It Was the Best of Times; It Was the Worst of Times

As we approach the solstice – the mid point of the winter, I am looking back on an amazing year for Watershed and forward to one we know will be tough. 

In the last year we have spent quite a lot of time thinking about what we do, the role we play in the city – and our civic as well as our cultural value. This really came through in the feedback we had around the Cinema of the Year Awards – how much people value the togetherness, the warmth and the inclusiveness of Watershed as a venue.

A highlight of our work is of course always the programme – which this year has been wild, weird and woke in the most brilliant way. I am delighted we have smashed our brilliant Big Give Campaign and very proud of the amazing new cakes in the Café & Bar. More generally I love the vibes in the building and how we have held our values – even when it’s been hard.

Which makes the dissonance of knowing that in January we need to begin a major cost-cutting programme even harder – especially for our brilliant staff. This isn’t a Watershed specific problem and it’s not our fault – across the UK there are hospitality businesses cutting jobs, cultural organisations closing and charities slashing their costs. The heady combination of competition for funding with ever increasing inflation is at the heart of substantial systemic pain. 

Watershed is a registered charity, employs over 130 people and our turnover is around £8.5 million a year – made up of a mix of Café & Bar sales, events, cinema tickets, projects, public funding, being a landlord and much more. 

Whilst Watershed has been incredibly careful with resources since before Covid, we have also been supported with a grant from Joseph Rowntree Foundation that has enabled us to be brave, take time to think and orient ourselves to the future. Because of the care we take around our approach, over half of Watershed’s expenditure is on people. Without the JRF support we would be looking at a £600,000 deficit this year. 

So, we need to deliver around £500,000 of change in next year’s budget to remain solvent in the years to come. That will mean finding some new ways to make money and lots more ways to save money. We have begun scoping a plan that balances protecting our value and values with the severity of the situation. We can’t tell you yet what that will mean exactly but our approach will:

• consult with staff and audiences on any changes that impact them – though we might still have to make decisions that not everyone likes
• open conversations with our funders about the need to recognise the overhead costs of general inflation as well as the cost of important work in areas like inclusion and climate awareness
• Prioritise saving jobs, though we may not be able to replace roles as people leave
• Continue to centre access and inclusion in what we do
• Consider carefully how any price changes might impact those with less money. 

I want to recognise our position is one of relative privilege. Artists and freelancers are facing many of the same challenges – but aren’t protected personally by being paid a regular salary. We will continue to gift space, support and love to the community through residency of Pervasive Media Studio. We are also working on a new inclusive rate card and way of contracting freelancers to ensure that our terms are fair to those without this safety net.

Smaller community organisations have also been facing this kind of precarity for years – and right now are also in a time when their services are in high demand. We will continue to share knowledge, resources and opportunities wherever we can. 

Art and Culture delivers wellbeing, social impact, jobs, visitor spend, educational attainment, profile for the city and much more – as a city it is vital we don’t take this for granted and that we continue to make the case for funding and support for the sector – at every level from grassroots to the larger venues. 

Our Waterside home will play a significant part in our future stability. This year we began planning and fundraising to fix the roof which will reduce our carbon usage, make the building more comfortable and protect the heritage of the building. As we move through the year, we will share more on Wild and Generous - a holistic vision to create a greener, more nature filled space around us. 

Audience love, feedback and donations have been a huge support to us over the last few years and we will continue to need it through the tough times to come. You can set up a regular gift to support our work here.