ALBANY — The leaders of the Capital District’s major non-profit performing arts venues have pledged to work together in raising awareness and funds for humanitarian aid that will be sent to Ukraine.
The Capital Region Arts Restart Coalition came together last week to assess how they could help in what it called a “humanitarian emergency.”
“We share in the grief and anger felt by our patrons and the American people at large as we’ve watched these terrible events play out,” the coalition shared in a joint statement released on Monday, March 14. “Despite the challenges to the local nonprofit arts community over these last two years, we feel called to do whatever we can to help support the Ukrainian people in their time of need, and to give our audiences the opportunity to do the same.”
From Thursday to Sunday, March 24 to 27, area venues and organizations will work to raise awareness and funds for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
Members of the Coalition include Proctors Collaborative, The Palace Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Cohoes Music Hall, Caffé Lena, The Egg, The Linda, Hudson Hall, Universal Preservation Hall, Capital Repertory Theatre, Playhouse Stage Company and the Albany Symphony Orchestra.
Each venue will contribute in their own way, whether through donation of portions of proceeds, collecting funds on site in our lobbies, online fundraising opportunities for patrons, or other means. Then, together, we will donate all funds raised to Razom for Ukraine’s Emergency Response initiative, which is providing critically needed medical supplies and aid to Ukrainians in need. Razom, in Ukrainian, means “together,” and their organization has received the coveted Guidestar Gold Transparency award in recognition of the direct impact that contributions have in meeting their mission. As artists, we value and wish to promote peace, freedom and democracy through our work on stage and off. In that spirit, we invite and encourage patrons to join us this month in supporting Razom’s mission of coming together for Ukraine in their time of need.”
Patrons are encouraged to visit the venues and websites of each individual organization for further details on how they can contribute.
