70% budget axe ‘will be felt’ by popular arts centre

ONE of Birmingham’s most popular arts venues has vowed to “remain true to its ethos” – despite the threat of its council funding falling by 70 per cent over two years.

Mac Birmingham, based in Cannon Hill Park in Edgbaston, will see its annual council subsidy cut to £120,000 a year from April, down from £540,000 at the start of 2016.

It has also been told the council is cutting its hire of the venue for meetings and events, hitting its income by a further £100,000 a year.

It is visited by more than a million people each year, offering free events alongside popular paid-for shows, courses, films and exhibitions.

Chief executive Deborah Kermode said: “As an organisation of real importance to our community, we aim to stay true to our ethos – to pro- vide arts for all. However, a cut of this magnitude will be felt and as a result we will need to review our current services and partnerships moving forward.

“Our long-standing relationship with the council, created at our inception in the 1960s, will continue.

“We have been assured of their continued support and welcome the opportunity to discuss our plans.”

Mac is the most visited free attrac- tion in the region, ahead of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the 14th most popular in England, according to Visit England.

Clayton Shaw, of South Asian arts organisation Sampad, said: “We work closely with Mac, where we are based, and we are unsettled by the reduction to their funding despite receiving a 17 per cent cut ourselves.”

Already, the Birmingham Rep has warned that it will struggle to cope and its future could be jeopardised, while the umbrella group Culture Central has criticised the council for slow progress in developing innovative new funding plans.

In total, the council proposes to cut £1.7 million from the £4.9 million subsidies it pays to the city’s major arts organisations.