Please scroll down for video recordings from the three webinars.

What is repayable finance? And how can arts, culture and heritage organisations access this innovative form of funding to help them achieve their aims?

Nesta's Arts & Culture Finance team hosted a series of webinars explaining how different arts, culture and heritage organisations have successfully applied for repayable finance and used it achieve greater impact and resilience.

In three webinars we covered the basics of repayable finance and then focused on a different case study of how the financing has been used, featuring conversations with experienced arts practitioners who have taken on investment.

There was then an opportunity for Q&A with both borrowers and the Arts & Culture Finance team. The webinars lasted one hour and discussed the role of repayable finance in three areas.


1) Undertaking Capital Projects and Buying Equipment with Steve Mannix, Executive Director,
Mercury Theatre Colchester
Wednesday, 25 November 2020, 12:30-1:30pm

Repayable finance can be used as cashflow for refurbishment projects, buying property as well as equipment necessary for carrying out day-to-day activities. Learn about the key considerations in this session.

2) Growing Programmes & Services with Judah Armani, Founder, InHouse Records
Thursday, 26 November 2020, 12:30-1:30pm
A number of arts and culture organisations have borrowed money to finance their growth. Learn about how they did this in this session and the questions investors will be asking you.

3) Developing New Revenue Streams with James Birchall, Director, Fuse Art Space / Camp FR
Tuesday, 1 December 2020, 12:30-1:30pm
Repayable finance has sometimes been used to finance new, income-generating activities. In this session, we will discuss examples of this and the risks and opportunities involved. 

Speakers

Steve Mannix

Executive Director, Mercury Theatre Colchester - Steve was appointed Executive Director of the Mercury Theatre in 2014 and is currently managing its £10 million Mercury Rising capital programme. He was part of the Culture and Ceremonies Team for London 2012 and was responsible for establishing several of the major projects within the Cultural Olympiad. Following 2012 he left to pursue a freelance career with clients including Artillery, Vital Xposure, Deaf Men Dancing, Hackney Empire, Pacitti Company, DaDa and Ministry of Stories. Throughout his career Steve has been an advisor and board member to various strategic bodies, arts and voluntary sector organisations. These have included Arts Council England, The Albany (Vice Chair), Oval House (Vice Chair), the Independent Theatre Council (Vice Chair), Graeae Theatre Company (Chair), Association of London Government and The British Council.

Judah Armani

Founder, InHouse Records - Judah has an award winning design practice with an internationally recognised track record of creating positive impact in society. His practice blends an educational background in design, experience within international development and personal narrative of immigration and integration. Judah holds associate positions at the world's most prestigious Art & Design Colleges and is the Social Designer in Residence at InnovationRCA. His practice is headquartered in Brighton, an unorthodox community studio where he provides over 500 hours of pro bono work a year. He is a network member of the British Design Council and has been B Corp certified since 2013. He is a trustee for the critically acclaimed Brighton Festival, where he leads a working group focused on Inclusion & Equality.

James Birchall

Director, Fuse Art Space / CAMP FR - James is a composer, producer and sound artist who, over the past decade, has mainly produced work under the name Rough Fields. He studied modern composition at Huddersfield University, during which time he organised the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Fringe Festival, then went on to form the Bomb Shop record label. He collaborated with Steve Reich on the first solo version of Music for 18 Musicians, and has shared stages with Manuel Gottsching, Karen Gwyer, Fennesz, BJ Nilsen, Peverelist and others. In 2013 James co-founded (with Sarah Faraday) Fuse Art Space, an art gallery, performance venue and cultural facility in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Following three years of high profile exhibitions and events at Fuse, James and Sarah relocated to the French Pyrenees to launch the residential arts project, CAMP.