Popular arts centre heads for a new chapter
Chapter Arts Centre plays a hugely important part in the cultural life of Wales. As its 50th birthday celebrations approach, CEO Andy Eagle told Jenny White why there is much to look forward to
FOR decades Chapter Arts Centre has played a key part in the creative life of Cardiff and Wales. When it turns 50 on April 5, its future will look much brighter than last year, when Covid-19 placed it in jeopardy.
A number of online and outdoor events are in the pipeline and Chapter’s CEO Andy Eagle has his eyes set on the time when Chapter will be able to open its doors to the public again, returning to the thriving hub people know and love.
In 1971 when a group of six artists founded Chapter, they didn’t foresee just how big it would become.
The group, driven by freelance writer Mik Flood and Welsh artists Christine Kinsey and Bryan Jones, shared a distrust of the commodification of visual art, which they saw as stifling creativity.
They wanted to produce work that was not for sale – and they wanted a venue that would provide artists with the freedom to do that. Cardiff council eventually offered them the former Canton High School as a venue and their dream started to become a reality.
“It developed from that point onwards and grew as a centre for expression,” says Eagle.
“It was very much the centre for punk in Cardiff during the 1970s, in both English and Welsh, so it’s always had quite an underground music scene and been very much rooted in in the artistic community, but also the local community.
“Now it’s an incredible example of what artists can achieve if you give them space and let them develop things. It started with six artists – now it’s a charity with a turnover of more than £4m and we’ve got close to 100 employees plus another 150 who work out of the building. So, as a centre for creativity, but also creative employment, it’s really quite powerful. We’ve also got 53 artists and companies based in Chapter as well as the people we directly employ.”
Chapter has become a vital source of support for artists at all stages in their careers – so much so that earlier this year no less than eight applicants asked Chapter to partner with them on their bids for funding from an Arts Council of Wales fund.
“Whether it’s space, advice or marketing support, Chapter is the first port of call,” says Eagle.
Chapter’s strengths also placed it in danger when Covid-19 hit because so much of its income is self-generated – public subsidy represents just under 18% of the centre’s turnover. With so much generated through activities such as ticket sales, room hires and food and drink sales, lockdown dealt a crushing blow.
“Literally overnight, that 82% of what we earned was stopped, so it’s been extraordinarily challenging,” says Eagle. “We’ve obviously had some funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund and very generous donations from audiences and customers, along with generous support from Moondance, Admiral’s charitable trust arm, and various other trusts and funds including the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Foyle Foundation.
“This has enabled us to stay open to our tenants and the companies based with us, even though we have been closed to the public.”
The upshot is that the situation is now more stable. It’s still not plain sailing, though.
“Factoring forward, it’s still going to be, frankly, quite difficult,” says Eagle.
The past year has been a far cry from the usual buzz and bustle of the centre, which typically opens seven days a week from 8.30am until midnight.
“Chapter is genuinely a real treasure of Cardiff – we support artists to do really interesting original things and we also have an effortless way of working in the wider Canton community, so there’s a really eclectic mix of people here on any given day of the week – a mixture of audiences for cinema, theatre, classes, rehearsals, community classes and people just coming in for a drink,” says Eagle.
Many things set Chapter apart. The cinema offering, for example, focuses on films you won’t get to see in mainstream cinemas. The centre is also involved in multiple key cultural events. It holds the Experimentica Festival – a celebration of performance art – every year, curated the Wales pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017 and has hosted the WoW festival in partnership with the Southbank Centre. It also holds the Art Car Boutique, an eclectic arts festival, every May Bank Holiday weekend.
For Eagle, the buzz of all these events is a large part of why he loves his job – a role he’s been in for nearly 10 years.
“To me, it’s the variety,” he says. “Also, there is something genuinely very special about Friday nights at Chapter with lots of activities, classes and workshops happening. It’s genuinely quite a unique experience to stand and watch and realise how important it is to the enormous numbers of people who come here on a daily and weekly basis.
“I’ve always said that if I stopped having a buzz from that sense of people enjoying themselves, engaging in the arts and appreciating what’s there, then I’ll stop doing it, but still gives me a buzz, which is great.”
There are hopes that the buzz will return soon. The centre anticipates being able to start trading outdoors in April, after which it hopes to be able to open indoor elements such as the cinemas and gallery space.
In the meantime, Chapter will mark its 50th birthday with 50 messages of support from artists who have been involved with the centre over the years. Until it can reopen its cinema, its Chapter from Home digital programme continues and it’s displaying work by Artes Mundi shortlisted artist Carrie Mae Weems in the Lightbox display space at the front of
the building. It’s also gearing up to hold outdoor film screenings.
On top of this, Chapter is working with Cardiff council on ambitious plans to create more studios and offices for companies and artists which want to be based at the centre. And while it’s suffered along with all of the arts and creative industries as result of Covid, Eagle has no doubt about the public’s continued appetite for its offerings.
“Prior to the Covid pandemic, the creative industries were one of the most rapidly expanding parts of the UK economy and also the Welsh economy – so we hope to be able to get that back on track as soon as possible,” he says.
“While the move to digital is great in many ways – people can share and take part all over the world – ultimately, people are social beasts and want to be able to enjoy themselves and meet and do things in person.
“So we look forward to getting back open and doing what we’re good at.” ■■More information about Chapter Arts Centre can be found at www. chapter.org