THE new chair of Anvil Arts’ board of trustees has said his focus is “very much on moving forward” as he steps into the role just months after the organisation lost nearly £400,000 in public funding.

Speaking to the Gazette three weeks after taking on the role, Chris Smith said: “When I heard [about the cuts] in the news, I was saddened. But as I’ve come to understand it, we’re in a situation the world has never experienced before. So to find local authorities facing huge financial challenges isn’t a surprise.

“It’s very much about moving forward from this point. The conversations have been so positive. There’s no point in us analysing the whys and the hows, not for me. My investment of my time and my energy and experience is in the future.”

In April, the organisation was left shaken when Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council announced it would be halving the money it had initially intended to invest in the coming year.

It led to a petition set up by theatre supporters from across the borough and beyond, with the head of the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, as well as Anvil CEO Matthew Cleaver, backing calls to ‘Reverse the Cut’.

In an open letter, Council leader Ken Rhatigan and deputy leader Simon Bound accused the organisation of failing to provide a robust financial strategy, to which the organisation responded that the uncertainties of the pandemic failed to allow for complete plans at that time.

However, Chris Smith is keen to leave the “challenges” to one side, and continue with “positive conversations”.

“One of the things we have to remember is the Anvil benefitted from the Cultural Recovery Fund investment, so in a sense there was a balance in that and the blow to the organisation wasn’t as great as initially feared,” he said.

“It’s happened, there were reasons for it happening and I wasn’t party to that, we’re moving forward and the support is there, financial and philosophical.”

He continued: “I think we’re very lucky because Basingstoke is relatively wealthy compared to many other local authorities, but that doesn’t mean it doesn't have to manage it’s budgets and ensure local residents, of which I am one, are getting the best return and the best services,” he said.

“I think Basingstoke and Deane has 30 years plus of delivering from the Anvil and has invested huge amounts in the cultural sector because as a new town it saw the value and the potential of the arts in bringing people to the town, and we’re kind of back to a period where that is a huge priority.”

Chris added that he has already engaged in meetings with the council leader and deputy leader, and with Basingstoke MP Maria Miller.

He said: “Everybody, without question, wants the Anvil, the Haymarket and the whole cultural sector in Basingstoke to boom.

“I think it’s also about changing how we view it. We want people to think it’s not funding, it’s investment. That's the message we’ve got to put out. Rather than people thinking it’s some elite cultural thing, let’s understand that this is bringing investment into the town on a huge scale.”

Chris has lived in Kingsclere for 21 years and has worked in the cultural sector for nearly 40 years .

He is currently the director of the WOMAD Festival Group, however he has worked in the arts industry across the country.

Having attended the University of Glasgow, before his current job he worked for ten years in Scottish theatres, set up and ran the cultural services in Reading and also worked on a major Arts Council project building a theatre and arts centre in Wales, among other endeavours.

“I think the appeal for this is because I live here, because I’ve got kids who’ve come up through the cultural scene here. I felt I could make a contribution,” he said.

“It was an opportunity to get involved in the scene locally and use some of my skills and experience to make a difference.

“It’s a different arena and even with my many years of experience it’s going to be a whole new set of challenges, but I feel I’m walking into an organisation ready to meet the challenges of change.”

Thanking the Basingstoke public for their continued supported, he added: “There is no question that the groundswell of support and energy is uplifting, but we are going to need that support in the future, we just need a little bit of time to work with our partners and internally to come up with the plans that we need, and then we will be coming back and asking people for that support and how it can manifest itself in delivering for the town.

“Despite some interesting challenges, the overriding feeling is of support. That’s true of anywhere, but I think here the arts seemed to be valued to a higher level because it is part of the DNA of the town.”