A call for the community to support Margate music venue Elsewhere is being made as the business faces the threat of closure.
Elsewhere was opened four years ago by owner Alex Barron of Monkey Boy Records in partnership with Sammy Clarke, of Arts Cool, and Ciaran Cliffe, previously from Smugglers Records,. The arts bar and music venue was one of the first businesses to help revive The Centre and encourage others to move in.
But now, after surviving the challenges brought by the covid pandemic, the venue could shut due to the impact of the cost of living crisis.
A call for supporters to join a fundraising launch at Elsewhere tomorrow (October 8) has now been made.
In a social media post on the Elsewhere page it says: “To friends and supporters of Elsewhere, it brings us deep and profound sadness to be writing this; But our beloved grassroots music venue and community arts space is currently facing a severe threat of permanent closure following successive months of diminishing advance ticket and bar sales since April.
“These tenuous circumstances for our culture and livelihoods have arisen and are owing to what has been witnessed as a downturn in event attendances; a result of the cost of living crisis that has impacted everybody’s spending decisions as we all very understandably choose between buying that gig ticket, record or drink at the bar or keeping on top of our electricity bills – ours have tripled since the beginning of April of this year!
“Our last night of trading, whilst we spend the next few weeks campaigning and fighting to save our venue, will be this Saturday 8th October.
“We would like to invite everybody, old friends and new friends alike to meet us outside of the venue at 7pm for a supporters photo; a snapshot of the community in all of its might and resilience that will spark us off as we set about trying to save Elsewhere and then building it a further, sustainable future.”
The crowdfunder aimed at saving Elsewhere will also be launched tomorrow night.
