PICA exit a fresh blow to centre

A popular theatre in the Perth Cultural Centre will be closed at the end of the year, possibly affecting the number of people likely to be attracted to the area despite the Government's recent $11 million facelift of the precinct.

The Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts is the latest major Cultural Centre institution to make cuts, suspending shows in its 105-seat venue for at least two years because of funding constraints.

PICA director Amy Barrett Lennard blamed insufficient State and Federal grants and protracted uncertainty over the institute's tenancy in its heritage building which prevented it from sub-leasing its cafe and generating an estimated $66,000 in extra income.

"The gap between the operating costs of PICA's performance space and what can be reasonably passed on to producers and audiences through higher prices has grown to an unsustainable level," Ms Barrett-Lennard said.

PICA's 21-year peppercorn State lease expires in July 2012 but prospective cafe operators were deterred by the ongoing uncertainty over whether it would be renewed, Ms Barrett-Lennard said.

Planning, Culture and the Arts Minister John Day said in December that the Government had been working to sort out tenure arrangements for several Cultural Centre properties by early this year.

Yesterday, Mr Day said he was disappointed that the legal and governance complexities meant the tenure matter still had not been finalised. "While this issue is yet to be resolved, PICA's recent decision should not be linked to lease negotiations," he said.

Mr Day said the Department of Culture and the Arts would hire a consultant to help PICA review its operations to better capitalise on the revitalisation of Northbridge.

The PICA theatre, which attracts about 12,000 patrons a year to its cutting-edge local, interstate and international touring shows, has been operating for 20 years.

Its closure comes two years after the Rechabites Hall theatre in nearby William Street was shut and will coincide with the opening of the new $91 million State Theatre Centre.

The new complex is a central plank in the revitalisation of the Cultural Centre, which has been spruced up recently with new cafe pods, an urban orchard and other landscaping, new seating and improved security.

PICA gets State core funding of $654,500 and $260,000 from the Federal Government. But CPI-linked funding increases were being outstripped by rising production costs such as security, wages, insurance and power bills, Ms Barrett-Lennard said.

The funding troubles follow recent moves by the WA Museum and the Art Gallery of WA to close one day a week to save money after budget cuts.

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