Reopening Arts Centres: 5 May Meeting

In the difficult times of this COVID-19 pandemic, the many challenges of reopening arts centres have thankfully replaced the March closures and cancellation of performances. The Government announcement of a Phased Reopening from 18 May has put a timeline and milestones in place to reopen cafés, galleries, theatres and dance studios at various times over the summer.

Peter Jordan and Joanne Moore, SLUA Event Safety Consultancy with support from many of the sector’s stakeholders, representatives and experts, outlined the project timeline in light of the Government’s Phased Reopening Announcement as well as defining the project scope, aims and the work already underway. You can now watch the briefing back on this link.

A Working Group, chaired by Patricia McBride, has been established and will meet regularly with the team. If you have any questions or want to highlight issues of concern, please email director@theatreforum.ie indicating if you would like to attend a Working Group meeting.

Preparing to re-open Arts Centres will require systems changes through comprehensive business and organisational planning, putting in place the protocols and procedures as well as strict attention to occupational and public safety risk management, making specific to the sector more general guidelines as articulated, for example, by the NSAI and HSA. The aim of this project is to quickly bring that expertise to the country’s arts centres so that they can reopen as workplaces as well as safe places of assembly. Updates will be published regularly and please share all of the project information with your colleagues and networks.