An online fund-raiser set up just days ago to help save Newcastle's Side Gallery has already raised almost £56,000 - just shy of its lifeline target.
The gallery, which has had its home on Side - just off the Quayside - since 1977, was forced to close its doors on Easter Sunday due to 'critical' funding cuts and the cost of living crisis. It fears its closure will be permanent but, at the same time, it is hanging onto the hope that it might be saved.
With enough financial help behind it, it thinks it could re-open in September 2024 so it launched a £60,000 #SaveSide Crowdfunder campaign. And, by this Monday, this had raised a remarkable £55,726 - 92% of its target.
Read more: Tyneside Cinema's plea for help as it faces 'worst funding crisis in its history'
A huge show of support has come from the arts community and the delighted Side Gallery says it is "blown away by all the other cultural organisations and creatives standing beside us". The scale of the response is a sign of the esteem in which the gallery - devoted to documentary photography and film exhibitions - is held and, with 43 days of the campaign still to go, the signs now are far more positive regarding its long-term survival.
News of the closure, which was announced on the gallery's Facebook page, provoked an outcry from fans who called it "shocking"; "terrible" and "heartbreaking". One described the unique venue - home to Amber Film & Photography Collective which has captured a social record of Newcastle since the sixties - a "gem of artistic and cultural heritage".
Among those sharing their concerns was Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah who tweeted her "upset" at the closure of the gallery which she said has documented marginalised people and landscapes in the North East through film and photography. She added: "I hope Side secures funding so that Geordies can continue to see our lives reflected and our stories told."
To date, the fund-raiser has received 1,592 pledges of support and 598 messages from well-wishers with new comments on Monday including "Good luck, Side Gallery - we need you, what you've done is really important" and "Good luck Side! We love you."
Another read: "Regular visitors since 1979 we cannot envisage Newcastle and the North East without the social commentary and sheer beauty to be found at the Side. Very much with you to keep The Side open for future generations."
Side Gallery will receive the pledges made if the £60,000 target can be reached during the campaign's run-time. To support the online fund-raiser and watch a short film about Side and its work, see here.
Read Next
