Carriageworks calls in administrators for leading arts venue

Board of Carriageworks reveals ‘with great sadness’ that it has appointed voluntary administrators.

Carriageworks has become one of the top arts venues in the country since it was created in the old Eveleigh Rail Yards at Redfern, inner-city Sydney.

The nation’s arts community is in shock after the coronavirus shutdown forced one Sydney’s most prestigious cultural venues to call in the administrators.

The board of Carriageworks announced “with great sadness” on Monday night that it had appointed voluntary administrators to the institution following the sustained effects of cancellations across the arts.

The ban on public gatherings has crippled the arts sector, from individual works to major performing arts companies, since March.

Carriageworks, a multi-arts centre that has grown steadily in stature since opening in the inner-city in 2007, was facing an “irreparable loss of income” due to the cancellation or postponement of six months of activities. These included the Sydney Writers’s Festival, Fashion Week and the Semi Permanent design platform, as well as performances from the Sydney Chamber Opera and others.

Staff were told on Monday evening that Phil Quinlan and Morgan Kelly from KPMG would be working with Carriageworks executives and stakeholders, with “all options on the table” for consideration.

“We will be exploring the possibility of a Deed of Company Arrangement to stabilise Carriageworks’ financial position and allow it to continue its important role for Australian arts and culture,” Mr Quinlan said.

In a statement, Carriageworks chief executive Blair French said he hoped to be able to reopen the venue once the pandemic had passed.

Carriageworks had become a “Sydney institution” in recent years, he said, attracting one million visitors annually to its Redfern site.

“But with restrictions on social gatherings likely to remain in place for some time to come, the board determined that it had no alternative but to place the company into voluntary administration,” he said.

The centre generated 75 per cent of its revenue from non-government sources, primarily from on-site events and programs. Casual staff had already lost work before Carriageworks stood down almost half its staff early last month and then asked the remainder to move to a three-day week.

Mr French, who took over at the helm of Carriageworks last August, said staff had been working to find a way through the lockdown. Cass O’Connor has been acting chair of the board since Sam Mostyn’s tenure ended in December.

“The Carriageworks Board regret that this action has had to be taken,” Mr French said.

“They are mindful of the impact of this situation upon independent artists and partner companies across the performing and visual arts at a time when the effects of COVID-19 related closures have made this sector so vulnerable.

“The board remain hopeful that the Carriageworks facility will be able re-open to artists and community alike once NSW emerges from the effects of the current pandemic.”

Arts figures expressed alarm as the news about Carriageworks began to spread on Monday night.

“This is possibly only the beginning of widespread cultural catastrophe,” David Berthold, former artistic director of the Brisbane Festival, wrote on Twitter.

“I’m very aware of many organisations around Australia that are at a tipping point. The federal government, unusually among national governments, is yet to make a direct response.”