Sadler's Wells Receives UK Government Culture Recovery Fund Grant

Sadler's Wells welcomes the UK Government's announcement that it will receive a grant of £2,975,000 from the Culture Recovery Fund to support the organisation's survival until April 2021.

By closing its theatres and vastly reducing the work it undertakes, the coronavirus crisis has resulted in Sadler's Wells being unable to generate over 80% of its income. Since March 2020, the organisation has taken all possible steps to secure its financial position during this time, including furloughing almost 90% of its staff through the UK government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, reducing salaries across the organisation, and making the difficult decision to reduce its current permanent and fixed term workforce by 18%. In addition to these measures, Sadler's Wells was successful in receiving a grant from the Arts Council of England's Emergency Response Fund, and is incredibly grateful for all the donations that its supporters have made during this time.

Despite these measures, receiving support from Culture Recovery Fund was critical for Sadler's Wells' survival. These funds will enable the organisation to remain open, to continue to support artists, stage live performances for socially distanced audiences, create digital content for everyone to enjoy and participate in, continue its learning and engagement and artist development work, and begin laying the groundwork for a full reopening.

Sadler's Wells Artistic Director & CEO, Alistair Spalding and Executive Director, Britannia Morton said:

'We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the UK government, Treasury, DCMS and Arts Council England for this vital lifeline to ensure Sadler's Wells can stay afloat into 2021. The Culture Recovery Fund provides us with the support we need to continue to survive the pandemic and to deliver on our mission and vision as a world-leading home for dance.

With this support we will continue to make and share world-class dance for audiences from across the UK and around the world. We will create opportunities for artists, companies, freelance professionals, and colleagues whose talent and skill are the backbone of this organisation. We will continue to innovate and invent, work toward a more diverse and representative sector, and through dance reaffirm our common humanity in a time when empathy is needed more than ever.

With this funding, we are committed to doing all we can to play our role in rebuilding our sector and cultural life in the UK as we all face unprecedented challenges and navigate continued uncertainty along our path to recovery.'

Sadler's Wells Board of Trustees Chairman Nigel Higgins said:

'We are all very grateful to the UK government and Arts Council of England for their critical support in this challenging time. These funds will enable Sadler's Wells to remain resilient and continue to be a vital part of the UK's creative industry. This investment ensures we can be part of the much needed economic and cultural recovery of the UK as we all continue to grapple with the impacts of the pandemic.'

A version of this statement will be publicly available via the Sadler's Wells website and corporate blog from 1am on Saturday 24 October 2020 at this link https://sadl.rs/3mistzQ.

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