sydney‘s Carriageworks folds due to coronavirus”>
Leading Australian artists say the collapse of Sydney arts and cultural institution Carriageworks should be a “wake up call” for governments to step in and help the struggling creative industries.
Many arts and cultural organisations are suffering huge financial losses due to coronavirus restrictions imposed in various states.
Carraigeworks in Redfern announced it was going into voluntary administration on Monday night citing the cancellation or postponement of six months’ worth of events and programs, including the Sydney writers festival.
In a statement, chief executive Blair French said they had tried to survive the lockdown period, slashing staff numbers and reducing the days of remaining employees.
“[Carriageworks] has become a Sydney institution attracting one million visitors a year to the site in Redfern and up to 5,000 people every Saturday to the Carriageworks Farmers Market,” Mr French said.
“But with restrictions on social gatherings likely to remain in place for some time to come, the board determined that it had no alternative but to place the company into Voluntary Administration.”
The arts centre said financial firm KPMG had been appointed voluntary administrators and that “all options were on the table…
