In conversation with The Met

We are very pleased to have welcomed The Met among the organisations on the first edition of free business support programme Prosper North.
Victoria Robinson, their Chief Executive Officer, gave us the opportunity to chat about The Met and what they expect Prosper North to help them with.

Can you tell us a bit more about your organisation and your mission?
The Met is the cultural hub in the centre of Bury, one of the 10 townships in Greater Manchester.

The Met is a charity which runs a venue, recording studio and a festival. We also run outreach projects in different areas of the borough. Our work is focused around the borough of Bury although we attract regional and national audiences for our work. Each year The Met presents hundreds of events and workshops which attract 45,000 people from the region contributing to community cohesion and developing Bury’s sense of place.

We exist as an ambassador and advocate for high quality arts in our communities, with a mission to become the leading cultural brand in north Greater Manchester. Ultimately, as the go-to place for arts and music in our region, we aim to enhance well-being and make Bury a better place to live and work.

What appeals to your organisation about the Prosper North programme?
Professional business support and peer support both of which have been fantastic so far. IT’s sometimes quite an isolated position being CEO, but the programme has been very supportive, inspirational and challenging – all of which is good!!

What are the main challenges that you hope Prosper North will help you with?
Like most arts organisations we need to look at diversifying our income to support the areas of the business that are loss making but hugely valuable such as the outreach and workshops. IT’s been really good to look at each area of the business and challenge them, not just on financial return but on social value. And also challenge mission drift which is something that we are guilty of!

What are you hoping to achieve by the end of the programme?
To have analysed the organisation to ascertain which bits we need to change or develop in order for us to flourish. It’s very easy to fall into doing things because that’s how it’s always been. The programme has challenged this.

Explore The Met’s public programme here. 

Find out more about Prosper North and apply for one of the next editions here.