artsdepot is a multi-award winning cultural hub voted Best Age Friendly Welcome at the 2018 Fantastic For Families Awards, Best Family Venue 2017 at the Family Arts Festival Awards, and Best Independent Cultural Venue at the Dot London Awards 2016. Our venue incorporates a 395 seat theatre, 148 seat studio theatre, Creation Space (research lab), gallery, drama, dance and art studios, free children’s playspace, café and bar.
2019/20 was a challenging year as the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of our building for over 5 months. Despite this, we welcomed 96,000+ visitors to the venue and issued 43,961 tickets including 9,980 free tickets for family events, carers, and access and engagement work. In total we presented 260 performances of 114 different shows – significantly down on a normal year but still a number we’re proud of.
We supported 9 artist residencies and provided 217 subsidised theatre trips for socially isolated people aged 75+. As well as presenting an impactful and broad creative programme, encouraging artistic innovation and supporting artist development, we also engaged with people of all ages through our extensive participation programme. 7,490 children and young people took part in creative learning and performance opportunities delivered by artsdepot and its partners. Over the year we received £425k of public funding from Arts Council England and also secured £350k in fundraised income from grant making bodies, companies and individual supporters including 724 donations to our Stabilisation Appeal.