Aberdeen Performing Arts – which runs His Majesty’s Theatre, the Music Hall and The Lemon Tree – has launched a fundraising plea to help protect its future after the coronavirus crisis forced the closure of all three venues.
Bosses are appealing for donations to support the arts charity organisation, as the current situation takes its toll on revenue, which could have “long-lasting implications for our organisation and our friends across the industry”.
In an online appeal, APA said: “While the house lights are down we continue to work behind the scenes in trying to secure the future of Aberdeen Performing Arts.
“As an arts charity our livelihood depends on ticket income and your generosity and we would like to thank everybody who has so far chosen to donate their tickets in lieu of refunds. With your support we hope to welcome you all back to our venues soon.
“If you can, we would like to ask you to please consider donating to our charity to help protect our future. Any donation, large or small, will be very gratefully received.”
The charity also said it had been a heart-breaking decision to temporarily close the venues until further notice, but it was the only responsible course of action.
In an email to customers and supporters, APA highlighted its work in providing a programme of top-quality performing arts, supporting many other arts and cultural organisations across the region, directly employing nearly 300 people, and supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society through our creative learning and outreach work.
It said: “We are a charity, but we receive relatively little public subsidy, and so rely heavily on the income from tickets sales, which has now stopped entirely due to the coronavirus crisis. The uncertainty ahead and the prospect of being unable to generate any income at all is a huge worry and could have lasting and damaging implications for our future, as well as the future of the arts and cultural sector.”
APA said it was grateful to loyal customers for their ongoing support and the “lovely messages” received during these unprecedented times.
The statement said: “We realise that this situation will have an impact on everyone, but if you are able to, we would like to ask you to please consider donating to our charity to help protect our future. Any donation, large or small, will be very gratefully received.
“We know this is an uncertain time for us all and we are all thinking of our loved ones. We’ll be continuing to post on our social channels to brighten up your day so do stay tuned or drop us a message and we’ll get back to you
“Thank you again for everything you are doing for us – we really do appreciate it. We are looking forward to welcoming you all back and making great memories again once this is behind us all.”