Chapter hosts films, plays, performance art and live music, and includes a free art gallery, café and bars. There are also over 60 work spaces, used for an eclectic range of purposes including Chapter's own training courses. Twenty percent of the centre's income comes from the film theatres. It shows mainstream Hollywood films as well as a considerable array of foreign and independent films on a regular basis. The centre receives a major annual grant from the Arts Council for Wales.
Spaces
Gallery spaces
Two film theatres
Two theatres
Two bars
Café
Shop
Several spaces for hire
Many spaces for ongoing art production, resident artists, etc.
History
Chapter was founded by Welsh artists, Christine Kinsey and Bryan Jones with journalist Mike Flood and opened in 1971. The building was previously a school, Canton High School, and was built in 1905. More recently Chapter underwent a £3.8 million redevelopment, designed by architects Ash Sakula Architects, who were appointed in 2006. The practice prioritised remodelling of the public areas on the ground floor, while adding a storey-high 'light box' above the main entrance as an 'artistic billboard'. The centre remained open through the redevelopment and the new Chapter opened in November 2009. The building won a R.I.B.A. Wales Award in 2010. The new open-plan design was described as user friendly with many great details. Following the Centre's refurbishment in 2009, the number of visitors doubled to 800,000 per year, making it the second most popular attraction in Cardiff. As of March 2014 Chapter installed 60 photovoltaic solar panels to their roof providing up to 15KW of electricity. In the autumn of 2014 Chapter became a venue for the internationalArtes Mundi exhibition and art prize, which expanded for the first time beyond the National Museum Cardiff. In December 2015 Chapter announced that the main Theatre and Stiwdio spaces would be renamed to celebrate a significant donation from . The spaces will be known as Theatr Seligman Theatre and Stiwdio Seligman.
