Please check in here for further news from us as things develop, we’ll be keeping this blog updated as well as our social media channels.
Update – 19/03/2020
On Monday, to prioritise keeping people safe, we took the decision to close Battersea Arts Centre temporarily to the public and to cancel performances of Daughter and unReal City.
We anticipate that the guidelines from the government may be updated soon, to suggest public gatherings are avoided for a longer period of time. To pre-empt this and to give artists as much notice and support as we can, we have decided to cancel all remaining performances in the Going Global season. Thank you to all those involved with Daughter, unReal City, this year’s Homegrown Festival, Girl Meets Boy, Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran, Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Swimming Pools, Neither Here Nor There, Mawaan Rizwan: Werk In Progress and Lucy McCormick’s Life: LIVE!, for your understanding and ongoing partnership.
These exciting productions reflect exactly what we wanted to say with Tarek Iskander’s inaugural season as Artistic Director. They feature collaboration with artists locally and from around the world, telling stories of global importance that tackle world-wide issues. These cross-border collaborations are now more vital than ever.
We promise we are continuing to support these wonderful global artists and we hope to bring you their work at a future date. If you had booked to see an upcoming performance in the season, our tireless and brilliant Welcome Team will have been in touch via email.
Our iconic building has been at the heart of Battersea since 1893. It has weathered upheavals of every kind, including two world wars and a fire that destroyed its Grand Hall. But the building still stands strong, like the community it belongs to. We have sought to be a welcoming, safe and inspiring place for everyone. We have worked hard to empower the creativity of the people who work with us so that they can inspire positive change in the world. We continue to liaise with our partners across the country to find ways to support them. That includes honouring our contracts and commissions with the young people, communities and artists we work with.
Now, in this time of global difficulty, we are trying to be what our artists, communities, city, country and world need us to be at this moment. We will do our little bit, whatever it is, because all the little bits add up.
To help us continue this vital work, please consider a donation to Battersea Arts Centre. Every contribution, large or small, would really help us and the people who rely on us.
We’re confident that by working together, all of us, we’ll come out of this current crisis stronger and more connected than ever.
The whole team at Battersea Arts Centre
17/03/2020
Here at Battersea Arts Centre it is our top priority to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our visitors, artists, staff team and volunteers that make up the heart of the organisation.
Since the emergence of the current coronavirus issue, we have been keen to follow advice from the government and Public Health England on how to best keep people safe. The latest guidelines are to avoid public gatherings including theatre performances. We responded by closing the building to the public. This includes the Scratch Hub, Scratch Bar, Bee’s Knees and all performances, public events and programmes. We feel this is the most responsible thing to do now, even though it is difficult to shut our doors while people may be feeling increasingly isolated and alone.
We are closely monitoring updates and new advice and it is our aim to re-open, as soon as we can do this safely. We will be reviewing this on an ongoing basis, as we are all aware how quickly things are changing in these uncertain times. Please check in here for further news from us as things develop, we’ll be keeping this blog updated as well as our social media channels.
We offer our sincere apologies for those who are now unable to see Daughter or UnReal City. We have been immensely proud and excited to present these important shows and the teams behind both productions are heartbroken to be leaving under these circumstances. We are deeply sorry to be cutting the runs short.
If you have booked to see future performances of these affected shows, our tireless and brilliant Welcome Team have now been in touch with you via email to organise an exchange, credit, refund or donation. We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience.
Thank you to everyone for the understanding, generosity, kindness and resilience shown to us, and throughout our wider community, over this trying time. It’s more important than ever to stick together, even when apart.
The whole team at Battersea Arts Centre