Beloved Scottish singer Eddi Reader has spoken out in defence of Irvine's Harbour Art Centre (HAC) which is at risk of being shut down as part of North Ayrshire Council's plan to make £14.5m in cuts.
The critically acclaimed artist is standing up for the HAC after a leaked revenue budget dossier confirmed North Ayrshire Council is considering shutting down the town's last remaining music venue and theatre in a bid to save a meagre £49,000.
Eddi first moved to Bourtreehill in 1976 as part of the Glasgow overspill and the former Fairground Attraction frontwoman found an artistic home in the HAC.
She said: "The HAC was a very important place for a musical child like me to have somewhere to go.
"It offered me a great space not just for singing, but visual arts like painting, and drama classes which helped to grow confidence in public speaking, and the folk scene offered a story of Scottish history and modern songwriting.
"The HAC had a vital role to play in my musical education; it was all-encompassing.
"The people who were involved in the HAC, those in the Irvine Development Council (IDC), and Mr McDonald, the art teacher at Greenwood Academy, were all invested in helping children have access to see other artists' work, instill our ambition to perform, mentor us and show us exhibits.
"Billy Connolly, Danny Kyle, and all the icons of the folk scene used to do performances there so we could go to the HAC as trainees and learn our craft.
"The HAC is breathing space to escape the drudgery and find entertainment, increase creativity and inspire.
"Unless we nurture our creative energy, we kind of end up dying before our bodies die.
"I needed somewhere to go and the HAC gave me that and if you want other kids to come along you're going to have to bite the bullet and realise it's a worthy investment, just as worthy as lights in the streets.
"It's not up to me, but if it was I'd get them hunted."
Eddi believes Irvine will fight to keep the art venue alive.
Speaking about the potential closure, she added: "If you want to kill off your artist children go ahead but I would say shutting down the HAC is a little bit shortsighted because those future artists can bring revenue back to the whole country.
"Money saving and short-term thinking will always threaten artists but we need the support of the community to say they don't want this vital source removed.
"I don't think the closure will happen because the people in Irvine want the HAC.
"Until we live in a world where we treat music and art as important as selling cornflakes in ASDA then we'll be forever tormented by those people that see short-term money as more important than the billions you create by investing in our children."
Last week, North Ayrshire Council claimed that "no decisions have yet been taken on budget savings for next year".
But they admitted that "difficult options are likely to be considered" as part of balancing the books, with the public to be consulted in due course.
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