Tailor of Inverness touring New York, via Dalbeattie

From Sara Bain

Dogstar Theatre’s Tailor of Inverness, is amongst two Scottish plays selected for New York premieres in this year’s Brits off Broadway festival. And the region’s theatre lovers will be able to see why in May, when the drama comes to Dalbeattie Town Hall as part of the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival.

Brits off Broadway is an annual festival premiering British plays to New York audiences. Critically acclaimed, the festival is described as a showcase for innovative and provocative theatre and this year runs from April to June.

The productions are travelling to the US thanks to combined funding of £70,000 from Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government. Creative Scotland’s Open Project funding awarded Dogstar £11,457 through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

Brits off Broadway opens with the Tailor of Inverness at the end of Scotland Week 2015, Scotland’s annual showcase of culture and creativity in North America. The Tailor of Inverness, the true story about how a boy from the Ukraine became a tailor in northern Scotland, will launch on 14 April 14. Following a 23-night run it will close on 3 May before it comes to Dalbeattie on 27 May.

Festival organisers have also chosen in My Father’s Words, a play about dementia, the Gaelic language and family revelations that span the Atlantic.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop said: “Scottish theatre and culture resonates across the world. “This is great opportunity for two brilliant productions to make their mark in the USA. It’s exciting that Brits off Broadway will start at the end of Scotland Week with In My Father’s words; a great Scottish play with internationalism at its heart. This year’s Brits of Broadway demonstrates confidence in Scottish talent and the role of our world-renowned festivals as platforms for international success.”

Brits off Broadway Executive Producer, Peter Tear said: “As a Scot based in New York it is always a pleasure to present outstanding Scottish work at 59E59 Theaters. “We have waited a few years to introduce the remarkable, inspiring story of The Tailor of Inverness to New Yorkers, and this year happily the stars aligned. Dogstar’s Matthew Zajac, Aidan O’Rourke and Grid Iron’s director Ben Harrison will be with us for the first time for Brits Off Broadway at the close of Scotland Week.”

Book tickets for the Dalbeattie show on the DG Arts website here

Rethinking the Arts in England

From Peter Stark

(keen eyed Commonty readers will have been following a series of posts about the brilliant work that Peter Stark is doing to re-address the balance between Arts funding spent in London and in the rest of England......he has now reache the end of this work an the final report will be available - here

On 25th February - symbolically the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Jennie Lee's ground-breaking White Paper, A policy for the Arts - the first steps, GPS Culture - Christopher Gordon, David Powell and Peter Stark - will close their two year self-funded research programme into the arts in England. Their final report - A New Destination for the Arts. Between a RoCC and a Hard Place - is published today.

The report's recommendations build on the conclusions of earlier work that 'Arts Council England had continued to demonstrate a systemic inability to reform itself without external intervention. The forces of custom, practice and vested interest were just too strong'. The recommendations include:

Rebalancing funding. Just Do it!
Whilst longer term opportunities to rebalance arts funding are investigated, the report presents new analysis to show that officially projected increases in Lottery income between levels of the last and next five years mean that the delivery of a 'fair share' per capita level of Lottery spend outside London (an additional £100m per annum) can be achieved without a cash reduction to existing levels in London.

Beyond geographic and social rebalancing we need to address imbalances of scale
Up to date analysis shows that 64% of all of the funds made available from universal taxation to the arts and culture in England goes to only 19 organisations - the 'national' performing arts companies, galleries and museums and library.  Key questions requiring address include:
What is a 'National' Company - UK wide, British or English and what should we ask of them?
What are the current audience and visitor patterns at these institutions as between International, EU, UK and the English regions (including on line access)?
What is the pattern of visits and ticket purchase by the most frequent users? Where are they based?

How can we achieve consistency in the relationship between the Arts Council and Local Government?
Local Authorities in London contribute at far lower levels to Arts Council funded organisations in their areas (6%) than is the case outside London (32%). A new concordat for the arts is needed between the nation and the capital city - and one that recognises that there are two or more Londons to be addressed in such discussions.

What the Arts Council says and what the Arts Council does
The Arts Council partly argues its case for funding based on the power of the arts to deliver cultural, social, educational and economic benefits. How could the funds provided by taxpayers and Lottery players be better aligned with the delivery of these benefits? How can they best be delivered - in partnership - through devolved structures in England (as in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)?

Understanding what is happening at the grass roots and acting to protect infrastructure
In focusing on Local Authority funding for its own 'National Portfolio' of organisations, the Arts Council has ignored a deeper crisis in the collapse of Local Authority support for the local cultural infrastructure that develops talent, supports active arts participation and promotes individual and community wellbeing. What is happening at the grass roots? What new models are emerging? How can they be supported?
 
The need for a new, more flexible and responsive structure of funding programmes
A model of funding that only offers either a once-every-three years opportunity to receive revenue support or a one-in-two to one-in-three chance of success at 'once off project support' (after advice and recommendation) from Grants for the Arts does not engage with the realities of artists’ practice or the needs of emerging companies. There are better ways. What might they be?

Coda and Conclusion
At the end we return to our beginning with a note of advice for any incoming Secretary of State. In 1965, the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Burke Trend, personally intervened with the Prime Minister to argue against Jennie Lee's recommendations for greater support to the regions and partnerships with local authorities (which he felt belonged more properly to Government's 'industrial and social policies’) and for the modification of the White Paper in favour of 'the great national institutions'. The Prime Minister and his redoubtable Arts Minister stood firm and he did not succeed. Their successors will need to do so again.

The authors add:

"Now is the time for those who share a belief in a fairer, more honest, and more effective cultural policy for England to come forward, speak out loud and refuse any longer to accept that 'it can’t be done'.  Change in national policy has to happen and it can happen now, fifty years on from the last democratically driven effort.

New policy and programmes can be framed to invest in the broadest possible participative base and in extraordinary creative talent as it emerges – from wherever in the country and from whatever social or cultural backgrounds. This new emphasis can complement and will underpin continued substantial investment in the work of artists and in the national cultural infrastructure in London and in the regions, seeking to achieve excellence and benchmarked against the highest international standards.

Hopes remain for Star of Caledonia after funding dismay

From the Herald

"The chairman of the trust behind plans for a new £5m landmark on the Scottish border, which has been denied crucial funding from the national arts funding body, has vowed to continue with the project despite being denied crucial funding.

…

His plan for a huge abstract sculpture, designed by Cecil Balmond and Charles Jencks and inspired by Scottish scientific endeavour, had received development cash from the arts agency but has been denied the crucial cash.

Mr Houston said: "I remain determined to try to deliver this remarkable thing for Scotland and our region.

"The Star will be the single biggest thing that our region has seen for decades, signifying energy, innovation, confidence and ambition.

"Our region and Scotland now needs the public sector to demonstrate similar ambition to help turn it into reality."

Read the full article on the herald website here

Spring Fling Evolution

From Spring Fling

Spring Fling is evolving – Scotland’s premier open studios event is transforming into a new organisation dedicated to providing practical support for the visual art and craft sector. A highly skilled temporary five-person Evolution Team is starting work to identify what visual artists, craft makers and arts organisations across Dumfries and Galloway want in order to thrive. A new company will then be set up to deliver for their needs.

The hugely successful annual Spring Fling art and craft open studios weekend will remain the flagship event for showcasing the abundance of high-quality work being produced in the region.

Leah Black, Spring Fling Director, said: “It’s been amazing to see how Spring Fling has grown into a big success story for Dumfries and Galloway, and for Scotland as a whole.

“We now want to take the next step and become a year-round operation which gives a wide range of practical help along with the creation and production of new programmes supporting the ambition of artists and makers at all stages of their careers. There is so much talent and potential here – we want to see it flourish. We also want to put even more emphasis on collaborating with other organisations to produce compelling events which showcase the artistic and cultural energy of this region.

This really is evolution at work and for the next six months our new team will be working closely with people and organisations throughout the region to make sure our plans match their needs.”

One major change is likely to be that many people and groups which are not Spring Fling members will be able to benefit from its services. Providing support for all has become especially important because local authorities can no longer afford to employ arts officers.

In recent years Spring Fling has diversified in many directions which support and develop the arts. These have included:

Mentoring to help young artists learn how to run a business

Skills transfers

Artists' residencies

Youth engagement projects

Programmes to attract young D&G artists to return and work in the region

Exhibitions across the UK to promote work from D&G

Projects to pass on dying traditional craft skills to a new generation

Digital development projects

It is also a co-producer of EAFS (the Environmental Art Festival Scotland) which first took place last year will take place again in 2015.

The next step – which will establish a company with a new name in the summer of 2015 – is likely to bring greater involvement in these sorts of areas. Spring Fling also hopes to do more on an international stage – showcasing D&G visual art and craft overseas and bringing artists and makers into the area from abroad.

One strength of the region is that there are a range of excellent organisations working in different areas of the arts, such as The Stove Network, Wide Open and Wigtown Book Festival. There is also support from both Dumfries and Galloway Council and Creative Scotland – the Evolution project is funded through Creative Scotland’s Cultural Economy Fund and DG Unlimited. Spring Fling’s aim is to build and strengthen these relationships and to work closely with a range of partners.

The Evolution Team itself consists of people with immense experience working with communities, artists and organisations of many kinds. All belong to Collaborate Consulting, which won the Evolution project contract.

Catherine Murtagh, a member of the Evolution Team, said: “There is a phenomenal amount of creativity in Dumfries and Galloway. In the coming months we will be out there discovering what kind of practical support people and organisations need.

“Visual art and crafts play an increasingly important role in the life and economy of this part of Scotland. We want to strengthen this further to make sure people have the opportunities they need – and to help young people find fulfilling careers for the future.”

Evolution is being supported by funding from Creative Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway Council and DG Unlimited.

Cathy Agnew, DG Unlimited chair of trustees, said: “Spring Fling goes from strength to strength each year, but what we are looking forward to now is real step change. It promises to bring very real benefits not just to artists and makers, but to the whole of our community.”

Helena Ward, Portfolio Manager at Creative Scotland said: “Creative Scotland is supporting this time of transition for Spring Fling through its Cultural Economy Programme. The aim of our programme is to help the organisation develop a sustainable business and financial model which enables Spring Fling to evolve into a region-wide development agency for the visual arts and craft.”

CS Artist Bursary for writer Karen Campbell

From Carolyn Yates

Local writer Karen Campbell has been awarded a £15,000 Creative Scotland Artists Bursary to help develop her next novel.

These prestigious bursaries are designed to support excellence and experimentation across all the arts, and Karen - who's originally from Glasgow, but now lives and writes in Gatehouse - is one of only a handful of writers to recieve such support. The Creative Scotland panel said they were 'struck by the quality and strength' of Karen's work to date.

The new novel - Karen' seventh - will be set in Tuscany in World War Two. She said: 'I'm absolutely delighted. It's a real vote of confidence in my writing. I've never written a historical novel before, so this bursary will be a big help in allowing me time to write, as well as giving me the chance to travel and properly research my story, and I'm really grateful.'

BBS 2015 Full Programme Announced

From Big Burns Supper

Big Burns Supper headed to Leith to launch its full 2015 programme with the news that Scottish singer songwriter Nina Nesbitt and folk group the Peatbog Faeries will be part of the line-up. Burlesque dancers and colourfully costumed carnival characters launched the programme in front of the Burns statue in Leith’s Constitution Street – the statue itself was specially decked in tartan for the event.

The annual Dumfries event, which is expanding from three days to nine – 23-31 January – is a mix of famous names and emerging artists and includes rock, pop, folk, jazz and traditional music alongside cabaret, comedy, performance art and a huge street carnival. It is increasingly popular among visitors from Edinburgh and all across the Central Belt. It also attracts growing numbers from elsewhere in Scotland, the UK and overseas.

Organisers offered a first glimpse of some of the beautiful costumes that are being created for the impressive Burns Night Carnival – which is expected to pull thousands of people onto the streets of the town on Sunday, 25 January. Graham Main, Festival Artistic Director, said: “Big Burns Supper 2015 will be Europe’s largest winter fringe festival. It’s becoming a major event in the Scottish calendar and we’re inviting even more people from across Scotland and beyond to join us for nine days of fabulous entertainment.

“The programme we’ve unveiled today is a rich mix of music and performance that combines popular and celebrated artists with some emerging talent from all over Scotland and the rest of the UK. The festival will be a chance to see rising stars like Nina Nesbitt alongside acts like the Peatbog Faeries, plus others we have already announced like Hue and Cry and the Undertones. Our whole aim is to celebrate the best of Scottish and international culture with shows that will appeal to every taste and age, from the youngest of children upwards.

“The carnival is also going to be even bigger and more spectacular than last year – a real centrepiece of the festival – huge amounts of work are going into creating the costumes and the floats. It’s excellent to be able to give people a sneak preview of what we’ve got in store.”

Big Burns Supper 2015 is part of Scotland’s Winter Festivals (a programme of events managed by EventScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government).

The lantern-lit carnival, with seven large interactive floats plus bands and dancers, will include hundreds of children and adults in a multitude of costumes including sea creatures such as porpoises and a giant octopus, through to angels, Tattie-bogles (scarecrows) and even giant vegetables. It is closely linked to the 2015 UNESCO Year of Light and the Scottish Year of Food and Drink.

Once again BBS has teamed up with other local festivals and promoters to present eclectic club nights which include the Eden Opening Party.


A sample from the full programme

You can see the full Big Burns Supper 2015 programme at the BBS website. It includes around 140 events at 17 venues, and which are a mix of paid or and free to view.

Among what’s on offer is:

Nina Nesbitt, in the Spiegeltent, Friday January 23 at 6.00pm (£22.50). Best known for her 2013 hit single Stay Out, her first album Peroxide was released this year and she is now working on a second. Born in 1994, her music is often about the lessons she's learnt since she first picked up a guitar aged 15. Nina may be an experienced songwriter, a festival veteran and a regular on Radio 1, but she still writes from the point of view of a typical teenager. She has already spent two years putting out EPs, touring the country and steadily building her fan base - her video views stand at more than 20 million and over 130,000 follow her on Twitter.

Peatbog Faeries, in the Spiegeltent, Friday January 30, at 9.30pm (£22.50). Based on the Isle of Skye, the Peatbog Faeries are one of Scotland’s best-known names in contemporary folk music. In 2012 they were nominated for "Best Live Act" at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, having already twice won "Live Act of the Year" at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards. They've taken their own brand of Scottish tunes to audiences around the world, from European festivals, to Asia, Africa, America, Canada and Australia. The Peatbogs have recorded six studio albums, they made their first live release in April 2009 and their latest CD, "Dust", was released on the 8th of August of 2011.

Hector Bizerk were headliners in the Solus tent at this years Wickerman

Hector Bizerk. This live show is something of a cultural phenomenon combining front-man Louie's razor sharp poetry with the incredible tribal rhythms of Audrey Tait and grooving funk bass lines of Fraser Sneddon to create a crescendo of thought-provoking music.

Scottish Dance Theatre (Scotland). Innocence. An exciting opportunity for 0-4 year olds (and their adults) to enter a realm of mystery, fun and adventure. Innocence is a unique performance playroom where the audience explore William Blake’s Songs of Innocence. Innocence invites children to dance on an interactive journey of theatre, story and live music. A beautiful, captivating dance experience.

Hamish the Haggis’s Mini Burns Supper. Even children get to modernise Burns Suppers in their own special way at the Big Burns Supper with their own high energy foot-tapping show, Hamish the Haggis’s Mini Burns Supper, in one of the most interactive children’s theatre shows anywhere.

New York Brass Band. New Orleans inspired Brass Band. Hailing from the ancient streets of York, the band are part of a funky brass revolution that is sweeping the UK. Inspired by Rebirth Brass Band, Soul Rebels, Hot 8, Youngblood and Brassroots, NYBB pack a powerful punch of relentless drums, rumbling tuba and wailing horns… nothing kicks a party into gear like the sound of a smokin’ New Orleans Mardi Gras Jazz Band.


Emerging talent

Isabel Sharman (London). Performance Art. Explores the complicated relationship that women have with their bodies by looking at the way we talk about them - from body hair groups and anti-feminist tumblrs.

Impulse Collective (East Midlands). Theatre. Canterbury Tales. Following their smash hit Exposed at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival, young East Midlands based company Impulse Collective present their anarchic new take on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

Live set from Fiona Soe Paing

Fiona Soe Paing (Aberdeenshire). Performance Art. Alien Lullabies. A live multi-media hailstorm: off-world electronica, surreal animation and live vocals combine to create a unique and compelling fusion of cinema and a live gig.

Stoirm Òg (Edinburgh). Theatre. The Idiot at The Wall. September, 1919. A Hebridean island. Sorcha has returned to her family home, disturbing a prophecy which has long lain dormant.

Caroline Smith (London). Performance art. Birdwatchers Wives. Features Rita Grebe, a seven foot woman who thinks she’s a bird: a Great Crest who wants to nest.

Countermeasure (Toronto) and InChorus (Peebles). Music. Transatlantic Songbook. Double bill exclusively presented at Big Burns Supper Festival. Countermeasure is the new sound in vocal music, known for upbeat blend, sophisticated harmonies, and infectious energy. Led by award-winning composer/arranger Aaron Jensen, featuring 14 of Canada’s top young vocal talents. InChorus is a large contemporary community choir from Peebles. Founded in 2008, they have filled Edinburgh’s Usher Hall and Festival Theatre twice.

All this plus traditional singer Robyn Stapleton, who is BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year, and The Gallovidians, a small local traditional music group consisting of mainly fiddles and accordions.

Stranraer Conference - Report from the Board

From Cathy Agnew, Chair of the Board of Trustees

This week’s Annual Arts Convention in Stranraer once again underlined the diversity and ambition of our creative sector. It also showed the importance of having an effective organisation to fight for the arts and culture in D&G.

We welcomed around 130 artists and organisations to the Ryan Centre in Stranraer and heard about the scale and diversity of work taking place across the region – the triumphs and the challenges, the achievements and the frustrations.

I hope that all who attended will join me in thanking everyone who made the event possible. I know from past experience just how much time and effort it takes.

One of DG Unlimited’s many roles is to build relationships between our creative sector and our external partners who are essential to its future such as Creative Scotland and Dumfries and Galloway Council. So it was especially pleasing that Creative Scotland CEO Janet Archer attended as a guest speaker and was full of praise for the determination being shown by the arts sector in D&G to work together for the common good.

Throughout the day people took the opportunity to question Janet about CS, and to raise important issues with me and others, about the direction and development of DG Unlimited. Many of the issues people touched on (for example about better ways of working, structural changes, measuring outcomes, approaches to commissioning) were of tremendous importance. It’s not always easy to speak out in a public forum, so I would like to thank all those who did.

It was also valuable to hear from Richard Grieveson, the council’s Head of Resource Planning and Community Services, about how well many arts and cultural projects fit in with the authority’s aims. Nonetheless it was clear that with so many competing demands for limited resources the councillors will be closely scrutinising their arts investment.

This means that it is vital for DG Unlimited to ensure that it is constantly demonstrating the worth of arts and cultural projects and arguing to ensure that we get the best possible funding deals to support them and the audiences and communities they nourish.

The performances from Robyn Stapleton, Zoe Bestel, Alex McQuiston and Zelda Hill, as well as the drummers who welcomed people at the entrance, showed off some of the tremendous talent we have in the region. Likewise the presentations by all our convenors, accompanied by guest speakers and showreels, emphasised the commitment there is to making sure that the arts reach out to every part of our community.

The Area Convenors are succeeding in creating networks and providing all kinds of support to individuals and groups in all sorts of ways and their enthusiasm is boundless. I hope to see them go from strength to strength as we move forward.

With the convention now over we will be shifting our focus to the roundtable discussions between the Board of Trustees and the Regional Hub about creating the best possible structure to achieve our aims. We are also pushing ahead with new commissions to improve administration – the first is being advertised on The Commonty shortly.

And finally I would like to take the chance to express my gratitude to Kathleen O’Neill for all she has done. Her knowledge of the region and its creative sector is extraordinary, and I’m sure that she will maintain strong links with us for many years to come.

If you wish to contact us about the convention or any other matters just email freshstartdg@outlook.com

The convention in pictures

From the DG Unlimited Team

If you were unfortunate enough to miss out on this weeks regional day out to Stranraer, here's a quick run through of some of the speakers, and a bit of a flavour of the day, courtesy of Galina Walls photography!

A warm welcome from the Stranraer African Drumming Collective

Robyn Stapleton, BBC Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year, breaks the ice

The grand unveiling of the new cultural map of D&G...

Moffat Books and the Bakehouse talk literature

There was lunch… 

Janet Archer answers the regions questions

CS Regular Funded Organisation Portfolio Announced

Good news on the D&G front this week as Creative Scotland announced their portfolio of Regularly Funded Organisations for 2015 to 2018, which includes two arts organisations in our region, Wigtown Book Festival, and The Stove Network. Congratulations to both for all the work put in by their teams, looks like there are exciting times ahead!

From the CS website:

"The portfolio of Regularly Funded Organisations consists of 119 organisations, with a combined three year budget of £100m. This is the largest portfolio of three-year funded organisations ever seen in Scotland.

The portfolio is rich in its creative excellence, potential and ambition, demonstrating significant reach across Scotland and across many areas of practice. It consists of some of Scotland's most important, innovative and exciting cultural and creative organisations, producing and presenting great work across craft, dance, film, literature, music, theatre and visual art.
Importantly, the work of organisations in the portfolio supports thousands of individuals working in the arts, screen and creative industries as well as other organisations across Scotland, the UK and internationally."

Literarture Sector Online Consultation

From Creative Scotland

Online consultation - deadline for feedback: 14 November 2014

Scottish writers, storytellers, publishers, literature services professionals, booksellers, translators, book festivals and the general public are invited to have their say as part of a wide-ranging review of the literature and publishing sector in Scotland.  Creative Scotland has commissioned Nordicity in association with Drew Wylie Ltd. to undertake a review of Scotland’s literature and publishing sector. As part of the review process, the team is keen to consult with a wide range of organisations and individuals with a critical role to play in Scotland’s literature and publishing sector via an online survey.

The survey can be completed from Thursday 23 October, 2014 and will close on Friday 14 November, 2014, and is quick and easy to complete. For further information and to take part please visit this page

For more information on the Literature Sector Review and the online consultation, head to the Creative Scotland website here

Funding Applications open for Dumfries and Galloway Regional Arts Fund

From the DG Unlimited team

Dumfries & Galloway Council and DG Unlimited (Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of the Arts) invite funding applications from organisations, community groups and individuals to the Dumfries & Galloway Regional Arts Fund. 

The Dumfries & Galloway Regional Arts Fund is designed in collaboration with DG Unlimited and aims to help deliver and increase the impact of arts projects at regional level. The scheme is part of the council's Place Partnership with Creative Scotland.

Investment priorities were developed by DG Unlimited on behalf of the arts sector in the region.

There is an allocation of just over £100,000 available to support projects through the Regional Arts Fund.  Funding is available under six Strands: Art & Place; Youth Arts/Early Career Development; Touring; Supporting Practice Next Stages; International Ambition- Reaching Out and Bringing In; and Programme Enhancement and Audience Development.

Details of the fund and how to apply can be found at here

Applications must be submitted on or before 5pm on Friday 28th November 2014, for consideration by early 2015.  If funds remain thereafter, further closing dates will be set and the details will be available from the Council’s website.

There is considerable advice for applicants on the Council’s website and from Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway.  Local Area Arts Hub Convenors will also be able to advise applicants – their contact details are available from the DG Unlimited website. If applicants are still unsure what is required please ring the External Funding Unit or contact them by email.  Please ensure you read all the guidance and information carefully before applying.

Application forms, guidance and further information are now available online here, e-mail EFU@dumgal.gov.uk or phone the External Funding Unit on 01387 273897. 

2014/15 Made in Scotland Showcase Funding for Music, Theatre & Dance

From Rebecca Coggins

Made in Scotland is a partnership initiative run by Creative Scotland in collaboration with the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST), the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society and the Scottish Music Centre (SMC). Funded through the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festival Expo Fund, the initiative is a showcase designed to raise the international profile of Scottish artists through enabling Scottish dance and theatre artists to present ambitious work to international promoters at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Through Made in Scotland, funding is provided for the presentation of:
High quality and artistically ambitious productions which promote the work of Scottish artists and companies which are 'export-ready' for the international market.
Productions which involve Scottish artists and companies in international co-productions, or in collaboration with international artists or companies.

13 Sunken Years by Stellar Quines was part of the 2014 Made in Scotland Showcase Programme

Funding is available in two main strands: Music and Theatre & Dance. Whilst there is no minimum or maximum level of grant that may be applied for, the total budgets for 2014/15 are as follows:
Music: approximately £75,000.
Theatre & Dance: approximately £220,000.

Applications can come from individual artists, companies/organisations, ensembles, promoters, bands and venues. Individuals must be able to demonstrate that their principal home is in Scotland and companies and organisations must have their headquarters in Scotland.
The Fringe Expo Fund is intended to support the costs of presenting work at the Fringe (as opposed to the costs of commissioning and creating new work). It will provide support towards the costs involved in presenting a production at the Fringe and mitigate against the financial risks this involves.

Information sessions are being held for prospective applicants on the following dates:
15 October 2014 (Edinburgh)
16 October 2014 (Glasgow)
The deadline for applications is 24 November 2014. 
For more details on the fund, head over to the Creative Scotland website here

D+G in a day..

Creative Scotland CEO Janet Archer was treated to a snapshot of the region’s current creative projects – during a whistle-stop tour of the region today. Last night Ms Archer had a working dinner with trustees of the Chamber of Arts, Regional Convenor Kathleen O’Neill and representatives of DGC. One of the key roles of the trustees is to work as advocates for the arts sector – this dinner meeting and organising the whole visit is good example of how they are doing this….nice work folks!

Janet Archer was joined around the school tables at Gracefield by representatives of: Wide-Open, Spring Fling, D+G Arts Festival, Environmental Art Festival Scotland, Electric Theatre Workshop, The Stove Network and Theatre Royal….as well as the Area Arts Convenors for Annandale and Eskdale and Nithsdale.

In the sunshine at Gracefield - Janet Archer front row - fourth from left

Everyone was on best behaviour and played nice in giving a 3 minute summary of what they are doing at the moment and where there organisations are headed. So nicely in fact that our Regional Convenor had to step in at one point to say ‘What everyone is being too polite to say is that, actually, there are some extremely high-level practitioners around this table…..and they are leading this dynamic energy around the arts in the South West!’
With barely time to put down her coffee cup Ms Archer was then whisked off to the West and a hot date at CatStrand with some of the fine arts folk of the Stewartry and Wigtownshire. The same format was followed here with representatives from: CatStrand, Wigtown Book Festival, Creetown Initiative and Spring Fling….as well at the arts convenors for Stewartry and Wigtownshire.

Sunny in New Galloway too

Also at CatStrand one of our rising dance stars Kelly Whiteside performed and the film made by Purple Box about the arts in the region was screened.

Breathless by the end, the Chair of the Trustees of Chamber of Arts commented before heading for a well-deserved cold beer: ‘Today was a very valuable 2-way communication between people and organisations involved in creating and promoting the arts in D+G. Janet Archer saw for herself the diversity, rurality and opportunity in our region.’
Janet Archer herself declared herself ‘Really impressed by the breadth and quality of practice in the Arts in Dumfries and Galloway – and the strength of leadership coming from artists themselves’

Ms Archer also stressed to everyone involved in the arts in our region that ‘her door was open’ at Creative Scotland and if anyone wanted to discuss a particular topic in detail then they should get in touch directly.

Happy days all around!

CS Literature Sector Review

Creative Scotland is to carry out a review of the Literature Sector. Responses to the tender brief are invited from today, Wednesday 28 May, until Friday 13 June. For further information and the full brief please register on Public Contracts Scotland, the Scottish Government's official national portal for public sector contract opportunities.

Carried out for, and on behalf of the literature sector in Scotland, the study is intended to provide an overview of contemporary literature and publishing provision in Scotland; identify areas of strength and gaps in provision, and to make recommendations to help inform Creative Scotland’s future funding policy and strategic approach to literature, languages and publishing.

The review will pay particular attention to three interconnected areas: writers and talent development; the publishing industry and the market for Scottish work; the broader literary ecology.

Jenny Niven, Portfolio Manager for Literature, Publishing and Languages at Creative Scotland, said:

“Through this piece of research we will embark on a period of extensive consultation, working closely with writers and with literature and publishing professionals across Scotland, to build a comprehensive contemporary picture of the sector.

“We want to look at the conditions for Scottish writers working today and what support, both financial and developmental, is available to them and their work at every stage in their career.

“The landscape of writing and publishing is changing rapidly, worldwide. We are looking to analyse in detail how the sector is navigating this type of change, and the market for Scottish books in general. Since 2004, the date of the SAC’s Review of Publishing the fragmentation of the market, the explosion of creative writing courses, the growth of literature as performance, and the digitisation of publishing have changed the environment for writers and their work enormously. Numerous other factors from the proliferation of book festivals, to the introduction of Amazon into the market have impacted at the promotion and retail end of the supply chain for books; little research has been conducted on the impact, for writers and readers, of these factors for Scotland.

“Exploring further international opportunity for Scottish writing is also critical and will be a major area of interest for this piece of research. It is for these reasons that we have commissioned this review.  We look forward to working closely with the sector on the project in the months ahead.”

Getting it right for Young Performers

From Chris Jones at Centre Stage Theatre

Like many I was pleased to see some effort made by Creative Scotland’s attempt to create a youth arts strategy.

However I was a little concerned when I was approached by a national newspaper a few weeks ago asking if I'd seen the Scottish Government's 'Getting it Right for Young Performers - National consultation on the arrangements for ensuring the wellbeing of children involved in performances'.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/04/9664

On reading the document it was clear that there seems to little understanding of what happens in the real world … most weeks of the year across the country involving young people in the amateur performing arts.

Those involved in the initial consultation presumably don't have experience in the not for profit/amateur world - a sector with hundreds of dance, musical and drama groups in Scotland.

Centre Stage Theatre in Carlisle Train Station last weekend

Whilst I applauded a revision of what's in place already, this new suggestion will create a mountain of paperwork, bureaucracy and obstacles for those working with young people.

The existing The Children (Performances) Regulations 1968 - That's the one where organisations have to get a licence for each young person if they perform for more than 3 days in a 6 month period. The licence as some of may know is a simple eleven page form that is sent with photographs and a medical certificate.

The 1968 regulations have been poorly implemented for years if at all in some cases.. and need to take the blame in some part for 16 year old and above age limits being introduced by groups denying younger people to experience the opportunity of performing in amateur shows.

In my experience amateur groups who work with young people take their welfare seriously. Our group for example has child protection policies and procedures, a team of chaperones – all enhanced disclosure checked. (we use the English recruitment guidelines – presently there don't seem to a Scottish equivalent) We are also a registered body with Disclosure Scotland and CRBS.

The English solution to the shortfalls of the 1968 regulations was to allow local authorities to adopt a 'body of persons' system. Essentially the local authorities would assess the group to its welfare provision and the organisations would record themselves the time the young person performed within the scope of the regulations. The local authorities no longer have to process licences and the responsibility would be with the organisation to comply.

For example embracing the 'body of persons' system in Cumbria made the process easier and accountable. However in Dumfries & Galloway and many parts of Scotland don’t allow for a ‘a body of persons’ to be implemented.

So to the latest proposals.

Licences are required to be granted in respect of the following performances by children under school leaving age:

Any performance being made to a paying audience.

Any performance taking place in premises licensed to sell alcohol.

Appearing in public broadcast material or material filmed for the purpose of  future public broadcast.

There are a limited number of exceptions, meaning that licences need not be sought for the above performances where:

No payment is being made to the child (other than to cover their expenses)

and they have not taken part in a licensable performance (as defined above) on more than three other days in the last six months.

A Body of Persons Approval has been granted in respect of the performance.

The performance is given under arrangements made by a school.

Taking these into account it means the new system could have a major impact on the activities of amateur performing arts.

The new suggestions recommend a system to register chaperones with the local authority which I welcome however the requirements that they place on potential chaperones could put off many capable volunteers for becoming one.

I do hope the the Scottish Government reflect on how to effectively protect the well being of young people participating in the performing arts and work with organisations who provide them with the experience..

It would be a retrograde step if there were less opportunities for young people due to further bureaucracy that doesn't actually protect young people but just creates further regulations – at worst it'll be a reworking of the 1968 regulations and be largely ignored.

The not for profit/voluntary/amateur arts sector isn't normally vocal in the arts world and often our voice is rarely heard. However, I believe there is an opportunity for the arts world to engage with elected representatives and understand what is needed to streamline the provision of performing arts for young people.

Chris Jones – Centre Stage Youth Theatre

Silvy Weatherall @ Jupiter Artland

Silvy Weatherall
A body of Parts 
17 May-20 July 
Tin Roof gallery, Jupiter Artland 

D&G artist Silvy Weatherall will be showcasing her latest work at the Tin Roof Gallery, Jupiter Artland from 17th May -20 July. Having received the VAACMA award in 2013 from Creative Scotland, D&G Council and the Borders Council to pursue her artistic development Silvy brings a new dimension to previously seen works. The artist, from Irongray takes inspiration from her fear of waste. She uses the by-products of her husband's game dealing business, found bones, skulls and road kill and transforms them into objects of desire. A veritable museum of curiosities , Silvy's ‘deconstructed taxidermy’ work is reminiscent of decorative arts from a by-gone era.

 

Our Man in Holyrood (this week)

Of late there has been a steady stream of D+G arts folk beating a path to the Parliament in Embra.....recent shout outs due to Electric Theatre Workshop who performed excerpts from their play Blood Orange for the Cross Party Committee on Culture and The Star of Caledonia team who presented their model of the scheme at a special reception at Holyrood.
This week it was the turn of Film-maker John Wallace to attempt what are laughingly called the 'transport links' between the South West of our nation and its capital city.

John Wallace's stunning 4-screen video projection 'Cinema Sark' under the M74 Motorway at the English-Scottish border...presented as part of Environmental Art Festival Scotland 2013 (photo Liz Dinnie)

John was awarded a Creative Scotland Artists Bursary earlier this year and this secured him an invite to Holyrood for a reception hosted by Creative Scotland - at which Janet Archer made a major speech about the direction of our national arts body under her leadership.

John reports that Ms Archer began her presentation with a discussion of 'what is culture'.....seasoned CS watchers will likely interpret this as acknowledgement of the fundamental debate that has been at the heart of the organisation since its inception in 2010.....ie 'how should an agency support, promote and nuture a nation's culture...and so best use the resources at its command'. The new 10 Year Plan for Creative Scotland that will explain their vision of 'what is culture' and underpin their activities until 2024 will be published this coming Wednesday 9th April....watch this space for news and comment.

Ms Archer explained that the CS funding structure will be simplified into 3 streams:

• Project (for organisations and individuals)
• Ongoing (for organisations)
• Individual (for individual practitioners across all areas - including screen)

The big 'political' news in the speech was the announcement that Sir Sandy Crombie is standing down as Chair of the board of CS after a 4 year tenure. This confirms that The Commonty's predictions that the boards visit to Dumfries last year was a Last Supper were a little premature....but we could claim that this was indeed Sir Sandy's last supper in D+G?!

Shir Shandy had a controversial reign as Chair of the Creative Scotland with much criticism of his 'commercial approach' and lack of arts experience...but it is likely to be the way he handled the CSStooshie which resulted in CS losing both its Chief Executive and his number 2 - that will determine his ultimate legacy. Sir Sandy Crosbie continues as a director of Royal Bank of Scotland.

If you fancy the job as the new Chair of Creative Scotland:  
The Chair of Creative Scotland is appointed by Scottish Ministers. Sir Sandy Crombie’s first term of appointment as Chair will end on 30th June 2014 and he will be reappointed from 1st July 2014 to 31st December 2014.
The recruitment of a new Chair will be led by the Scottish Government and the role will be advertised in summer 2014. Interviews will be conducted by a selection panel in the autumn before final recommendations to Ministers are made.