Dundee Contemporary Arts creates £400,000 fund to recover from Covid impact

By Rob McLaren

January 25 2023, 5:55am

Dundee Contemporary Arts. Image: DCA.

Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) has formed a £400,000 fund to help it recover from Covid-19.

The arts centre, which has a two-screen cinema, gallery, print studio and restaurant, believes it needs financial fire power to bounce back from the impact of the pandemic.

Restrictions due to Covid-19 are hopefully a thing of the past but DCA director Beth Bate anticipates Covid’s impact to last for a few years.

The dedicated fund is drawn from a range of sources including existing reserves and Covid-specific funding.

It will be used to implement the art centre’s recovery plan and aid its development in the next three to five years.

Ms Bate said: “It’s been clear to us since early in the pandemic that the recovery phase would extend well beyond reopening the building.

Beth Bate, director of Dundee Contemporary Arts, says the fund is needed to recover from the impact of Covid.

“This has proven to be the case as we have responded to changing restrictions, changing audience attendance patterns and a changing economic context.

“This recovery fund is designed to help us navigate these challenges for the next few years.”

Building back audiences

The director said it was a “huge relief” to be back at full operating strength after the uncertainty of multiple lockdowns.

Ms Bate said the DCA was “still working” at fully rebuilding its audience back to pre-Covid levels.

She added: “We were delighted to see audiences and customers return to the building.

“As is the case throughout the cultural sector, we’re still working to rebuild attendance across our programmes.

“But we’re encouraged by steady growth in all areas, and by strong figures for key titles and events.”

Third cinema screen feasibility study

DCA has also allocated £50,000 towards the development of the bottom two levels of the city centre building.

This was previously occupied by Dundee University. Ms Bate has previously spoken of her ambition to turn this area into a third cinema screen.

One of the DCA cinemas with its multi-coloured seats. Image: DCA

This money will be used to “explore options” for this expansion, the director said.

“We have recently completed a tender for a feasibility study considering options for the space, which will form the next stage of this work,” she added.