When arts venues locked up their doors in March last year, none could have foreseen the way the future would pan out.
Furlough, funding and no shows became reality as uncertainty plagued the sustainability of arts venues and organisations across the country.
With vaccine rollouts heralding the lifting of restrictions, the long-awaited return to live events has been wholly embraced in recent months.
Red-curtain theatre shows and glorious gigs have been re-igniting people’s passion for the arts with a renewed sense of perspective.
Gone are the days of mediocre midweek gigs – every live event now feels that bit more special.
But what do things really look like behind the scenes?
Last October, we spoke to organisations from Aberdeen to Shetland who were battling to stay afloat.
One year on, and with shows taking place again, the mood is understandably positive.
Challenges remain, but are our arts venues in a position to be thriving once again?
Shetland Arts
I think we’re accepting that it’s going to be a long haul.
These are the words of Shetland Arts chief executive, Graeme Howell.
Relief funding from Creative Scotland and various stakeholders allowed Shetland Arts to invest in local creative communities while its shows were cancelled and staff were on furlough.
It has a fuller programme of online and in-person events now, but Graeme remains cautious about the recovery period that lies ahead for the organisation.
“A lot of events have resorted back to being in-person,” he says.
“The challenge with online, as much as it improves access for some people, is that in Shetland there’s still a bit of a digital divide.
“We’re still working out what the best approach is moving forward.”
Graeme goes on to add that implementing some of the lessons that the organisation has learned from the pandemic will be crucial.
“(The pandemic has) taught us that creativity and resilience go hand in hand,” says Graeme.
“At the minute, it’s not about trying to get back to where we were.
“It’s about trying to take the lessons we’ve learned and working out what the new future needs to look like – which is exciting.”
Across its three venues — Mareel and the Garrison Theatre in Lerwick as well as Bonhoga Gallery in Weisdale — Shetland Arts has so far witnessed a 60-65% return of its usual audiences.
It’s looking forward to hosting a range of dance, pantomime and theatre events in the run-up to Christmas and, in turn, keeping alight the importance of arts and culture within Shetland’s communities.
“From the music scene to the arts scene, there’s a lot of homegrown talent here,” says Graeme.
“There’s still a lot of challenges, (but) the recovery is happening.”
Aberdeen Arts Centre
Stephanie Walls is the manager of Aberdeen Arts Centre (AAC).
The venue was the first in Aberdeen to welcome back visitors to an in-person event in May this year with its performance of kids’ favourite, Artie’s Singing Kettle.
Since then, the mood among staff, volunteers and visitors has continued to blossom.
“Everyone is so happy to be back,” says Stephanie.
“We’re getting into the swing of things and are getting busier and busier.”
Stephanie began her full-time role at AAC after working as a professional actor and drama facilitator in London.
Originally from Leeds, she says she’s still learning the Doric lingo through working on projects the centre runs, including theatre, comedy and dance productions.
During lockdown, Stephanie felt that AAC had to “reimagine and reinvent” to stay connected with its audience.
“We adapted our youth theatre to provide socially distanced sessions once lockdown eased in 2020 and later developed online versions when the second lockdown came in,” Stephanie explains.
“We also designed and created 30 socially distanced ‘pods’ to keep audience members two metres apart.
My team worked incredibly hard to keep everyone safe and entertained. I’m very proud of us all.
As in-person shows become more frequent, safety is remaining paramount at AAC.
“As we move towards more non-socially distanced shows, we will still try to give people the option to spread out in public areas and in the auditorium,” she says.
“(This way) everyone can get back to the theatre and public spaces in their own way and we’re looking forward to next year’s very busy calendar.”
Aberdeen Gig Promotions
Grassroots music venues have been among some of the worst-hit businesses during the pandemic.
Ross Calder, of Aberdeen Gig Promotions (AGP), has been running gigs in the Granite City for more than 10 years in small-capacity venues including Tunnels and Café Drummond.
With live shows returning, there’s been a large backlog of shows for Ross to reschedule recently.
“We’ve currently got 18 months of shows to fit into a six-month period,” says Ross.
“I tend to have three or four shows a week on average, but we’re sometimes doing two or three shows a night now in different venues.”
AGP received funding support from the Music Venue Trust and Creative Scotland during lockdown.
Though Ross says the funding was “miles off its normal income,” he adds that safety was – and still is – the main thing to be considered.
“Everyone’s been complying with the rules since gigs have been back,” says Ross.
“I think this helps to breathe confidence into (gigs coming back again).
There’s an appetite for people going out to shows right now.
Logistical challenges such as sudden isolation cases of door staff or sound engineers is something that Ross feels anxious about going forward.
But like many, the pandemic has taught him to enjoy live experiences with a renewed sense of purpose.
“(The pandemic has) made me more conscious about unexpected things like this happening again,” he says.
“But from a personal point of view, it’s taught me to just go to more gigs and not to be put off if it’s on a Tuesday night.
“I’d regret not going to it when there’s nothing for two years.”
An Lanntair, Stornoway
An Lanntair is a cultural hub in the Outer Hebrides.
Music, literature, film and art are all commonplace at the Stornoway seafront venue.
Its new executive director, Luke Collins, has worked with arts organisations across Scotland and believes that An Lanntair offers its visitors something different.
“It’s thoroughly embedded in the sense of place and community here around Lewis and Harris,” says Luke.
“I’m delighted to have joined the team.”
Last October, An Lanntair’s former chief executive, Elly Fletcher, was delighted to welcome events back to An Lanntair at the end of the first lockdown.
Post-second lockdown in 2021, Luke has followed in Elly’s footsteps in going full steam ahead towards crafting a fully scheduled programme.
“Everything is pretty much running at full capacity now,” says Luke.
“We recently started our literature festival and Faclan Fringe events, which are creating a buzz around the venue.”
Luke also believes that the venue’s island heritage has allowed it to prevail through the pandemic and become a home to visitors once again.
“An Lanntair is a beacon and we’re very used to weathering the storms and keeping the lights on burning brightly,” says Luke.
“The proof is in the pudding; we’ve got bums on seats and people coming out to see things.
It’s time for people to come back.
Aberdeen Performing Arts
September 2021 marked the opening of Aberdeen Performing Arts’ (APA) three Aberdeen venues after spending 18 months behind closed doors.
Last year, chief executive Jane Spiers told us that the organisation had “a mountain to climb” to stay afloat.
But after receiving more than £800,000 in relief funding and public campaigns, APA director of marketing and communications, Leah Hodder, feels that the team are beginning to find their feet again.
“We’re so grateful to all of our funders as well as our customers who have been really supportive,” says Leah.
“We’ve been really busy the past couple of weeks with a higher customer turnout than we would’ve expected.
“It’s really starting to feel like we’re back on our feet again.”
Though Leah stresses that the arts sector is “not out of the woods yet,” new features including e-ticketing and Covid safety accreditations are helping to ensure customer safety at APA’s venues.
“We’re accredited as having See it Safely venues,” says Leah.
“This is an industry-wide accreditation to show that our venues are Covid secure and are complying with a lot of Covid safety measures,” says Leah.
We’re really pleased with the feedback from our audiences so far who’re saying that they do feel safe.
Despite facing many challenges, APA has managed to take many positives from the pandemic.
“I think (the pandemic) has made us resilient as a team,” says Leah.
“It’s brought us much closer together and we have a lot more understanding of exactly what people’s jobs entail, which is a really positive thing.
“We’re feeling really optimistic about the future.”
Eden Court, Inverness
This summer heralded a jubilant return to outdoor music festivals throughout the country, including Under Canvas, run by Inverness’ Eden Court.
Chief executive, James Mackenzie-Blackman, told us last year that his organisation was playing a “nightmare game of diary Jenga” to reschedule cancelled shows and events.
But has Eden Court wakened from this nightmare yet?
“The pandemic has been a complete rollercoaster, to be honest,” says James.
“It’s showed us the critical role that arts and culture plays in people’s lives.
“We’re in the business of bringing people together and we’ve not been able to do that for a very long time, so we’re delighted to be back.”
Eden Court received £750,000 of relief funding from the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland while it remained closed.
James says the organisation “wouldn’t be here” without the funding it received.
“It’s stabilised the business, protected jobs and allowed us to employ freelance artists to deliver special projects during these difficult times,” he adds.
But with the onus on arts venues opening up, so too will the onus shift to visitor uptake in allowing the organisation to thrive post-pandemic.
“Eden Court’s recovery now is completely dependent on people coming to visit us,” James explains.
“It’s highly unlikely that there will be any more emergency money.
We really need people to support Eden Court by buying tickets, coffees, wines and walking back through our doors.
P&J Live
P&J Live was an exception to most live event venues around Scotland during the pandemic.
Its temporary transformation into a mass vaccination centre saw 150,000 people walk through its doors to receive their Covid vaccines.
Louise Stewart, head of entertainment, exhibitions and marketing at P&J Live, says that turning the venue into a vaccination centre is something she would do again “in a heartbeat”.
“We got a bit of a light when the venue turned into the vaccination centre,” says Louise.
“In terms of project managing and executing, that’s what our guys are trained to do.
“It gave us a purpose and it meant that there was a bit of warmth in the place.”
Within the last few weeks, P&J Live welcomed Tim Minchin to its Aberdeen stage after more than 18 months with no events.
In the months to come, it’s set to introduce Covid passport checks to some of its standing events, including Deacon Blue and Madness in December.
“Prior to every event, we send out ticket alerts so that audiences are informed well in advance of what to expect,” says Louise.
“The security team are being trained on the vaccine passport processes just now.
“It’s all about keeping people safe and if people get a bit of comfort from it, then that helps.”
Adaptability in the face of adversity has allowed the venue to reinstate its importance as the Granite City’s major live event hub.
“There’s some good announcements coming which I’m sure people will be really chuffed about,” says Louise.
“We always say that P&J Live is about Aberdeen as a city backing the venue and buying tickets.
“Right now, it’s all going in the right direction and it feels really exciting.”
