“The board remain hopeful that the Carriageworks facility will be able re-open to artists and community alike once NSW emerges from the effects of the current pandemic.”
The sydney Writers’ Festival, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, the design event Semi Permanent, part of the Vivid program, and its weekly Farmers Market were among events lost when the venue shut down due to coronavirus.
Nick Cave’s installation at Carriageworks in 2018.Credit: Nick Moir
The precinct derives 75 per cent of its income from commercial activities. In 2018, Carriageworks posted a deficit of $559,236, after taking in $1.5 million from the box office, $1.1 million from food programs and markets, and $3.9 million from commercial events.
With restrictions on social gatherings likely to remain in place for some time to come, the board said it had no alternative but to place the company into voluntary administration.
Carriageworks chief executive Blair French.Credit: James Brickwood
The decision will bolster calls for an immediate, targeted stimulus from federal and state governments to allow struggling arts companies to survive the pandemic.
Esther Anatolitis, executive director of the National Association of the Visual Arts, said she was “heartbroken”…
