The Substation arts venue at Newport will receive $1,050,000 over three years from Hobsons Bay City Council.
The former power station turned multidisciplinary arts space changed director in February last year.
New director Brad Spolding said he had inherited a difficult financial position.
“There was no program last year – that was because the organisation was in a vulnerable financial situation,” he said.
“This money for the triennial agreement from Hobsons Bay really allows us a base level of funding to employ 2.4 people, to pay the ongoing maintenance costs of running the venue and then, most importantly, create a foundation by which I can then seek other funding for the program.”
Under a previous triennial agreement, The Substation received $200,000 each year for three years but had to apply for additional funding.
“What the $200,000 a year meant was that we were having to raise a significant amount of money – you could say $150,000 – through hiring out the venue for weddings, through applying for grant applications,” Mr Spolding said.
“It just meant that we were always chasing our tail. We were constantly faced with not being a financially-sustainable organisation.”
View upcoming events at thesubstation.org.au
