Organizers of an acclaimed theater festival have just announced it will close after failing to secure funding. The Vault, which has launched countless theater and comedy careers, was under threat last year after its venue owners decided to pursue alternative uses for the tunnels the event has used since 2012.
After launching a fundraising campaign, the charity-run organization secured a new long-term home in central London due to open in 2024. But funding has now fallen through, leading to plans for a new site and a new venue being shelved. continued festival.
In a statement released on X (formerly Twitter), Vault Creative Arts said: “It is with immense sadness that we announce the closure of Vault Festival and the cancellation of plans for our new home in London, having failed to secure the funding that required to continue We had secured a new long-term home for the Vault Festival and other year-round creative activities in SE1, due to open later this year.
“We have been in advanced conversations with several social investors, along with a mixed fundraising strategy, but last week we learned that we had been unable to secure the core funding required to deliver our new home and future Vault festivals. This is holding us back from using the other additional funds are raised alongside the social investment, and we are therefore left without funds to continue.”
The closure means Vault has had to accept redundancies throughout the organization. It will also contact donors who contributed to the ‘Big Give Christmas Challenge’ campaign in December 2023, which raised over £20,000 towards access to equipment at the planned new venue, to return these donations.
Vault CEO, Director and Co-Founder Andy George added: “We’re devastated, we’re proud and we’re grieving. 12 years ago we set out on a mission to make the creative industries in the UK more diverse, more experimental, more inclusive, more joyful and more embrace the talents and ideas emerging artists have to offer.
“I feel extremely proud that we have achieved that mission through our work and that we are leaving the creative industry in a different place than how we found it. We had an exceptional team, we had a great new home, and we had vision about how to get there.
“I’m sure the impact from the loss of the Vault Festival will be felt across the UK creative sector for years to come. The irony is that our platform which sought to support artists has failed and been disenfranchised from the current funding, education and institutional systems which is ultimately canceled by the same system is not lost.
“Something has to be done. Our journey may have ended, but I am asking others to pick up the baton, to fight the fight and to be creative, brave and kind – make art, make trouble, make change.”
The Vault Festival has staged more than 3,000 different shows, including dance, cabaret and musical productions over the years. But despite its closure, the charity said it will continue to run The Glitch in Waterloo, which particularly supports emerging artists and LGBTQ+-led collectives.
Keep up to date with London’s most exciting events, newest restaurants and latest offers with our What’s On, Going Out newsletter. You can register HERE.
