Agenda item

Report of the Managing Director.

Members received a report of the Managing Director providing updates from the Barbican Directors on their respective areas.

The Board was delighted to note that the Barbican’s National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) application to the Arts Council had been awarded the full requested amount of £480,000 per annum for four years. It was also pleasing to observe that feedback on the application had improved significantly from the previous round of funding.

Following on from discussions at the recent meeting of the Board’s Finance Committee, Members asked a number of queries concerning the ongoing “Into The Unknown” exhibition. The Chief Operating & Financial Officer advised that, whilst the show was not currently performing as well as expected, attendance levels had started to increase in the last week and it was anticipated that the imminent school holidays would see attendances rise further. Notwithstanding this, interest in the show across the pre-arranged international programme was strong and the show was therefore very likely to generate additional income when on tour. Members reiterated importance of taking risks to the integrity and success of the artistic programme, noting that it was inevitable that some exhibitions would be less commercially successful than others. It was particularly noted that the metrics of success were not limited to raw audience numbers observing that, even if the number of visitors was comparatively low, shows that attracted new audiences and demographics to the Barbican could be considered successes and delivering on the Barbican’s mission.

Noting that discussions were ongoing with the Bank of England with respect to the use of the Barbican car park, Members suggested that it would beneficial to use the opportunity to raise the prospect of corporate membership.

RECEIVED.