The Arches to go into administration
Glasgow multi-arts venue The Arches is to go into administration, it has been announced, and all events scheduled for the venue from 10 June onwards have been cancelled.
The venue had faced an uncertain future following a Glasgow City Council licensing board decision to limit The Arches' opening hours, effectively banning it from hosting the club nights which accounted for over half of the venue's revenue.
The Arches – which plays host to a range of club nights, gigs, theatre productions and art exhibitions – had been at the centre of a row between police and licensing authorities following a number of drug-related incidents at Arches club nights in recent years. Police Scotland applied for the venue to be shut down in March, but that attempt was thrown out by councillors.
Following today's news Lucy Mason, the venue's artistic director, said: “The Arches has developed an international reputation as a producer and programmer of distinctive performance, providing opportunities for artists at all stages of their career to experiment and hone their practice. Without The Arches, the radical energy at the heart of Scotland’s theatre-making community will be greatly diminished, and the future for many individual artists suddenly feels very uncertain.”
Gordon Kennedy, Chairman of The Arches' board, has said that it is hoped that administrators and other partners can work towards “(salvaging) some of the activities for which The Arches is renowned.” He said: “The Arches as a multi-use space depends heavily on income from nightclub events. Given that the Licensing Board’s decision effectively prohibits this part of the business, it has become clear to us that The Arches in its current form is no longer viable.
“Since the decision we have been in discussions with Creative Scotland and Glasgow City Council to explore whether a funding package could be put in place to allow us to continue in some form. That would have taken significant amounts of additional funding. Unfortunately, despite the very supportive approach of the partners for which we are extremely grateful, it has proved impossible to come up with a sustainable model in the very tight timescales available."