Tuar Ard Manager, Donna Gilligan, has afforded her gratitude to patrons of the popular arts centre in Moate as the detrimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resultS in a number of live entertainment postponements and cancellations.
"In this strange and uncertain arts climate, we would like to sincerely thank all of the patrons, artists, promoters, supplier, and arts workers that we work with for their support and understanding, and wish them all well during this time.
"While our shows and events are currently stalled, we cannot wait to welcome them back to Tuar Ard to work with them again in better times. We wish you, our audience and supporters, all the very best in these times - we hope that you, your family, and your friends, all stay safe and well.
"We will get through this together and we look forward to entertaining you all again in the near future. It would also be remiss of us not to extend our thanks and gratitude to our exceptional frontline workers, who go to extraordinary lengths to protect, secure, and serve us all in their everyday work," Donna emphasised.
The Theatre Manager also provided detailed information for those who had tickets for forthcoming events at Tuar Ard.
"All scheduled events from March to July have been cancelled/postponed. Following the statement from An Taoiseach on Friday, May 1, Tuar Ard Arts Centre will remain closed until at least July 20, with the additional likelihood that it will continue its closure until August 10.
"This will be decided following an assessment of how our space can best suit government recommended social distancing requirements, to protect both our staff and our customers. Our phone lines will not be operational during this period of closure of the Centre. Please email [email protected] with any queries, or contact us through our Facebook page.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and keep up to date with all public health advice as this situation evolves. The status of all events can be viewed on our website, which is updated regularly. We do hope to reschedule all cancelled/postponed shows, and as such, tickets previously purchased for these shows will all be valid for the rescheduled dates.
"Full refunds will also be available for those who would prefer them when we reopen to the public, and we thank you for your patience with this. We are unfortunately unable to issue electronic refunds via phone/online for Box Office cash and card purchases. For those awaiting these, we sincerely thank you for your patience in waiting until we can dispense this refund in person," Donna added.
Donna further addressed the future for Tuar Ard and the arts world in general.
"Although our doors are currently closed, we are working behind the scenes to investigate and implement new ways to keep our audiences safe and comfortable when the Centre reopens, and we continue to look towards scheduling new programmes of events for later in 2020 and Spring/Summer in 2021. We hope to continue our work on our ongoing collaborative cultural projects, regional art exhibitions, varied workshops, and wide range of workshops, shows, and activities.
"Many of our local, national, and international artists have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by sharing their work online, and by creating inventive and accessible digital performances that have helped to provide us all with some welcome entertainment and reflection during these times. Tuar Ard shares a number of these performances and activities through its Facebook page on a daily basis, so please do give us a follow as we continue to circulate a range of artistic and creative entertainment through this platform. If you are a local or regional artist with any ideas for a live/shareable initiative to which we could provide a platform, please do feel free to get in touch with us at [email protected]," Donna concluded.
