New Video Shows What Aberdeen Arts Centre Means to the Community
The campaign pushes to protect a valued creative space right in the heart of the city.
It’s not the polished shots or carefully chosen words that make the new Castlegate Arts video land. It’s the voices. A young person who found confidence on stage. A parent who made memories there with their child. A former youth performer now working in the arts. Each person speaks plainly about what Aberdeen Arts Centre gives them, and what’s at risk if it disappears.
The four-minute film, part of the Save Aberdeen Arts Centre campaign, doesn’t try to oversell its message. It’s a reminder that places like this matter not because they’re perfect, but because people grow in them.
Built on trust, shaped by community
Castlegate Arts has run the venue since 1999. Over the last few years, a new strategy has brought in a professional team, focused on making the space more welcoming, sustainable and rooted in the needs of the people using it. That includes amateur theatre groups, youth performers, and community projects that rely on it to keep their work going.
But that progress is under pressure. According to Castlegate, lease terms are blocking access to key sources of funding. Even if those change, funding can take time to arrive, and there’s no safety net to cover the shortfall in between. The charity says it can’t cross that gap without urgent support.
To address this, they’ve launched a three-year campaign to raise £660,000 and secure the centre’s future.
“We’re asking for backing”
“We’re not asking to be rescued,” says creative director Eve Nicol in the video. “We’re asking for backing to keep building stability… and to continue our trusted, valued approach of creating space for Aberdeen’s people to be seen, heard and celebrated.”
It’s a phrase that feels grounded in experience. The trust people place in Castlegate isn’t abstract. It comes from years of work supporting local groups, often behind the scenes, and from making space for people who might not find a welcome elsewhere.
More than memories
The building has been part of the city’s cultural life for over 60 years. Alongside the 350-seat auditorium and café bar, it includes flexible spaces for workshops, meetings and exhibitions, as well as the Children’s Theatre—founded by Catherine Hollingworth and still used for artist development.
But its significance is shaped less by its features than by the people who use it. The video captures this well. It isn’t about the past so much as the futures people fear might be lost. Without action, Dame Evelyn Glennie says, “we don’t just lose a building, we lose futures, we lose voices, and we lose hope.”
Find out more: www.aberdeenartscentre.com/save-aberdeen-arts-centre
