Passions rising in fight for Waygood gallery

Mar 20 2010 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

STAFF at a troubled art organisation have been told their jobs will be axed if future cash cannot be secured.

Waygood’s four permanent staff members have been handed protective redundancy notices, meaning they will lose their jobs immediately if a decision to pull its funding is confirmed.

The news came as Newcastle Central MP Jim Cousins asked a question in the House of Commons about how much public cash had been paid for a project designed to create a gallery for Waygood.

Members of the Waygood board have defended the organisation, saying it has been unfairly treated.

The Arts Council has said it will decide at the end of this month whether to continue to financially back the Byker-based studios.

It moved after Newcastle City Council, which was working with Waygood as the operator for a new gallery which is about to open on the city’s High Bridge, ditched the group last month, saying the council would run it itself.

The council’s decision followed a turbulent year in which Waygood’s chief executive Helen Smith was the subject of a successful bullying claim by a former employee and an independent review concluded Waygood bosses had insufficient management skills.