Arts centre reprieve hope

The funding row threatens to close the centre early

An eleventh hour bid to save the Centre for Visual Arts in Cardiff is to go ahead on Friday.

Earlier trustees of the centre which is due to close in November said they feared it could be facing immediate closure.

But late on Thursday the board announced it had secured a meeting with the Arts Council of Wales, to discuss funding which could offer them a vital reprieve.

The trustees are asking the council for an extra £50,000 to keep the centre open until November.

This sets a very bad precedent for co-operative working between local authorities and the arts council

Trustee Ian Brown

The arts council, which earlier rejected a bid to relaunch the ill-fated centre with lower admission prices, has decided not to provide an extra £50,000 needed to keep the centre going in the light of the low visitor numbers.

Visitors to the centre have reached only a quarter of the 250,000 predicted annually.

The CVA had been planning to stage the British Arts Show before closing down on 4 November.

But trustee Ian Brown says that event is at risk if the arts council refuses to provide further funding.

"I am extremely disappointed that the Arts Council have failed to support the Centre for Visual Arts and put at risk the British Arts Show," Mr Brown said.

"This sets a very bad precedent for co-operative working between local authorities and the arts council with projects such as the Wales Millenium Centre and the (bid for) City of Culture (status)," Mr Brown added.