Moray Barber: We need Annie Inglis spirit to save Aberdeen Arts Centre I spent a decade helping to run

Press and Journal

21-05-2025

Have a think about the great leaders the world has seen, the people who have changed the lives of others for the better. They were all optimists.
Could Gandhi have sacrificed so much if he didn't believe that the colonialists would eventually change their minds and leave India?
When Martin Luther King said: 'I have a dream', do you think he meant 'I'm hopeful but I can't see it happening to be honest'?
Of course not. Malala, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela – all believed they could effect positive change.
And what about Alex Ferguson on his way to Gothenburg to beat Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners Cup? Ok, that was perhaps self-belief over optimism but I'm sure many of the fans sailing on the St Clair were the latter.
Self-belief and optimism are closely intertwined but when the balance tips towards the optimist that's when real change can happen. However, it's hard to be an optimist in challenging times.
The Aberdeen Arts Centre is experiencing an incredibly challenging time following an unsuccessful application this year for funding from the city council. Its long-term sustainability is at risk.
The team behind Aberdeen Arts Centre has mobilised the community – past, present and future – to rally around, to find their voice. It's a group of people who know and understand that the Arts Centre isn't simply a building. It's a fundamental part of their lives.
I could write another essay on the importance of culture in our lives. However, for now, this is a story about local people and what they can achieve in challenging times with the required dose of resilience, self-belief and optimism.
When the 'Save the Arts Centre' campaign was launched earlier this week, my social media was flooded with people sharing the news. It demonstrates how much the place is beloved by people in the north-east. Tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people must have been on the stage, watched their sons or daughters perform there, been to see friends' star shine. They'll have laughed and cried. They'll have seen lives change for the better there.
Support has been pledged from inspirational creative forces including Laura Main, Brian Cox and Dame Evelyn Glennie. A video was released starring a young performer from Phoenix Theatre, a group who have steadfastly stood by the Arts Centre through thick and thin. Somewhat poignantly, the youth Theatre Group Ragamuffins are celebrating their 30th-anniversary production with The Little Mermaid at the Arts Centre this week. There are too many other similar groups to name here.
See the themes? Youth, encouragement, commitment, community.
The Arts Centre represents the beating heart of the city – it isn't simply a building. It is a home for creative young people. It offers users a chance to learn new skills and it brings people together. At times like these, we need this more than ever.
It champions new, emerging talent – writers, musicians, performers. The team at Aberdeen Arts Centre know these artists. Its independence as a venue gives it the permission to support everyone. Despite constant reductions in funding over the years, the ethos has always been to offer affordable opportunities for the city's young people.
Full disclosure, I was on the Board for 10 years and love the place and what it stands for. As a student, I was fortunate to meet and work with Annie Inglis, who fought her own dogged but inspiring campaign to rally the community and keep the Arts Centre alive in the late 90s when the city council wanted to close it.
Annie and her team won the day. How? By demonstrating that the Arts Centre was the only place in the city that could support grassroots theatre. To offer inclusive creative learning programmes. By bringing the community together. Yes, there are other theatres in the city. There is only one Arts Centre that can truly provide those things.
The ask is simple – the centre needs either donations, for you to spread the word of the financial support required in the hope others can contribute or to simply show up and demonstrate your support. Or to go see and show and maybe donate a pound on your way out.
I've two additional asks – one for the local councillors and one for everyone else. To anyone reading this who thinks a pledge, no matter how small, won't make a difference, then be optimistic. It will make a difference to the lives of so many young people, current and in the future.
Secondly, I'd like to see the elected councillors form a cross-party working group to collaborate on how they can help the Arts Centre. Cross party you say? Now?
It might feel like a big ask, but it's not. Not really. It's a bit of energy, time, collaboration, positivity and leadership. Imagine the goodwill that those participating councillors might create if they did? Of course, they are busy. We all are. But, hey, I'm an optimist.
The technologist Kevin Kelly has the following as his website by-line:
'Over the long term, the future is decided by optimists'.
So, whilst the community does its bit to raise the funds required and rallies around our local institution, I believe that the elected officials will think about the good they can do in the world over the long term and support the volunteers who have played their part in keeping the stage lights on for the last 25 or so years.
Thanks to anyone who has already supported the cause and to anyone who is considering getting involved. The Arts Centre needs your creativity. And it needs your belief in securing a brighter future. Link to donate –
https://justgiving/campaign/saveaberdeenartscentre
Moray Barber is managing partner at EY Aberdeen and a performer and writer with The Flying Pigs