Redevelopment plans for one of Wales’ most popular arts centres have received a major boost with the announcement by the Arts Council of Wales of a £1.75 million Capital Lottery Award.

Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre will use the award as part of a £3.8 million investment in its thriving Canton site.

Peter Tyndall, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales, said:

"Chapter is one of Europe's leading arts centres, and offers a diverse mixture of performance, visual arts, cinema and participation.  It's also the home for many artists and arts organisations.

These imaginative plans will improve the experience of Chapter for all of its many users, and the Arts Council of Wales is delighted to have been able to support them with a Lottery capital grant.  We are really looking forward to seeing the work completed and with greater access to the same rich mix of activity in greatly enhanced surroundings."

Construction work is planned to begin in April 2008 and as well as providing some overdue cosmetic surgery to the roof and general fabric of the building the ambitious project will also include major improvements to Chapter’s cinemas, theatre and gallery and open up its busy café-bar area.

Chapter will stay open throughout the building work presenting a full programme throughout the year both on and off-site. Plans are also in development to transform Chapter’s adjacent Stiwdio space to house a temporary café and bar with a flexible performance and gallery space on the first floor. 

The lottery grant takes the amount raised by Chapter to £2.2 million, which puts it well on the way to achieving its final goal.

The Culture Minister, Rhodri Glyn Thomas welcomed the grant, saying:

"This grant from the Arts Council of Wales is great news for Chapter and will allow for a range of refurbishments and improvements to the building. It comes on top of a £200,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly Government and will help to keep this much-loved community resource at the centre of Cardiff's cultural life."

Chapter is known and loved for the open space that they create for all their many and diverse users and the combination of radical new work that coexists with their community and creative focus. The centre also houses many small cultural businesses including providing a base for the twice Oscar nominated animator Joanna Quinn and the acclaimed dance company, Earthfall.

Chapter’s director Janek Alexander said:

"This award is fantastic news and an important milestone for us. It puts the total money we’ve raised past the halfway mark. The redevelopment of Chapter is the largest improvement scheme in the centre’s history and as well as the Arts Council‘s major commitment we have pledges of support from individuals, businesses and trusts."

He continued:

"People tell us they are contributing because Chapter plays an important part in their lives and they want future generations to experience the diversity and opportunities the centre offers. The project will safeguard Chapter’s future as we complete an ambitious programme of change to improve our facilities for the public."

Chapter will launch the new facilities with a month of special events in Spring 2009.

ENDS

For further information, interview opportunities, high resolution photographs please contact Carol Jones on 029 2031 1050/60, carol.jones@chapter.org, 0781 445 1302.

Notes for Editors

1. The Arts Council of Wales has awarded Chapter a capital Lottery award of £1,750,000 towards the project, following previous awards of 136,000 for earlier feasibility and design stages.
2. The redevelopment has also been supported by a grant of £200,000 towards essential repairs from the Welsh Assembly Government under its Community Facilities and Activities Programme.
3. Chapter was founded in 1971 as a meeting place for people and for ideas. More than 36 years later, it is regarded as one of the most successful multi-disciplinary community arts organisations in the UK and a major centre for the contemporary arts in Europe.
4. Chapter’s ambitious redevelopment project will enhance the visitor experience; create new spaces and refurbish existing spaces for artistic, education and outreach activity; improve the centre’s accessibility and ensure its continued sustainability.
5. Chapter welcomes half a million visitors annually. Our artistic work and influence is widespread and is an important part of many people’s lives.
6. Audiences can see first hand cutting-edge art in all its forms, from around the world.
7. 150 voluntary organisations rely on Chapter to provide facilities for the delivery of workshops, courses and events.
8. Chapter supports creative organisations and artists, providing support and a home for many of Wales’ best-known and award-winning names in theatre, dance, music, art and animation.
9. Chapter works with community groups to develop innovative ways of engaging disadvantaged individuals fully in the arts.
10. Chapter pioneered accessible cinema for people with disabilities; created special screenings for isolated groups such as women from ethnic minorities or women with young children; developed innovative workshops for visiting schools and also sent workshop leaders into schools across south and west Wales.
11. The redevelopment will include:

• Visible, welcoming and accessible entrances. Chapter’s front and rear entrances will be transformed. The front of the building will be enhanced by the insertion of three, glazed, sliding doors surmounted by a large signage lightbox. A new, highly visible and fully accessible box office and information desk will be built and the area around the building will be landscaped to improve the locale and create a welcoming environment.
• Refurbished cinemas, new theatre foyer and new theatre seating - Chapter’s two cinemas and theatre will be fully refurbished allowing audiences to enjoy the best world and independent film and innovative local and international performance in comfort, in a vibrant environment and with the latest technology.
• Improved gallery and gallery shop. The gallery will be refurbished and the entrance moved to make it a remarkable site in Wales for the experience and enjoyment of art and to make the space more visible. The gallery shop will be re-housed and relocated to a more commercially viable location.
• Larger, inviting public concourse. The redevelopment will expand the café bar into the existing outdoor terrace increasing the space by 40%. A new part-covered, landscaped terrace will be created to the rear of the building. The new, longer servery will ensure that people are served quickly and have a good visitor experience. 
• New and improved spaces for hire for workshops and events. A specially designed, multipurpose space will be built at the front of the building and a new outdoor artists’ terrace created leading from the new theatre foyer on the first floor. The project benefits also include repairs to the spaces Chapter uses to deliver tour community programme of workshops and events.

12.     Chapter’s redevelopment project will:

• dramatically improve the visitor experience through an ambitious redevelopment of the concourse, café bar area, shop and box office;
• provide better facilities to meet the needs of local, national and international artists, performers and filmmakers;
• offer a better cinema and theatre experience for the people of Cardiff. The scheme will create a new foyer and new seating for the theatre and refurbish both cinemas;
• offer Cardiff and South Wales’s community and voluntary organisations better and more accessible facilities through the refurbishment of existing spaces and the introduction of a new, fully-accessible space for workshops, events and the presentation of performances;
• make Chapter more visible and reflect their ethos and ambitions with the addition of more inviting and fully-accessible entrances;
• increase trading income, ensuring Chapter’s sustainability and enabling them to subsidise its artistic programme;
• increase visitor figures by an estimated 20% from 500,000 to 600,000 visitors annually;
• provide full disabled access. The scheme, which improves the main entrances and the entrances to the Cinema 2 and theatre will make all areas of the building completely accessible;
• improve the building stock and landscape of the locale and make an enhanced contribution to a culturally-led regeneration of one of the UK’s capital cities.