Supporters of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival (BDBF) have raised over £70,000 towards the crowdfunding campaign #BringBackBrightonDome.
In just 42 days, 963 donors contributed to the final total which was initially set at £25,000, when it launched in September as part of the nationwide #SaveOurTheatres campaign. The community appeal featured rewards for supporters to purchase, including art prints by renowned artists and designers from Brighton Festival’s archive.
Following Brighton Dome’s closure in March and the cancellation of Brighton Festival 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisation lost 67% of its self-generated income through ticket sales and events. The 1,800 capacity Concert Hall is only able to offer vastly reduced attendances of socially distanced performances and the Corn Exchange and Studio Theatres are undergoing major refurbishment until autumn 2021. The registered arts charity asked the public to help raise funds towards the additional £250,000 needed by the organisation to recover over the next year.
“The public’s response to our campaign has surpassed all our expectations and our thanks go to everyone who has contributed through donations, as well as the heart-warming messages that have kept us going during the closure,” said Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival’s Chief Executive, Andrew Comben. “We couldn’t have done this without the generosity of the artists and designers who gave permission for us to reproduce their work and to local businesses for their time and effort. This financial help, together with the award we received from the government’s Cultural Recovery Fund, means we can be optimistic about bringing arts and culture back to the venue and the wider community in the future.”
Remaining art prints are available to purchase online from Brighton based fine art studio, The Private Press, proceeds from sales go towards Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival’s fundraising.
www.theprivatepress.org/shop/brighton-festival
www,brightonfestival.org
Brighton Dome Concert Hall image by Peter Prior
