Ruth Hill on her first year as Director of Pound Arts

WHAT A YEAR!

The 1st October marked my official first 12 months as Director at The Pound Arts Trust, and what a year it has been! It’s a bit of a cliché, but there have been highs and lows.

It is incredibly hard running an arts venue in the current economic climate. Our finances are beyond tight, funding landscapes are incredibly competitive, and the people who spend with us and support us, are also feeling the economic pinch. Anyone watching the wider arts sector and seeing venues shutting and arts organisations winding-up, can see the sector is in dire straits. Against a societal narrative where the arts are seen as a luxury, or worse, a frippery, it is hard to make things work. AND YET WE DO!

This year we have achieved so much through the hard work of our staff who work tirelessly for an organisation they love. We also couldn’t manage without the support of the many freelance artists we work with, our audience members, volunteers, participants and friends, and the continued support of our core funders Corsham Town Council, Wiltshire Council and Arts Council England, alongside other funders like The Late Lord Methuen Trust, Corsham Area Board, The Walter Guiness Foundation and The Rotary Club of Calne and Chippenham. So, a huge thank you to you all!

WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED IN 12 MONTHS?

In the last year, we welcomed around 60,000 attendances across almost 500 events, performances, activities and exhibitions.

We have worked with 11 schools and nurseries, run 16 days of FUEL food and activity camps for young people on free school meals, run 4 free community days, programmed 12 rural touring events in communities across Wiltshire and worked with over 50 volunteers who have donated hundreds of hours of their time to support our work by stewarding shows, supporting youth activities, and helping staff the box office.

We are becoming known for our accessible work, offering 4 sensory theatre shows for those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, 13 SEND focused workshops and shows, for adults, young people and families with all additional needs, 2 comfort cafés for social anxious and neurodivergent women+, 1 carer café and more than 40 free carer tickets at live events.

We have also hosted 3 exhibitions platforming artists with lived experience of learning disabilities, neurodiversity and mental health, a new lived experience focus group to help develop our accessibility, and developed our Touch exhibition, a visual arts exhibition specifically developed for those with visual impairment. We’re also about to have our first co-production digital streamed show with Live To Your Living Room meaning people who can’t access our auditorium can still access the show.

We have welcomed 100s of artists, to exhibit, perform and facilitate with us and supported 3 resident artists, our resident theatre company and our resident co-operative of music therapists. We have hosted 7 artists for R&D, alongside mentoring support for 9 artists, and presenting to 10 artists on Bath Spa’s Emerge programme.

We’ve had over 22,000 attendances of children and young people, we’ve run youth theatre groups for 4 -19 year olds, hosted a youth open mic and provided space for PBS Dance and Corsham Windband, among others, to work with young people in our community to develop their skills.

Thanks to our amazing community, we raised over £20,000 with the Big Give Christmas appeal hitting our target for the week in just over 24hours – an incredible feat showing just how important The Pound is to the people who use and support us and so needed when finances are so tight. THANK YOU!

…BUT IT IS MORE THAN JUST NUMBERS

While the data tells us what has happened, it’s people’s stories and the impact we have had which tells us why it matters. After our PMLD show, The Ancient Oak Of Baldor, one carer commented:

“I looked across and I just could see in other carers’ eyes exactly what I was feeling, so there was that connection of just looking and seeing kind of the joy in watching the people that they were caring for react to the environment that they were in. I saw tears and everything. It was amazing.”

Or after our free family arts day with a meal and a show, children left us wishes like:

“to see a show every year” and“to have art every day”

One of our wonderful volunteers said:

“The variety and quality of the workshops, films and shows on offer prove time and again that The Pound punches over its weight and offers the highest quality in the most genial of environments. It really is a real pleasure to be a volunteer there.”

So, while the numbers show what we achieve, it’s the experiences that tell us why it matters. It is the moments of connection, the ability to make the arts something everyone can enjoy, the excellent work we showcase, and more than anything in a world which can seem dark and divided, it is the joy we bring which means more to us than any numbers on paper.

Thank you to everyone who has attended, participated, volunteered, facilitated, made work, displayed work, performed, supported and championed The Pound over the last year. I am so pleased to be here and will continue to bring you all more of what you want, to Corsham and to Wiltshire in the next 12 months!