The owners of Cardiff’s much-loved independent music venue, Gwdihŵ, have revealed they are working with Wales Co-Operative Centre to potentially become a community-owned business.
We love @WalesCoOpCentre - in the future, maybe all grass-roots venues will be community owned?If you marched on Saturday and want to support us move forward, please fill in this form and get involved! https://t.co/XXlgFN5EfH #SaveGwdihw @SaveGwdihw https://t.co/Rt913622eP
— Gwdihw Cafe Bar (@GwdihwCafeBar) January 21, 2019
Cardiff’s independent music scene and music-lovers alike came together to support Gwdihŵ after it was announced last month that the venue was to close its doors because its lease, at their location on Guildford Crescent, was not renewed.
In the latest update Gwdihŵ puts the future of the venue firmly in the public’s hands. They are currently looking for a new space elsewhere in the city and have been working alongside Wales Co-Operative Centre, the organisation which helped Le Public Space in Newport open in 2017 with a successful community share offer, with the hope of funding their future in the same way.
The venue has issued a statement asking anyone interested in making a pledge of any amount from £1 or more, or with skills in a field that might help them move forward to fill in a form.
Thanks for all your incredible support since announcing our closure. We've released a new statement which you can read in full here: https://t.co/yUSuw1eoya
— Gwdihw Cafe Bar (@GwdihwCafeBar) January 9, 2019
Fill in the form: https://t.co/XXlgFNnfEh pic.twitter.com/LBPfsF6ofN
The pledges will only be used to gauge how much interest there is in turning the venue into a community-owned business and no money will be collected until a firm decision has been made about the future of the venue.
In their statement the Gwdihŵ team thanked everyone for the love and support that they’ve received since announcing the closure, in particular the Save Gwdihŵ & Guildford Crescent campaign team, Minty of Minty’s Gig Guide and Jo Stevens MP for Cardiff Central. They also announced that whether they moved or somehow were permitted to stay in their present location at Guildford Crescent the money would be invested in the future of the venue and put to good use through expansion. You can make a pledge here.
After the venue announced it was set to close on 31 January along with the Thai House and Madeira Restaurant an online petition opposing the demolition gathered more than 20,000 signatures. The Save Gwdihŵ and Guildford Crescent campaign has been working diligently to save the cultural hub in Cardiff with an open letter to the leader of Cardiff Council stressing the importance of the Cardiff Music Strategy that was launched in 2017. After council leader Huw Thomas met with the owner of the building, the Rapport family, it was announced that demolition plans would be delayed for another three months. Despite this, the march went ahead on Saturday with hundreds protesting that the historic terrace was still in danger.
Two years since the successful Save Womanby Street campaign, the danger to Gwdihŵ as well as Buffalo closing its doors at the end of December due to doubling business rates has renewed concern for the grassroots music scene in Cardiff.
This is culture, this is heritage, THIS IS CARDIFF #saveguildfordcrescent@savegwdihw @savegwdihw @SaveGwdihw pic.twitter.com/PGZRzLWLiM
— S. Curry (@stephommc) January 19, 2019
A series of fundraising events have been organised at the venue throughout January and hundreds turned up to march from Womanby street with The Save Gwdihŵ & Guildford Crescent team on Saturday. The day folded into an evening of music, headlined by Gruff Rhys, seen performing below. Follow all the latest updates from Gwdihŵ on their social media channels.
The fantastic @gruffingtonpost ending an incredible day of live music! #savegwdihw pic.twitter.com/Ospa2xv3Nh
— Gwdihw Cafe Bar (@GwdihwCafeBar) January 19, 2019
— Gwdihw Cafe Bar (@GwdihwCafeBar) January 19, 2019
Picture credit: Jonathan Williams
