Late Shows launch for arts centre Crowdfunder
Newcastle Arts Centre aims to improve access for all
Hundreds of people annually head for Newcastle Arts Centre for The Late Shows which makes it the ideal platform for launching a Crowdfunder appeal.
So says Mike Tilley who began fashioning the arts centre from a mish-mash of derelict historic buildings on Westgate Road back in 1981 and for whom it has been a labour of love and a constant challenge to ingenuity.
What the place has become, a well-used complex with the popular Black Swan Bar & Venue at its heart, is testament to his vision and perseverance.
But now the aim is to raise £33,000 to enhance its currently limited disabled access, which is to say a staff-assisted service lift offering a route to the venue space but not to the bar, for which customers have to use stairs.
More than just a service area for drinks, the Black Swan bar hosts a lot of the arts centre’s music programme and is a social space serving as the main entrance to the venue.
Newcastle Arts Centre Trust, established as a charity in 1989, plans to use the money raised to install a two-stop platform in The Black Swan, between its entrance foyer and the bar.
“We envision this lift offering a fully integrated and inclusive welcome to all guests who visit the Black Swan,” say the trustees.
“Beyond this, we want it to broaden the city centre options for disabled audiences to experience music, performance and social spaces.”
For The Late Shows today (Saturday, May 17, 6-10pm) there will be a self-portrait project going on in the arts centre, offering visitors the chance to create a self-portrait – or a portrait of a friend – to display on the gallery walls.
Some of the arts centre’s course tutors will be on hand to guide you and what results from the project – they’re hoping for a lot of lifelike pictures - will remain on the walls until May 24.
Meanwhile, from 7.30pm, there will be music in the Black Swan Bar & Venue from Bellavana, a five-piece band led by vocalist Belinda Voshtina which specialises in salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia and bolero.
Moroccan-style street food by Epicurus Catering will be available in Black Swan Court where you can feast your eyes on the arts centre’s many wonders, including stonework from a Roman milecastle and one of the most fabulous stage props ever made – a representation of The Iron Man from a stage adaptation of the Ted Hughes novel.
How it wound up here is just one story among many associated with the place.
To find out what’s on offer throughout the year by way of classes, courses and events, go to the Newcastle Arts Centre website.
And if you want to contribute to the Crowdfunder appeal, the link is here.