Support for Small Venues in London

As everyone knows, the amazing venues for live improv and experimental music in London have currently shut their doors and gigs are cancelled due to the pandemic. Double bummer!

I'm sure these places could use some support in order to stay afloat. Some are soliciting donations on social media so here's a short list of those landing pages in one place for reference:

Horse Hospital
Hundred Years Gallery (and fundraising compilation on Bandcamp)
Iklectik (and fundraising album on Bandcamp)
Oto
SET
Vortex

Here are some equally great venues which are not yet actively soliciting donations as far as I can tell, but I'm sure they would welcome your support if you get in contact!

 Arch1
Intimate Space
New River Studios

Here are some bars and such which are not used exclusively for gigs (and not necessarily soliciting donations either) but who host live improv and experimental music on a frequent and/or recurring basis. It would be a shame if anything happened to these places - I'm not as sure how to support them but give em a thought at least!

 Beehive
Welsh Chapel (home of London Improv Workshop)
King and Queen Pub (home of Scaledown)
Raven Tower Bridge
Ryans N16 (home of Flim Flam)
Troy 22 (home of Mopomoso Workshop)
WaterIntoBeer (home of Brak)

I'm sure there are ones I forgot - in fact I'm sure there are tons I forgot! - if you notice that I have, feel free to suggest.

While you're reading... throughout this period I am planning to carry on with Navel-Gazers (this blog) - which I don't do for money or plan to. No support is needed whatsoever since this activity is entirely remote and it remains a great and viable way to engage with other artists. But I am definitely after content. Navel-Gazers is always on the lookout for more people to do email interviews about sound recordings, so don't hesitate to contact me if you want to participate. If you're not familiar with Navel-Gazers, check out my introduction to the series and the interviews with extraordinary recording artists such as Martin Clarke and Sylvia Hallett.

To all the navel-gazers, stay healthy, stay positive, drink your H2O and remember to go easy on people!

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