A message from Dave Moutrey

“It’s my privilege to lead the great team that runs this building. On 4 Sept this year we reopened after 169 days of closure with a film programme and a theatre programme that sold out. On Saturday we opened an exhibition and we’ve had great attendances for that. But now we face the devastating blow of having to close down for another lockdown.

“The lockdown of our building doesn’t mean that the work stops. We’re going to be working in partnership with film distributors to make sure that we can provide you with films during lockdown, streamed online. Our three exhibitions that are currently on the walls of our gallery will be available via our website. And I can also announce today that the five theatre performances we were due to present during November will be livestreamed from Theatre 1’s stage on a pay-what-you-decide basis.

“We recognise it’s an especially difficult time for our colleagues in the freelance sector who are so vital to the cultural ecology of our city and the nation. We won’t let you down. We’ll continue to invest in commissions and developing new projects during this time and we’ll redouble our efforts to make sure there’s work out there for you. We’ll also be working very closely with our partners across the city.

“We know that the cultural sector has got an important role to play in improving mental health, reducing isolation and bringing joy and hope. And you can be assured that we will keep working very hard to make sure that we can keep doing that, and working with our partners across the city to do the same.

“It only remains now for me to say thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far, both inside the organisation and you – our customers and donors – who’ve made significant contributions to making sure that we’ll come through this. We will get through it, we will work effectively together and we will be back – and I’m looking forward to seeing you again sometime in the not-too-distant future in HOME.”

Keep safe and well.

Dave Moutrey

Director and CEO, HOME