Statement on the Campaign to Save Aberdeen Arts Centre

The Society of Authors in Scotland supports the campaign to save Aberdeen Arts Centre.

For years, the Centre has played a vital role in Aberdeen’s cultural and civic life. It offers one of the few truly accessible spaces in the city where creativity can flourish at a grassroots level. From supporting emerging writers to offering young people a chance to explore the arts, it has helped shape a vibrant and inclusive creative hub in the local community.

The rising running costs reflects a wider challenge facing arts organisations across Scotland and the UK. Too often, spaces that provide long-term social and cultural value are left vulnerable to short-term funding pressures. This campaign is a reminder of the need for lasting investment in the arts and creative industries.

Mary Paulson-Ellis, SoAiS Committee Chair, and Ray Anyasi, Aberdeen-based SoAiS Committee member, said:

“Aberdeen Arts Centre is on a campaign to save the centre from closure. As a creative hub, the Aberdeen Arts Centre isn’t simply a theatre, but the only space dedicated to grassroot arts in Aberdeen. It supports local writers’ group, providing writing lessons for young people.

The Society of Authors in Scotland Committee strongly believes the Arts Centre, an important resource for writers and other creatives in the North East, is too critical to be shut down.

This situation further buttresses the urgency for a sustainable and reliable funding strategy for art organisations across Scotland that looks beyond immediate economic returns but sees their role in the human development index of the wider society.”

The Society of Authors believes that safeguarding spaces like Aberdeen Arts Centre are essential to Scotland’s cultural and civic life. It is time to move beyond short-term fixes and move towards a model that recognises the full contribution of the arts to the Scottish economy.

You can view the crowdfunder here