Housing & Communities Committee
10th January 2012
Agenda Item No.4
Report by: Grant Ward, Head of Leisure & Cultural Services
Wards Affected: All Wards
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to monitor and review the performance of the Arts & Theatres
Trust Fife (AttFife) for the year ended 31 st March 2011, and to provide an update on some of the ongoing activities in 2011-12.
Recommendation(s)
Members are asked to scrutinise and comment on the performance of AttFife in financial year 2010 -11.
Resource Implications
There are no specific resource implications.
Legal & Risk Implications
There are no specific legal and/or risk implications.
Impact Assessment
An IIA Checklist is not required as there will be no negative impact on customers and/or local communities as a result of the recommendations in this report.
Consultation
Att
Fife’s Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2011 was approved by its
Board of Directors at the AGM held on Wednesday 17 th
Report may be found in the Members’ Lounges.
August 2011. Copies of this
1.0 Background Information
1.1 AttFife was granted charitable status in September 2007 and formally assumed responsibility for the provision of arts and theatres services from Fife Council on 1 st
October 2007.

1.2 AttFife’s Board comprises thirteen Directors, six of whom are appointed by the
Council (4 Councillors and 2 Officers) and seven who are co-opted from business, the leisure industry, professions and users.
1.3 The Board meets six times per annum and has established four key subcommittees to oversee its core business, namely:

Audit & Scrutiny

Finance & Planning

HR & Appointments

Marketing & Communications
1.4 AttFife is a non-profit distributing organisation (NPDO), so is therefore able to retain and invest any surpluses it generates to help improve its facilities and the services it provides to communities across Fife.
1.5 The charitable objectives of AttFife are as follows:

To present, provide or assist in providing facilities at reasonable cost for the performing and visual arts

To encourage public use of the facilities for all activities related to the performing arts

To advance public education in performing and visual arts
1.6 AttFife manages and operates Adam Smith Theatre (Kirkcaldy), Carnegie Hall
(Dunfermline), Lochgelly Centre and Rothes Halls (Glenrothes) on behalf of the
Council.
2.0 Artistic Achievements 2010-11
2.1 AttFife delivered a broad range of work, both in its venues and in the wider Fife communities. Over 3,000 events took place in 2010/11, a similar number to 2009-
10. These included performances, exhibitions, workshops, education programmes, courses, classes and film screenings.
2.2 AttFife was a significant partner in Celebrating Fife 2010, contributing to the success of our Year of Culture. The ambitious “ 99 …100 ” project, which was cocommissioned with the National Theatre of Scotland , was a large-scale creative arts residency, culminating in a series of live arts performances at Silverburn Park,
Leven, in November 2010. The work was designed for and with the people of Fife to celebrate our rich cultural past, present and future
2.3 AttFife is committed to developing creative partnerships to help achieve its vision of excellence. Appendix 1 (Summary Annual Report 2010 - 11) offers more detail on the artistic achievement of the year, but amongst the most innovative and notable are:
Jock and the Beanstalk – a co-production with Wee Stories , this digital project brought AttFife’s Christmas show to children who would be unable to attend a theatre themselves, children in hospitals hospices and rural schools.
Vox Motus – The Not-So-Fatal Death of Grandpa Fredo - the show previewed at
Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, premiered at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh as part of the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and ran for four weeks before embarking on a successful nationwide tour.

2.4 Participative projects have also been developed in partnership with local and national organisations such as Fife Young Carers, Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre,
Promote Youth Theatre, Starcatchers, The Citizens Theatre and NHS Fife .
2.5
For the first time since its creation 6 years ago the National Festival of Youth
Theatre was based in Fife. The event saw the largest and most varied programme in the Festival’s history, engaging over 350 participants. Groups came from 8 regions of Scotland as well as Norway, England and Ireland. The four day programme showcased 16 dynamic performances on main-stage, studio and site specific platforms.
3.0 Marketing
3.1 A Marketing and Audience Development Strategy, funded by the Scottish Arts
Council, adopted by the Board in 2009 recommended a number of changes including a re-branding exercise and website improvements.
3.2 During 2010-11, AttFife worked with an Edinburgh design company to update and re-brand the organisation in a more active style. ON at Fife was the preferred option, and the work of converting digital and print publications (with as little waste as possible) to the new brand has begun.
3.3 ON is all about what’s happening in the arts and entertainment in the theatre venues. The new core brand offers immense flexibility and the ability to expand its reach. It links well to existing venue names and activities and reflects the ambition of the company.
3.4 The new website is a much improved offer to customers, with online sales and a speedier response to enquiries. For more information, please visit www.onfife.com
4.0 Venue Developments
4.1 In its first full year of operation, the Fifespace Gallery in Rothes Halls hosted eight exhibitions. A range of themes has been presented in a mix of media from textiles, photography, mixed media, punk art, oils and water colours to kinetic sculpture.
Accompanying the exhibitions were artist-led masterclasses
4.2 In December 2009 the Lochgelly Centre closed for a much needed refurbishment.
The project is an investment of £2.4million from Fife Council’s capital programme, and it will provide customers with up to date facilities for participating in arts-based and cultural learning activities. It will also incorporate the Lochgelly public library and Council information point. There have been site preparation and construction delays, but the Lochgelly Centre will open for business in January 2012.
5.0 Performance
5.1
Fife Council’s link officer, the Service Manager for Libraries, Arts, Museums &
Archives meets with the Chief Executive Officer of AttFife and his management team on a regular basis to monitor performance, and ensure that the activities of the
Trust are contributing to the targets set in the Service Level Agreement between
Fife Council and AttFife.

5.2 AttFife reports on one performance Indicator, which only offers a snapshot of paid attendances at theatre performances, as opposed to the whole gamut of activities on offer from AttFife venues. The number of theatre attendances was down from
420 per 1,000 population in 2009-10 to 365 per 1,000 in 2010-11.
5.3 The number of tickets sold also fell slightly from 151,916 to 132,690, a reduction of
19,226 or 12.9% lower in 2010-11 than the previous year.
5.4 Factors contributing to the reduced audiences include the loss of 25% of capacity due to the closure of Lochgelly Centre the continuing economic downturn and also the increasing number of commercial shows at Dunfermline’s Alhambra Theatre providing new competition.
5.5 However, a strong and varied programme of sell-out performances continued to be achieved across all venues. Notable shows included a week-long sell out run of The
National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch at Rothes Halls, a very successful in-house produced pantomime – Aladdin - at the Adam Smith Theatre, and a Viennese Gala Night performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
5.6 Across a programme of shows, events, cinema screenings, exhibitions, education and digital work, courses and classes, and on tour AttFife engaged with over
670,000 people during 2010- 2011.
5.7 AttFife showed a trading surplus of £207,102 before transfers and FRS17 pension adjustments, as against a small loss in 2009-10, which was attributable to considerable venue investment
6.0 Key Issues & Challenges
6.1
One of the key issues for the coming year will be to work with Fife Council and the
Byre Theatre to constitute the new Fife Cultural Trust, agreed by Housing &
Communities Committee on 1 st November 2011.
6.2
Bringing the people of Fife the very best in cultural activity and attracting participants to cultural activity is a constant challenge, one that AttFife employees and their partners embrace. To this end, the plans for 2011-12 include the development of: o a new gallery dedicated to the exhibition of Scottish photography o an increased number of co-produced shows in ON at Fife, on tour and at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe o the range of companies and artists we support to create new work o a Service Level Agreement with Fife Council Education for the provision of live arts experiences for children aged 3 to 18 years o work to be delivery nationally to schools via a digital narrowcasting network o a film exhibition programme on a digital platform o a programme of live arts streaming o a dance residency o the family market through commissioning a new Christmas show

7.0 Conclusion
7.1 AttFife performed well in 2010-11 in what were continuing difficult trading conditions caused by the economic downturn. A drop in traditional theatre attendances was offset by a rise in numbers of people attending exhibitions and classes, and a further rise in attendance outside the venues. The level of partnership working with both local and national arts organisations has again developed significantly and will provide a sound basis for the future delivery of cultural activities in Fife
Report Contact
Dorothy Browse
Service Manager, Libraries, Arts, Museums & Archives
T: 08451 555555 Ext. 472785
E: dorothy.browse@fife.gov.uk