Coventry’s City of Culture programme finally got the national publicity that it was seeking. Unfortunately, it was for all the wrong reasons.
The City of Culture Trust has called in administrators, owing at least a million pounds to the City Council and £1.5 million to the Assembly Festival event organisation as well as other organisations and artists.
The collapse will bring a premature end to the three-year Legacy Cultural Programme. Perhaps the most serious loss will be the closure of the Reel Store Digital Art Gallery. This recently hosted an award-winning digital exhibition featuring the work of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The popular gallery is unique in the country and attracting national tourist interest. It will close unless administrators can find a buyer who wants to take on the lease and continue running it. We really hope that it is saved for the city.
The bankruptcy has also led to the loss of 50 jobs (29 full time and 21 casual).
In October the City Council approved a loan of £1 million to help the Trust through a “short term cashflow problem”. Accepting the loan led to the resignation of representatives of Coventry University and the University of Warwick from the Board of the Trust. A Warwick spokesperson said “We did not support additional public money being used to keep the charitable trust going.”
Assembly Festival, which delivered the highly successful Assembly Festival Gardens in Little Park Street, has called up the City Council to refund the loss that it has incurred. A spokesperson from City Council said: “The city of culture trust is a separate, independent organisation to which the council had no direct control over. The council has also not provided any form of indemnity or guarantee to Assembly Festival on the sums they have incurred as a consequence of any contractual arrangement they have with the trust.”
Until his departure at the end of January, the Chief Finance Officer for the Trust was Martin Reeves, the City Council’s Chief Executive.
A spokesperson from the National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We are saddened by the news regarding Coventry city of culture trust. “Our £3m funding enabled Coventry 2021 to give its communities the opportunity to become greener and more environmentally conscious. We hope a way forward can be found for the trust and would be happy to work with the city council and others to support the legacy arising from Coventry city of culture.”
The Charity Commission has said it is looking into finances at the Coventry City of Culture Trust. A commission spokesman said “We have opened a compliance case into the Coventry City of Culture regarding financial concerns and are currently assessing information to inform any next steps.”
The Mayor of the West Midlands has also called for an investigation into the Trust.
Fortunately, much of the legacy of City of Culture had nothing to do with the Trust and is secure. The restoration of St Mary’s Guildhall, Charterhouse and Drapers Hall and the improvement of Coventry Cathedral, the Belgrade theatre and the Daimler Powerhouse are not affected.
CovSoc Chair, Peter Walters said “We are very disappointed to see what has become of Coventry’s City of Culture opportunity.
“It was supposed to raise the city’s profile and leave us with an enviable legacy. Instead, it has ended in recriminations.
“The City of Culture year brought with it fantastic investment in Coventry’s heritage, but a combination of Covid and what appear to be serious errors has left a sour taste. It is such a shame.”