Dear Members and Supporters,
We hope this email finds you safe and well in these challenging times.We are very aware that many of you may be self-isolating, supporting family members and no doubt experiencing some anxiety. It is more important than ever that while we must ‘physically distance’ we must endeavour to remain socially connected and take care of each other.
Please be assured your Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation Board is continuing to operate and provide support to the Newcastle Art Gallery and its team during this time. Your Board and its subcommittees will continue to meet regularly via video conference rather than in person. Like many organisations we see this as an opportunity for us to innovate and increase the technical and online capability of the Foundation.
In line with public health requirements and in consultation with Newcastle Art Gallery, we have either cancelled or postponed our planned member events, fundraisers and back-of-house experiences for the foreseeable future.We will keep you regularly updated as the situation evolves.
Newcastle Art Gallery has temporarily suspended operations in line with Government health directives. During this time the Art Gallery team will be developing new online initiatives to connect with audiences. This will include sharing exhibition virtual tours, collection highlights and ‘behind the scenes’ videos.
In terms of our financial position, please be assured that all our equity investments are long term and we expect them to recover over time as the world stabilises. The Foundation will continue to receive an income stream from these investments, and also holds a significant proportion of its asset base in cash. We will continue to monitor these investments closely to ensure we are in the best possible financial position to continue to support Newcastle Art Gallery during and beyond this crisis.
We find ourselves in the most difficult of times but, as always, the visual and creative arts will remain central to helping us through; providing us with inspiration, distraction and reminding us of our common humanity. We are all in this together.
Thank you for your ongoing support and please let us know if there is anything we can do for you during this time.
Suzie Galwey (Chair)
On behalf of the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation Board