Aberdeen Arts Centre 'may need to close' as funding blow scuppers future plans
When Eve Nicol took over the creative director role at Aberdeen Arts Centre earlier this year, she had grand ambitions of injecting new life into the historic theatre.
But just months later, she is now facing the threat of closing the King Street landmark.
It comes as a lifeline plea for about £170,000 in funding from the council was rejected.
A dejected Eve told us that there could soon come a 'tipping point' where bosses run out of money to keep the venue alive.
In an emotional interview, the theatre veteran lifted the lid on her fears for the future…
The 200-year-old Aberdeen Arts Centre is one of the city's most impressive buildings – having started out as the North Parish Church.
It was converted into the entertainment venue in 1963, providing a space for thousands of people to perform.
In 1999, Castlegate Arts was founded to run it as an independent arts venue and charity.
And in 2022, management announced major plans to modernise the centuries-old building.
Just a few months ago, Eve – originally from Glasgow – arrived to help steer it into the future.
Since coming to the Granite City, Eve says one of her 'delights' has been hearing how much the theatre means to people.
'You get a real sense that this is a place where people have discovered not only a love for the arts, but also who they are as individuals,' she smiles.
Upcoming shows planned to have audiences grinning include a production of The Little Mermaid by local group The Ragamuffins, Shazam Theatre's version of The Wizard of Oz and an evening with Still Game stars Mark Cox and Jane McCarry.
However, looking after the storied city centre premises comes at a cost.
The A-listed building is now in need of 'essential refurbishment'.
With this in mind, Castlegate Arts put in the recent application for funding.
They wanted cash to improve the building – partly to stop 'sound bleeds' and ramp up the number of shows on offer.
These 'bleeds' are where music from one performance can be heard in other parts of the facility – and they currently prevent the centre from showcasing more than one performance at a time.
However, those ambitions have now been left in limbo.
The local authority's finance committee decided not to award any cash to Aberdeen Arts Centre when members met to discuss how best to carve up £2.3m of UK Government funding.
While the brains behind other cultural projects like the Belmont Cinema revamp, Woodside's Station House Media Unit and Aberdeen Performing Arts celebrated grants, Eve and those running the venue were crestfallen.
Speaking to us in a meeting room at the troubled theatre, Eve explained how the blow could affect it.
'We are finding that more and more doors are getting closed to us, so our opportunities are getting smaller and smaller,' Eve tells us.
'And with each door that closes, the creative lives of the people of Aberdeen are getting put into more and more jeopardy.'
Eve admits the financial situation is bleak, and could put the future of this A-listed building at risk.
'By not achieving the funding, it means that we will be in a position of stasis rather than growth,' she says.
'And it's just how long that stasis is going to be sustainable for', she sighs…
'Because there will be a tipping point where it becomes unsustainable.'
With the loss of this funding, Eve tells us the risk of closure is a reality the team will have to face. They are now pondering what to do next.
Fighting the centre's corner during the cash talks, councillor Marie Boulton had stressed that the funding provided the venue with an essential 'lifeline'.
She told council members at the meeting: 'You have the ability to keep those doors open and keep those shows running.'
But finance convener Alex McLellan stood by the committee's decision-making process.
Mr McLellan told members that the centre 'did not tick' strict UK Government criteria boxes.
Reports from officials explained that projects would need to be completed by next year, among other requirements.
Mr McLellan said: 'We heard risk around Castlegate Arts in terms of not following the public pound, and the risk associated with that could mean that funding was handed back to the UK Government.
'This is an open application process, for all organisations in the city to bid into and everyone should be considered equally.
'We don't have that reassurance on some of the applications and therefore they couldn't be considered in the context of the application process.'
Eve is determined not to let the curtain fall just yet.
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