[Dave miller]

It is beginning to look like I will have to cancel our planned exhibition FADU2010 due to a problem with the venue. I provide a very brief summation of my difficulties below because you deserve to be kept informed as early as possible.

Last Tuesday (27th) I called into the Exhibition venue to check measurement to allow me to prepare a hanging plan for the Gallery space we were allocated. I picked up a forthcoming events brochure out of interest to see how they has publicised our event; imagine my shock and confusion when I saw that someone else is listed in our slot for September.

I called for the Theatre Administrator with whom I had agreed the booking to explain the situation and received the reply that he had made a mistake and given the slot to someone else! He apologised profusely to me for his error and said that it’s too late to alter their programme or cancel the second booking. This led to a rather heated exchange that has since been continued by email, and which has absorbed a great deal of my time over the intervening few days.

Later contact with the Executive Director of the venue has lifted the discussion to the Artistic Director whose initial response of “go away, nothing can be done, we’ve given the space to someone else”, through a suggestion that I should talk to the local museum curator about a space that they may have spare for a week, to an offer made by them yesterday afternoon of a small, inferior space in the Theatre which is quite unsuitable. I have declined this last offer and suggested that they give it to the party to whom they erroneously given our slot on the basis that if it’s considered good enough for us, then it must be good enough for them. Last night they declined to act on my suggestion.

Because of the time constraints on me I have now asked both the Chief Executive of the Borough Council, and my own area Councillor to get involved during the next week to try to persuade the Theatre management to fulfil their contract with me/us.

I have a short holiday booked so cannot do much more right now. I will report to you on progress on my return next week. If the event has to be cancelled I will obviously refund all monies paid to me by way of postage and entry fees with the return of entries. Those of you that have made bookings and travel arrangements should let them stand until we hear a final result from the other party next week. If any of you suffer a loss on your travel arrangements or accommodation because of this event then I will make that loss good and seek to recover it from the venue.