Following a dispute with the Deptford venue’s landlord, the grassroots space is hoping to secure its future by becoming a worker-owned co-operative.
In November last year, Matchstick Piehouse had to close the venue after the landlord threated to end the lease due to Covid-related rent arrears. In light of this, the community-oriented, anti-capitalist arts space had been attempting to negotiate with the landlord and launched a fundraiser to be able to stay open.
Yesterday (4 January) the venue – which has been in its Deptford location since 2018 – shared an update on the situation stating that “unfortunately, we haven’t reached a plausible settlement with the landlord.” They also added that the difficult landscape – which is affecting venues across the UK, particularly grassroots and DIY spaces – with factors including “increased costs and decreasing spend per head” was impacting their decision to close the current fundraiser (with all donations to be refunded).
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Now, however, some members of the team alongside regular collaborators of the venue are working to turn Matchstick Piehouse into a workers’ co-operative. This would mean they would acquire the lease and be able to run the space. A new fundraiser has been set up to be able to make this a reality. Matchstick Piehouse resident artist Liv Wynter – who runs their event How To Catch a Pig at the venue – and Sister Midnight founder Lenny Watson are also joining the management team to help bring this to fruition.
“Behind the scenes the staff have been working hard to determine the future,” the Crowdfunder statement reads, “and we’re super excited to announce that we will be working towards becoming a workers co-op! We believe strongly that this structure represents the political beliefs and heart of the venue.”
In order to make these first steps,” they continue, “we need support from our community to cover wages, equipment, and getting back on our feet. We hope you feel inspired to contribute to our future!” Donate to the Crowdfunder here.