Festival planners 'too highbrow’

Press, 17 November 1977, Page 6

Festival planners 'too highbrow’

Christchurch Arts Festival organisers have been accused by the Mayor (Mr H. G. Hay) of being “a bit high in the clouds" and "a little too highbrow."

Mr Hay’s comments yesterday came after representatives of the festival's executive asked the Town Hall Board for help in what it indicated was a financial crisis. “In my opinion as a lay-1 man,” said Mr Hay, “Mr Gerald Lascelles and his: friends are just a little too: high in the clouds and a bit; exclusive.” Mr Hay said he though the festival organisers were not I sufficiently middle-of-the-road i |in their choice of artists. “They have presented a i belated bad-luck story.” The board had some res-1 iponsibility to the festival as] lit used the Town Hall and! Was for the benefit of the! icity, he said. The board decided to reduce Town Hall rental for] ,next year’s festival by al maximum of $3OOO if the festival did not make a profit. |

“There should then be a good stock-taking of the festival," said Mr Hay. Mr Lascelles, chairman of the festival’s executive, suggested that some permanent arrangement be made between the board and the festival to ensure future financial support.

Mr Lascelles said the i organisers were poised on i the brink of establishing the i festival as one of the best of jits type if the city wished, j Making the festival such an event required engaging top overseas artists, and ■ this needed financial ceri tainty, he said. At the I moment the festival wmuld 'have an estimated deficit of SI 0.000 to meet.

The organisers had already I deferred a decision, on] iwhether to cancel some of! I the overseas artists engaged' for next year, so they could I (meet the board. Mr Lascelles I said. Cancelling engagements] ;at this stage would damage; I the festival’s reputation i , badly. “We are coming to the l board reluctantly,” said Mr

: funds to install a pipe organ I in the auditorium. Cr R. W. Skellerup said > that public reaction should be i sought on the need for a high i quality organ. The board had I!been told it would cost nearly >5150,000 to install such an’ >| instrument. ■ i Mr Skellerup said he did rnot think the board could! [ afford the instrument out of! ■ its own funds. The board expressed in-] ijterest in a block of land on II Ki (more Street, which was 1! formerly leased to the City f! Council and used as a carripark. The land was passed in > at auction on September 9, Land the council has relin--5 quished the lease. However, the Town Hall - Board has made no definite t moves to acquire the land.

Lascelles. “We don't look just to the board and local bodies for support.” The need for assistance from the board, in the form of remittance of rental on arts festival functions, would! be permanent, he said. i Independent artists were] attracted to use the hall dur-1 ing festival time and this] brought revenue additional to that from the festival itself. The manager of the Town, Hall (Mr B. P. Connell) said! it would cost the festival! $20,000 to hire the parts of the complex it needed for the 1978 festival. Of this, $7OOO to $BOOO would be rental and the rest would go towards staffing and other overheads. The Town Hall Board decided not to draw on its own