Agenda item

Report of the Director of Arts.

N.B. – to be read in conjunction with the non-public sections and appendices of this report at Item 12.

The Board received a report and accompanying presentation from the Director of Arts and the Head of Visual Arts, following which Members took the opportunity to ask a number of questions. During discussion, the following points were raised:

• Members were effusive in their praise for the quality of the programme over the past year, which had continued to go from strength to strength.
• The tangible benefits of closer working between the Visual Arts team and the Communications & Marketing team were particularly noted as having had a significant impact on performance.
• Members were provided with a breakdown of the curatorial team, comprising an enthusiastic and complementary blend of talented individuals whom the Director was confident would provide continued success and innovation to the Visual Arts programme.
• It was suggested that it would be beneficial to work towards developing a greater understanding of the diversity of audiences attending exhibits, so as to help manage and inform a diverse programming approach.
• Members referenced their previous support for the concept of pop-up installations in outside spaces as an experimental and novel way of bringing the visual arts to people in unexpected places. The Head of Visual Arts reassured Members this was an area that continued to be explored wherever possible, highlighting recent instances such as the lakeside installation for the Ragnar Kjartansson exhibition and planned displays to coincide with a forthcoming exhibition focusing on Japanese art. However, it was cautioned that such pop-ups were sometimes relatively costly and so would need to be managed against the backdrop of decreased funding to the gallery.
• In discussing the Barbican’s competitors, the view was expressed that some of the increase in attendees could be due to the recent closure of the Hayward Gallery. However, it was noted that the Barbican and Hayward’s offerings were markedly different and that it was not anticipated that the Hayward’s re-opening would cause significant impact to audience numbers at the Barbican. The Head of Visual Arts expressed confidence that the various visual arts institutions across London could all prosper together, as each provided a unique offering and occupied a different space in the marketplace.
• Members were reassured that there was regular liaison in place with the Culture, Heritage and Libraries department to identify any potential overlap.

RECEIVED.