The fundraising drive to save the venue has raised £168,000, but there’s still work to do.
Throughout the Save Aberdeen Arts Centre campaign, Laura Main has been there, showing up and lending her support. Last night, at the summer programme launch, it became official: she’s the venue’s new patron. The room broke into rapturous applause.
Main grew up in Aberdeen and spent her school holidays at creative workshops in the Arts Centre. She landed her first lead role there, playing Annie in Phoenix Theatre’s debut production, and not long after appeared in the opening show from Aberdeen Youth Music Theatre. She went on to star in BBC’s Call the Midwife, but the Arts Centre is where it started.
Main also fronts a short documentary about the centre and the performers who’ve shaped it.
Still here, fighting hard
That phrase kept coming up at the launch. Presenters said it in different ways, but the message was the same. Aberdeen Arts Centre is an independent venue run by registered charity Castlegate Arts Ltd, and it has been operating for more than 60 years. Over 35 local performing groups rehearse and perform there, children and adults take part in creative workshops, and early-career artists get space and support to develop their work.
For a city that has seen cultural venues come under real pressure in recent years, the Arts Centre remains one of the few grassroots spaces where community-led performance happens regularly. It’s not a receiving house for touring productions. It’s where local people get on stage, sometimes for the first time. As Main put it: “Speak to anyone in Aberdeen, and they all have a tale to tell about the Arts Centre.”
For over 60 years, opportunities have been provided here that simply aren’t available anywhere else – and we are fiercely passionate about continuing that tradition for another 60 years and beyond.
Sharon Catchpole, executive director of Aberdeen Arts Centre
Worth fighting for
The Save Aberdeen Arts Centre campaign has raised £168,000 so far. But the centre isn’t safe yet, and there’s still a lot of work to be done. The mood at the launch was delightfully positive. This building has survived because people care about it, and the patron announcement is a way of bringing the campaign to a wider audience.
We think Aberdeen Arts Centre is worth fighting for. If you want to find out more about the campaign, or contribute, head to aberdeenartscentre.com.
