The director of the charity which delivers Glasgow's cultural and leisure services has said that "now is the time to act" if Glaswegians want to enjoy art and culture and live performances in the future.
Jill Miller (OBE), Director of Cultural Services at Glasgow Life, made the appeal in a now deleted blog post published on the website for the Centre for Culture, Sports and Events research centre at the University of the West of Scotland.
Entitled 'The Impact of Covid-19 – A view from Glasgow Life', she notes that the charity now finds itself in a "precarious position financially" following the loss of "tens of millions of pounds of income" - which means that "a return to anything like the pre-Covid days won’t be possible".
"The worst part of the situation has been "the human impact caused by the complete halt put on live performance and events", with the livelihoods "of countless artists, musicians and performers" permanently damaged overnight.
"The experience of lockdown has been limiting in every way. The tangible benefits of artistic and cultural engagement have been evident in their absence.
"People have shown they feel lost, bored, unfulfilled and unchallenged without the activities which give shape and purpose to their lives", Jill Miller (OBE) writes.
"We all, collectively have a choice to make about the future we want to have. If we want to enjoy art and culture, if we love live performance and the thrill of interesting creative experiences, now is the time to act."
To do so, she is appealing to people "going to Kelvingrove Art Gallery from mid-August or any other museum or culture venue" to please make a donation, or to contribute by purchasing a virtual ticket to an online event or via a monthly donations to cultural organisations.
In the meantime, Jill Miller (OBE) confirmed that, in a current climate that has seen "much of the arts and culture sector fighting for its very existence" due to the coronavirus pandemic, Glasgow Life is "going to ask for all the support we can get".
Glasgow Life is currently navigating through a phased reopening of 61 venues between now and October. Among them, Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum reopened its doors a few weeks ago.
