Following a Board meeting of The Lighthouse Trust yesterday evening (24th Aug) Eleanor McAllister OBE, who has been Chair of board of The Lighthouse Trust for the last eighteen months, released the following statement:
“It has been a heartbreaking decision for me and the Board to bring in Administrators to the Lighthouse Trust. We know the devastating effect this will have on our staff and on the partners working with us on our projects. We have done everything possible to avoid this, but the options before us were very limited in the current economic downturn.
“When I was asked to chair The Lighthouse Trust Board, I had hopes we could find a way ahead after the significant losses incurred in mounting the critically successful, but expensive, Venice Biennale project, and the government decision not to fund a second Six Cities Design Festival.
“Last year, with additional support from our main funders, the City Council and the Scottish Government, we put a crisis package in place to secure our immediate future and to enable us to continue our educational and exhibition programmes at both within and beyond The Lighthouse.
“That new package was very dependent on maintaining the income generated from our commercial activities. The Lighthouse business model has always required commercial income to subsidise its extensive programme. No other gallery in Scotland has to generate such a high percentage of its income from commercial sources and the Lighthouse has been very successful at that in the past. However, the extra income we needed from rents, grants and conferences and events just did not materialise as businesses, organisations and charitable trusts cut back on their activities when the credit crunch hit and the recession deepened. The Lighthouse, already in a vulnerable position and with no reserves to call on, has not been able to rally.
“The Board hopes that the Administrator, working with ourselves, the City Council as owners of the Lighthouse building and the Government as the major funder, will be able to get a resolution that ensures the future of this early Mackintosh building, so important to Glasgow's architectural heritage. We also hope to protect some of the Lighthouse's key activities and exhibitions, and to maintain public access to the building. Most of all, we hope to find a way for The Lighthouse to continue in some way to fulfil its vital role as Scotland's National Centre for Architecture, Design and the City.”
The immediate priority is to investigate all possible options with an open mind to determine if a sustainable economic structure can be delivered that will enable The Lighthouse Trust to continue its existing role and fulfil any immediate commitments.
Whilst the position is assessed, the building will remain open for business.
