Combining arts in Salisbury

Three of Salisbury’s leading arts organisations are set to join forces in a bid to secure more backing for the future: currently they collectively receive over £1m a year from Arts Council England. The Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury Playhouse look likely to combine their programmes to attract greater audiences in terms of numbers and diversity, becoming more sustainable for the future.

The organisations would develop a new joint artistic offer for the city’s residents, visitors and wider Wiltshire community, with some new ideas coming to fruition. While discussions are still in the early stages, it is expected that a decision will be made by Christmas. The discussions have come about as a result of an independent report, which was commissioned by the three arts organisations and funded by Wiltshire Council and Arts Council England. It looked at how the city venues work, in light of how they could collaborate more closely.

Whilst the arts organisations already collaborate and collectively engage with audiences of over 180,000 across the year, they also raise the city’s profile at a regional, national and international level. Joining together could spell a deeper relationship between them, a closer collaboration and an even stronger arts offering for the area. As a result, the three’s trustees believe working closer together could deliver a stronger case to public funders and secure a better future for audiences, artists and participants.

The organisations therefore hope that a combined programme could attract an increased number of audiences, by expanding their geographic reach and increasing the diversity of audiences by bringing together their artistic strengths. This could also bring more opportunities to work with artists and partners at a local, regional and national level through more joint working, consequently maximising commercial potential.