July 19th has been & we wanted to make a public statement about our thoughts and approach to reopening…
Bear with us… nothing is simple right now or can be said succinctly but we will do our best to outline our plan.
Our plan is to reopen this summer for a tiny smattering of events, mainly club nights but largely we will be working towards a full Autumn season of live music, club nights, creative and community events starting late Sept (fingers crossed).
We recognise that everybody has a right to choice and we believe that people are able to & must now be allowed to choose what is right for them. Therefore we welcome these changes and the chance it gives us to allow choice…
We understand that for many the rules lifting is scary and causing anxiety, whilst others can’t wait. Whatever you feel right now is personal to you and we should all accept each other’s feelings with care and without judgment, it’s a good time to be really kind and understanding of all perspectives.
We observe our own and the mental health of others as extremely fragile just now but we believe deeply in the power of community and the power of culture for a myriad of reasons (voice, unity, transportation, escapism & joy to mention a few). These things can help to offset social isolation, societal fragmentation and poor mental health. We believe that people need people and culture.
For these reasons we are ready to reopen, but we know some people are clinically vulnerable and that even with vaccinations its not safe and that others just won’t feel comfortable, we completely understand that.
Cobalt doesn’t work as a socially distanced venue, when we are open it will be at full capacity – though to be honest many of our more niche, experimental events are often naturally socially distanced anyway!
We have a new air extraction system, hand sanitiser etc. Mask wearing will be a personal choice and we will always encourage people to stay away if they feel poorly and to do a lateral flow test before attending.
In order to reach those that aren’t able to make it back in the venue we are seeking funding for outreach digital programs and working hard to develop our outdoor space for creative learning projects (based on the premise that outdoors is a much lower risk of transmission).
We also want to develop a stakeholder group to help us make good decisions and to make sure that Cobalt is steered by a diverse community, if you would like to get involved in this please do get in touch (we are looking at 4 meetings a year and occasion survey monkeys or email conversations), its voluntary but we can thank you with event tickets.
And if you have immediate ideas, feedback or input you’d like us to hear and consider right now please do email us or let us know thoughts, be gentle with us though – we are very under resourced and struggling to keep up.
You can find our current listings and tickets for events HERE, there are more events being put up all the time!
We really look forward to welcoming you back whenever and however you feel ready, Cobalt x