Cultural Centre looks to “continue the connection” amid closure

April 16, 2020 · 0 Comments

When the historic Church Street School was closed along with all other municipal facilities in response to COVID-19, it was hoped that cultural programming would return to its storied walls sometime this month.

But, with closures set to continue until the beginning of May at the very least, it is unlikely that cultural programming will return to the building until 2022 in anticipation of redevelopment of Library Square.

“We have cancelled all of our workshops, classes and events until the end of May,” says Suzanne Haines, Executive Director of the Aurora Cultural Centre. “What that also means for us, given the Library Square project, is, when we come back together, we will be doing so in a different venue.

“It is very challenging to have those cancellations and know we’re going into this incredible phase of infrastructure building, which means we’ll not be able to invite our community back into this home that we have had for so long. But what we’re delighted about is these relationships that we have built and are ready to go. The reality is we love – and are completely supportive of – what the Town is doing on this infrastructure and are so grateful to have a home that we do get to work out of once we’re re-opened and we really want the community to feel that they can join us in these new venues when we’re ready to gather again.”

Although the new venues the Aurora Cultural Centre has been scouting for alternative programming locations for the duration of the build are yet to be announced, they are rolling out other ways for the community to stay connected with them during the weeks and months ahead.

The Cultural Centre has recently launched a new social media campaign called Arts at Home Aurora (#artsathomeaurora), an initiative to encourage people to “think about creativity in their own way.” The Centre has done just that over the last couple of weeks, bringing some of their in-house classes online, but now they want to hear from you.

“This is about encouraging the community to think about where they are creatives and how they use their time,” explains Ms. Haines. “It can be reading a book, working on a piece of art, playing the piano, we’re encouraging the community to take pictures or videos of that and post them on social media, using the hashtag #artsathomeaurora. We’ll grab those and tag them as well because this is where people are looking to find those moments and, as adults, we need a little more encouragement.

“We tend to want that for our kids and look for those opportunities for our kids, but the bulk of the people we interact with in the community are adults and we know that we have an incredible creative community in Aurora. If you are working on a piece of writing or at home working on a piece of art or sitting down with a guitar, whether you are students or not, we want to celebrate those moments of creativity through the hashtag.”

Since the closure, the Aurora Cultural Centre has been celebrating its tenth anniversary online by digging into the vaults and sharing memories of where they have been so far. But this social media campaign is a way to look to the future and make new connections in a challenging time.

“We would love to see what evolves out of #artsathomeaurora,” says Ms. Haines. “I think we will find there are artists that maybe we don’t know, or artists who want to participate with us in a way through this. I think that is an excellent connection we can make with people who are creating in our community.

“It is inspiring to see what is happening and have the connection with the artists that we do. Compassion is a big part of what we’re seeing, so people are creating to develop or support calm in their life; they are creating to connect with a group that either they’re already connected with or know they need support, building something that can be delivered and raise others up. I have been connected to the Aurora community for almost three years now and I would say that the people I have met certainly fit that bill. Now they are showing this real interest in diving into art streams that will support others, so it is that compassion and that generosity that is heartwarming and really builds community at a time when we can’t come together.”

By Brock Weir