Independent London venues Village Underground and EartH have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds during the venues’ ongoing COVID-19-enforced shutdown.
Both venues have been closed and unable to generate revenue since March 16, though Village Underground is currently trialling a scheme that will see it used for secure cycle parking, servicing Shoreditch and the Liverpool Street Area. There are also early plans to open a cycle park bar on Friday and Saturday nights at the venue to help offset the loss of funds in recent months due to the coronavirus closure.
"Our focus here at Village Underground and EartH is directed at protecting the existence of both venues in order to be able to resume business and employment as operating becomes feasible," a statement shared alongside the crowdfunding campaign says. "We strive to protect the long term livelihoods of our teams, and also to be part of a future for arts and music in London."
The statement continues: "It is not financially viable for us to operate at reduced capacity for most ticketed events, meaning we still don’t know when we will be able to re-open to the public and generate revenue that way again."
The team behind the dual venues stresses that none of the alternative uses that have so far been looked into for the spaces are enough to cover the lost income from hosting events.
"As things slowly go back to normal, landlords and suppliers will expect us to resume payments whilst we are still not able to restart our normal operations and generate revenue," the venues’ statement adds. "Your donations will be used to cover overheads, and where possible to provide some work to either our team or the wider arts/music industry."
In order to encourage donations, the team behind the two venues are offering a number of perks. You can find out more, and support the campaign, here.
