Safeguarding the future of An Lanntair Arts Centre has been a top priority for our charity’s board and senior team since the COVID-19 lockdown.
We have been working hard with our partners to ensure the return of An Lanntair’s visual and performing arts programme, cinema, and all its charitable education and outreach work across the community. We are looking forward to welcoming all our audiences back when we reopen after Government restrictions ease.
Unfortunately, An Lanntair’s subsidiary trading company – An Lanntair Trading Ltd – which ran our Café Bar and Shop – has ceased to trade; and on April 28, the company was placed into liquidation, with Gordon MacLure, Restructuring Partner at Johnston Carmichael LLP in Aberdeen being appointed as Liquidator of the company. This company ran the Cafe Bar and Shop at An Lanntair up until the centre closed mid-March when COVID-19 restrictions began. It is with great regret that all staff who worked for the company were made redundant immediately prior to the liquidation.
This is an extraordinarily sad and difficult time for everyone affected; some staff had worked for the company for many years, and all were committed, dedicated workers who were much loved by An Lanntair’s arts centre team and all our audiences and customers. Together with the Liquidator, our immediate focus is to ensure that all staff affected receive their entitlements and all the support they need as soon as possible by liaising with various key Government agencies, including PACE.
Looking to the future of the Arts Centre, in the coming weeks An Lanntair will explore options for establishing a future catering offer from the venue; and ways to create employment for local people once the Government’s COVID-19 restrictions allow us to open An Lanntair’s doors again. Importantly, we will continue to focus on our core values as a diverse, inclusive, creative space for local people and visitors; a Gaelic hub and a vibrant community environment. We look forward to being able to share our plans soon, widely and openly across our community.
A huge amount of work is still happening online through our busy education and programming teams here at An Lanntair, including adult classes, workshops for young people, children and families, and artist support and mentoring. For more information on all of that, please visit our website here: http://lanntair.com/
We wish everyone in our community and all our friends world-wide the very best at this challenging time.