has decided that it cannot move forward with Waygood as the operator. We will seek to negotiate a resolution with Waygood that will allow us to move forward and make alternative arrangements for operating the gallery and studios.”

He said the council and Arts Council England were committed to working closely to ensure the successful opening of the building on High Bridge.

A spokeswoman from Waygood said: “Waygood’s community of staff, directors, studio artists, volunteers and supporters are extremely disappointed to learn of these decisions at this late stage of a six-year redevelopment partnership with Arts Council England, North East and Newcastle City Council, and are particularly frustrated that this decision has been arrived at just nine weeks before the building is due for completion.”