Popular Sydney Live Venue Goes Into Voluntary Administration

Famous Sydney multi-purpose venue Carriageworks has confirmed it has gone into voluntary administration. 

In a statement issued today, the Eveleigh venue confirmed that the COVID pandemic and "the sudden cancellation or postponement of six months of activities due to restrictions on public gatherings has resulted in an irreparable loss of income".

“Following the earlier loss of shifts for casual staff, in early-April we stood down almost half of our core staff and asked those remaining to move to a three-day week," Carriageworks CEO Blair French said today.

"Focusing on essential work only we have been striving to find a way through the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown.

“Since opening in 2007, Carriageworks has enjoyed the support of both the NSW and Federal Governments, and the generosity of its many partners and donors. During this time it has become a Sydney institution attracting one million visitors a year to the site in Redfern and up to 5,000 people every Saturday to the Carriageworks Farmers Market.

"But with restrictions on social gatherings likely to remain in place for some time to come, the Board determined that it had no alternative but to place the company into Voluntary Administration.”

KPMG’s Phil Quinlan and Morgan Kelly have been appointed Voluntary Administrators of Carriageworks, with Quinlan saying "all options are on the table".

“We will be working closely with the Carriageworks executive and its stakeholders to try and secure the future of Australia’s largest multi-arts precinct," Quinlan said.

“We will be exploring the possibility of a Deed of Company Arrangement to stabilise Carriageworks’ financial position and allow it to continue its important role for Australian arts and culture."

READ MORE: COVID Unemployment Stats Confirm Aussie Arts Industry Hit Hard

Carriageworks has hosted a number of major shows in conjunction with events like Vivid and Sydney Festival, including RÜFÜS DU SOL, FKA Twigs, St Vincent, Goldfrapp, Gotye and Grace Jones.

Meanwhile, both the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance (MEAA) and Live Performance Australia (LPA) have urged the NSW Government to save Carriageworks.

"Carriageworks appears to have fallen into administration because the NSW Government didn’t lift a finger to sustain its operations through a once-in-a-lifetime threat," MEAA Chief Executive Paul Murphy said.

"It's a special kind of ignorance and indifference that allows this kind of thing to happen. The great fear is that as the NSW government remains paralysed, other arts institutions will follow Carriageworks into administration.

"The arts sector in NSW is on its knees pleading for support from the state government. It should start by stepping in to rescue Carriageworks."

LPA Chief Executive Evelyn Richardson called on Premier Gladys Berejiklian to "step up".

"When cultural ministers from all of our state and territory governments met in late March, we set out very clearly for them the potential devastation of our cultural sector because of COVID-19’s impact on venues and cultural spaces," Richardson said.

“Some of our state governments have put in place targeted measures to support our cultural industries, but the response so far from both NSW and the Commonwealth has been woeful."

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