Redfern’s Carriageworks has gone into voluntary administration. Well, fuck.
Carriageworks, a beloved hub known for its live performances and art exhibits, is now Sydney’s first major arts enterprise to take such measures.
As the arts sector continues to bear the brunt of this lockdown period, further pressure is being placed on the government to provide much-needed funding to these at-risk companies.
Just a few weeks ago, Carriageworks stood down staff after halting non-essential activity amid the pandemic.
“It is not possible for the company to continue business as usual,” Carriageworks CEO Blair French had told staff. “The result has been a significant reduction in our revenue stream. Consequently, our cost base must be urgently reduced.”
For the time being, the Carriageworks clan are staying optimistic. “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,” said French, as tweeted by The Australian‘s Arts editor Ashleigh Wilson a short time ago.
Either way, this is sad, sad day for the Carriageworks family and for the arts community as a whole, which continues to dissipate in the face of COVID-19 without necessary government funding.
