File this one under “It’s Funny Because It’s Sadler’s Wells Which *Is Dance* But They Didn’t Read Their Funding Guidelines Properly So Let’s Laugh Near Them, Not At Them!”
Over the last year or so a question has been niggling away at us, here in TheLab™, regarding just why the self aggrandising London theatre didn’t have an Arts Council logo anywhere on their website indicating they are in receipt of public subsidy (the theatre is an RFO).
For a time we thought they were independent, free from the grasp of the public purse strings and all the associated nonsense that goes with it. Good for them we thought, at least their spending their own money to book “Swan Lake” over and over again.
Finally we had to scratch the itch and ask the question.
ACE’s own guidelines, which come with your funding agreement state;
“If your organisation has a website, the relevant grant award logo must appear on the home page.”
Organisations large or small, fat or thin have to play by the same rules, no exceptions, as ACE told us today.
Ironically “The Wells” was recently given over £700,000 from the ACE “Sustain” programme to shore up its finances and develop its website. As expected the theatre thanked us profusely, well…. they thanked us, for pointing it out and the logo will be added in “due course”.
The guidelines also stipulate that:
“If you use other web-based platforms to publicise your work, such as My Space or other networking sites, you should display the grant award logo/Lottery grant award logo.”
Yes, you guessed it, the logo isn’t on their Facebook page either, we forgot to point that out though, maybe they’ll notice all on their own!
Unfortunately ACE told us that the punishment for failing to include the logo does not involve Alistair Spalding being taken to a scary castle dungeon for “re-education” by a giant hammer wielding troll called Olaf!*
The funding giant has recently been getting a little huffy about people not acknowledging their “help” enough so to retaliate they made the funding logo even more annoying prominent.
A cynical person might suggest the logo was left off the site on purpose to give users the impression that “The Wells” was an independent commercial theatre. But we’re not that cynical and shame on you for thinking it.
*We should point out that the troll is giant, as is the hammer, it’s not a “giant hammer” being wielded by a regular sized troll.