From Cate Ross, Stewartry Arts Hub Area Convenor
As part of the D&G arts hub team, one of
my main aims is to help build a sustainable and accessible information-sharing
network. Another is to help develop recommendations related to future funding
opportunities.
It’s an
ambitious task but one we are all confident about achieving as there is such a
sense of drive and ambition in the D&G arts sector. Like many in the arts,
we are all freelancers and our roles are fixed term and part-time, so there’s a real sense of focus on getting things done.
It’s a
role which I believe will achieve much in terms of strengthening the foundation
for a system that will continue to get DGC, Creative Scotland and other
partners’ support into the future. After all, Dumfries
& Galloway is THE creative centre of Scotland, with Stewartry (its heartland)
having the greatest concentration of emerging and professional artists in the
region!
So far the achievements have included:
·
Communicating with artists
to help build their creative practice.
·
Supporting information
sharing through events in community settings and public spaces across the
Stewartry.
·
Supporting the growing
membership of Stewartry artists in the Chamber of the Arts.
·
Sharing information between
artists, partners and creative networks to support the ‘sector led’ system of advice and
steering.
·
Convening events to bring
local artist’s views, ideas and community services
together supporting sustainable creative and economic developments leading to
recommendations that will be made to the Stewartry Local Area Committee Area
Arts Hub Plan for 2015/16.
·
Championing the arts,
culture, heritage and creativity of the Stewartry artists and organisations
helping to better connect them with the regional, national and international
arts platforms and opportunities.
·
Supporting the development
of new opportunities for creative practice through a region-wide ‘consortium approach’ to funding applications.
·
Assisting studio artists in
developing independent funding applications.
·
Helping deliver national
projects engaging local artists, organisations and individuals for example the
Queen’s Baton Relay event, the Luminate - Creative Aging Festival and
The Environmental Art Festival Scotland.
·
Supporting and encouraging creative practitioners
and organisations that wish to move to the Stewartry, for example Glasgow’s Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre.
·
The development of
activities and organisations that help to deliver local needs and aspirations
as well as contributing to national goals that key us into core funding lines.
·
Representing Stewartry
artists at the Regional Arts Hub.
Looking ahead, we want to engage creative
people as guides for recommending priorities and directing funds; hopefully
enmeshing creative practices with education, health, the environment, tourism,
heritage and cultural events as well as supporting creativity as a thing of
beauty and value in its own right.
We want to get as many people involved in
shaping the arts as possible – so if you want to be part
of what’s happening contact me at
cateliza@rocketmail.com or on 07790802249.
The photo is a detail from one of the very lovely 'community paintings' made at the Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail 2014. Beautiful!
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