
Inviting everyone out this weekend for a double whammy of festival fun for all of the family!
As our team finish up for the Christmas break we wanted to say a huge thank you to audiences, artists, partners, funders, peers and friends for the continued support over the past 12 months. It is greatly appreciated. The Platform office will close on Christmas Eve and reopen at 10am on Monday 6 January 2025.
Our Artistic Director Matt Addicott shares a look back at the past year…
"Although not without challenge, the past year has been full of great moments of hope and fun too.
The SoulsINQUEST exhibition launch in May was a particularly memorable moment for me. At this event, we heard not only from the hard working and inspiring team of photographers, artists and facilitators that form INQUEST but also from Linda and Stuart Allan, the parents of Katie Allan, June Hartigan, the mother of Kelly Hartigan-Burns and Kadi Johnson, Sheku Bayoh’s sister. Hearing from each about the impact that losing a loved one whilst imprisoned within the justice system was profoundly moving.
Hearing how the project brought together other families and how collaborating with Sarah Booker and other artists has helped as they continue to process their loss and search for justice was a powerful reminder of the unique potential that art has to change lives. You can read more about INQUEST and their work here.
Towards the end of the year, we were delighted to be voted Glasgow Evening Times Arts Champions for North East Glasgow in recognition of the summer festivals we staged in Alexandra Park and here at The Bridge. A huge thanks to whoever was kind enough to put our name forward and to anyone and everyone that voted for us.
Engagement with our programme of weekly classes and workshops continues to rise and places for the next block running from January to March are available to book here. It has been exciting to see and hear our music groups working closer together over the last few weeks and months and we look forward to seeing how these collaborations grow and develop in 2025.
By the time the curtain comes down on the final performance of Rumpelstiltskin over 6,500 people will have been to see the show, your support is much appreciated and it has been a joy to watch the show with audiences over the last few weeks. We could not have wished for a better team of people to make the show with and a huge congratulations to everyone involved from the stage management team to the 18 strong ensemble of performers from Glasgow Kelvin College, everyone has worked hard to make the show a success and their work is much appreciated. 98% of bookers that responded to our post show survey thought the show represented value for money with 100% indicating that they would be keen to return next year – please do, we would love to see you!
Hope too that you’ll join us before then too – coming up in January, we have a world premiere from Street Dance specialists 360 and in February another premiere from Glasgow based performance collective groupwork. Fresh from their highly successful run across the city at Tramway, Sprog Rock will be joining us to launch their brand-new album on Saturday 25th January and we’ll also be hosting a brand new exhibition from Project Ability. For more information on upcoming shows and events at Platform, you can head here.
Thank you to everyone that has joined us for a workshop, attended a live performance or visited us at some stage this year – notable mention to all those parents, carers and friends that have helped transport audience members and group participants too!
Huge thanks to the whole staff team here as well as all the artists, technicians, volunteers, facilitators, stewards, café bar workers and other freelance and sessional staff that have contributed to our work in 2024.
On behalf of everyone at Platform, we wish you a very merry festive season and look forward to seeing you in the New Year!"
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Matt