Bunbanter’s Young Scottish Theatre Groups, Carronbridge

From Philip Anderson-Dyer

Bunbanter’s Young Scottish Theatre Groups, Carronbridge.

In January 2015 The Bunbury Banter Theatre Company CIC started a theatre group in Carronbridge (Nithsdale) with the aim of bringing the young people from Sanquhar, Thornhill and surrounding areas together and to develop student’s confidence, creativity and imagination through the medium of theatre, the use of storytelling and a variety of other creative practices.

So far this has been a huge success, attracting young people from both areas and forming the beginnings of an exceptionally solid, supportive and friendly group dynamic.

The first term's work has been focused on introducing basic theatrical skills, games and exercises, encouraging group bonding in order to create an 'ensemble'. In the course of this, students have explored many things including the ideas behind storytelling (such as fairy tales and Roald Dahl) and examined the origin of the chorus in Greek Theatre. Next Term, they will be moving onto a media project during the early weeks and have visitors popping in, later on in the term, such as a professional Lighting and Sound designer, who'll be exploring the technical side of the theatre.

The Bunbury Banter Theatre Comapny's main aim as an organisation is improving the access to theatre and when forming their groups locally, it was quickly discovered that transport is a recognised issue for many people living in rural areas. So, to counteract this, Bunbanter quickly organised a private bus service to and from the class, for the students from Sanquhar Academy and also arranged to open up their venue early, to accommodate those studying at Wallace Hall Academy; so they are able to get on the public bus from Thornhill which arrives at 4pm. Money and financial constraints can also be a block to young people accessing such classes but again Bunbanter have a number of resources in place, so they can offer scholarships and assistance, should that be needed by any of their students.

In addition to the younger group, next term Bunbanter is also going to open the second group for ages between 16-25 years. More information is to be released over the Easter break but similarly to the earlier class, their artistic director, Ali Anderson-Dyer, will be using all the disciplines and practices found within the theatre to further the students both individually and as a group, exploring many different performance styles and practices, whilst developing a fun and welcoming place to make new friends and learn new skills.

The Bunbury Banter Theatre Company CIC has a successful background of running fun, enjoyable and interesting classes across London and the UK; and as with all their work, the groups in Carronbridge exist to challenge and inspire young creatives in a safe and supported environment, regardless of personal circumstance.

See the Bunbanter website here for more information

Email info@bunbanter.com or Call 01848 330493

The Stove's Open House

From The Stove Network

Very exciting news from Stove central as we can announce that The Stove will be opening next month, with a series of events called Open House.

Open House is a series of very different events that will show the versatility of The Stove as a physical space and the ambition of the project for the town centre.

We kick off with the third annual Dumfries Music Conference on 24th and 25th April. As in previous years, DMC2015 will feature workshops, talks, film, live music, expert opinion and creative collaboration. Through a collection of brilliant partners and guests, we hope to educate, inspire and entertain. DMC2015 will mark the official opening of The Stove Building at 100 High Street. In celebration of this we are going to fill the entire building with colour, music and people. Full details will be made available here as they are announced!

On 28th April The Stove hosts Open Mouth – a day of spoken word, performance and cooking. Full details available here  Open Mouth is specially created and delivered for The Stove Network by Sarah Indigo, Eryl Shields and Open Jar Collective Produced in collaboration with Wigtown Festival Company

29th April sees House Warming – an open invite to come and see The Stove building, have a chat and make a T-shirt. From 6pm there will be a Stove Members Gathering, which will include a public bonfire, and Bannock making in the town square with Open Jar. More details available here.

At 6pm on Saturday 2nd May come to The Stove for the public launch of HAME, this is a specially commissioned film installation by artists Emma Dove and Mark Lyken. Lyken and Dove have been artists-in-residence with The Stove Network for 6 months, and during this time they have been researching the way people move away from D+G and return. Come along on 2nd May for the world premiere of the work, which will be partly broadcast outside on the High Street and partly inside The Stove. Full details will be announced shortly and be available here 

Every Tuesday starting 12th May you are invited to Drop-In @ The Stove – pop in for a brew and a blether about The Stove and the town…. what would you like to see The Stove doing? What are your ideas for the town centre? What would you like to do at The Stove? We’ll be open and we’d love to hear your ideas! Drop In will run from 12 noon till 6pm every Tuesday, so just drop in on your way past! More details available here 

Keep up with the latest updates on Open House on our website, and via our social media on Facebook and Twitter, using #OpenHouse

Inspire Youth Dance end of term Fundraiser

From Emma at Inspire Youth Dance

Interns Wanted

From the Wigtown Book Festival

Wigtown Festival Company has launched three new internships with some of the flagship festivals in the region.

Available to people aged 15-25 in Dumfries & Galloway, Spring Fling, Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival and Wigtown Festival Company are all offering opportunities to gain a variety of skills and experience. 

Spring Fling is looking for a social media coordinator to work before and during Spring Fling weekend. This will include blogging about activities including poetry collected by the Writer in Residence on her visits to various artists and The Stove's food and drink project where a chef will cook seasonal, local produce in artists' studios. 

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival offers the opportunity for the intern to learn about PR and Marketing and work in the office before the festival and to write reviews of shows aimed at young people during the Festival. 

Wigtown Festival Company will run its annual Writers' Gathering and is looking for an intern to support the event, taking responsibility for key tasks, including meeting and greeting authors and marketing the event beforehand. 

Full details can be found on the Wigtown Book Festival website here

Young Spring Fling - Poster competitions and Exhibition Openings

From Spring Fling

Schools competition winners on show with work by emerging talents and Dumfries and Galloway’s Archie Sutter Watt. Their work is now on display at Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries alongside a selection of pieces by emerging professional artists and an exhibition of oils by Archie Sutter Watt – one of Dumfries and Galloway’s best-loved painters.

The overall schools competition winner was Kirsty Dougan, from the P7 class at Springholm Primary. Her design features birds, deer and a fish all busy painting a picture, has been turned into the official Spring Fling 2015 poster and is being seen all over the country. Runners up Leah McWhir-Smith, Kirkcudbright Primary, P1 and Rachel Barr, Hardgate Primary, P7, also had their work turned into posters for them to keep. The exhibition also features entries by 20 schools winners. Leah Black, Spring Fling Director, said: “It’s a real joy working with these aspiring young artists and their work is lovely. It’s also very important to nurture this young talent. It’s wonderful that both these exhibitions will be on at the same time as Gracefield has the Archie Sutter Watt exhibition as he was so dedicated to educating young people about art.”

The schools competition is run in conjunction with Dumfries and Galloway’s Education Services department. The competition, and the bursary scheme, are funded by the Archie Sutter Watt Trust which was established to advance his commitment to arts and education. The top prize was £100 for the winner and £200 for their school, with £50 for each runner up and £100 for their schools.

Alan Watt, who is one of the trustees, said: “Archie taught in schools around D&G and also from own studio. “His two great passions were art and passing on skills to others. This is something he would have loved. And we like to promote art as a subject and an achievement in schools.”

This year is the centenary of Archie Sutter Watt’s birth and marks the 10th anniversary of his death. The Archie Sutter Watt exhibition offers a different perspective on his career. Celebrated for his watercolours, it is a chance to explore a lesser known aspect of his work and is called Archie in Oils.

The two Spring Fling exhibitions opened on Saturday following a special preview attended by the public, the schoolchildren and a selection of winners of the bursary scheme. They are free to visit and will run until 4 April.

The Spring Fling Young Artists Bursary scheme has now been running for four years and aims to help recent graduates with a link to the region make the transition into a professional career. Each winner receives £1,000 to create a body of work for the Spring Fling Open studios weekend and benefits from 15 days of mentoring by an established artist who has previously exhibited in the event. Leah said: “Making the shift from student to professional artist can be very tricky, and it’s a point where a lot of creative talent is lost because promising young people are forced off in different directions just in order to make a living.
“These awards and the mentorship by people who have built successful careers can be tremendously important. All our winners from the past have remained in the arts and have gone on to other projects, which is tremendous. “This is a superb opportunity to see how some of them are blossoming.” The Young Artist Bursary scheme exhibition features work by Katie Anderson, Terri Campbell, Holly Clothier, Fraser Irvine, Rory Laycock and Emma Kerr.

Terri, who graduated from Edinburgh College of Art last year and set up her own jewellery business in D&G, is one of the 2015 winners and has been mentored by Lisa Rothwell-Young, a jeweller and partner in the Cut the Mustard Gallery at Langholm.
Terri said: “Setting up my own business has been challenging but I’m really enjoying it. Having a mentor has been great because Lisa completely understands what I’m talking about.
“She has given me really valuable pointers on all sorts of things like how to approach galleries to talk about stocking your work and the dos and don’ts of setting up an exhibition.”
Her work is very wearable, with ranges that include everything from intricate silverwork to sheep horn found on the farm where she lives with her family.

See more of Terri's work online on her website here, or follow her facebook page here

Holywood Trust Grant boosts Arts Festival for Young People

From DG Arts Festival

A performing arts festival is singing the praises of a Dumfries trust fund after a £23,700 grant will help extend its programme to benefit younger festival goers.

As well as bringing the best in performing art to communities across Dumfries and Galloway, the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival is always looking for new ways in which to attract younger audiences and involve young people in its programme.

The grant from the Holywood Trust has enabled the festival to expand its programme for younger audiences across the region by providing skills workshops and masterclasses;; underwriting events planned by organisations involved with young people; putting on events that will appeal to younger audiences; and by offering half-price tickets for the  under 26s.

Programme director Peter Renwick said: “The Holywood Trust has been a staunch supporter of the arts festival for a number of years and this generous grant will allow us to reach out further to attract younger audiences as well as nurture and support young performing artists in a number of ways.

“Young people have always been integral to our festival goals and this generous funding has allowed us to add a whole extra layer to the programme.”

“The grant has not only allowed us to secure a wide and varied range of acts for younger people, like the Reduced Shakespeare Company, Mimika Theatre, Des Clarke, Hardeep Singh Kholi and Stanley Odd, but it has also helped us to support events programmed by organisations who work with young people as well as develop a programme of workshops and masterclasses so that young people in our area get to learn from world class performing artists visiting our area.” A number of organisations will be working with young people promoting arts events supported by the festival.

Young people in Wigtown will host a concert at the town’s primary school by singer Lorna Reid, one of Scotland’s leading jazz singers, and organised by the Wigtown Book Festival; Music Beats will hold music industry workshops and gigs in Dumfries and Sanquhar; the Oasis Youth Centre bring young rapper Reece Robertson to their stage; Stranraer Music Town will present history-making duo Raintown to its local football club, supported by young Stranraer-based Artist Michaela Tennant; and Horse and Bamboo Theatre bring their visually stunning play to Loch Arthur’s Cresset Hall.

The festival will also host a number of engagement programmes in the form of workshops and educational sessions taking visiting artists to young people. These include masterclasses with the Scottish Ensemble; workshops with the Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band; Stanley Odd rapping workshop; meet the artist sessions with local theatre groups; Robyn Stapleton workshop in Scottish songs; and how to master the art of performance photography with Castle Douglas photographer Kim Ayres.

Holywood Trust director Karen Ward Boyd added: “The trust is delighted to be supporting the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival once again in the programming of work for younger audiences in 2015. The festival has developed a fresh approach to help encourage and provide opportunities for young people across the region to engage with a range of high quality arts events and we hope as many young people as possible benefit from this.”

Job Opportunity with the Wigtown Book Festival

From Wigtown Book Festival

Wigtown Festival Company Ltd
Portfolio Manager (Young People)

Region: Dumfries & Galloway
Location: Wigtown
Contract Type: Part-time
Hours per week: 26
Salary: £13,500 (£20,769 pro rata)
Closing Date: Friday 13 March 2015

Wigtown Festival Company is seeking an inspirational individual to help develop its year-round programme of activities for children and young people throughout Dumfries & Galloway and to create opportunities for 0- to 25-year-olds to participate in literature and associated art forms as creators, organisers and audience members.

The successful candidate will take a leading role in managing WFC's children's, education and young people's programmes, and will be expected to work closely with the Literature Development Portfolio Manager, Artistic Director and our team of young people's Project Officers, young people aged 14-25.

The candidates are expected to show an understanding of the aims of Scotland's national youth arts strategy, Time to Shine.

The post holder should be able to demonstrate:

· A passion for and knowledge of literature, especially writing for young people
· Experience of working with children and young people
· Organisational and planning skills
· Excellent verbal and written communication and listening skills
· The ability to build good relationships and earn trust and respect
· The ability to relate to people from all backgrounds
· Ability as a self-starter with the capacity to work alone or as part of a team
· A commitment to equal opportunities and diversity

This post is subject to a Disclosure Scotland check and a driving license is required.

The deadline for applications is Friday 13 March 2015. Applications in writing only, complete with CV and 2 references. These should be addressed for the attention of Anne Barclay, Operational Director, Wigtown Festival Company, County Buildings, Wigtown, DG8 9JH or emailed to anne@wigtownbookfestival.com.

Full job description available on the book festival website here

Artwork unveiled at Lockerbie Academy

From Spring Fling

A beautiful six metre long banner crafted by Lockerbie Academy students to celebrate their town was unveiled today (Monday).

It is made even more special by the addition of 52 individually designed coins, minted using The Stove Network's bicycle powered foundry, and hung from the bottom.

Image: Barry Young

The colourful artwork, which now takes pride of place in the school’s main entrance area, is the result of a joint initiative between Spring Fling, the academy, and Dumfries and Galloway Education Services. The project has been led by professional artists Morag Macpherson, Katie Anderson and Kirsty Turpie – a former pupil at the school. The aim was to give the students the chance to discover about life in the arts, learn new skills and contribute to a piece of artwork that will be enjoyed for decades to come. Morag, a renowned international textile designer based in Kirkcudbright, said: “We wanted to give the students a different perspective on art through getting to know working artists. We talked about our different practices and how they had developed. It gave them an insight into the lifestyle and career. “They really embraced the project and produced some very good work. Some of the young people were clearly very talented and clearly had a chance of getting into art school if that’s what they wanted to do.”

The banner is made up of dozens of 30cm squares, each with a repeating pattern based on line drawings the young people made of local buildings. They scanned the drawings, coloured them and created the patterns using specialised software.
At the same time Katie led the project to create a new currency for Lockerbie.
Katie said: “We wanted to know what they thought would be suitable for a currency for Lockerbie using designs based on their vision of their own town. And they came up with some really imaginative ideas.
“We also had a great day when I brought along the bicycle powered foundry which they could pedal to get it to the right temperature.”

Kirsty introduced students to the ancient art of paper collage. She said: “We used different types of paper to create collages and talked about different artists who the students might be inspired by. The results were really imaginative, I was very impressed.”
Each of the 32 collages has now been transferred onto a ceramic tile and will be displayed in the school. The project, which was funded by the Holywood Trust, gave the young people insights into life as a professional artist.

Image: Barry Young

Leah Black, Spring Fling Director, said: “This has been a great project which has produced a wonderful new piece of public art which the students and the school can be hugely proud of and which will hopefully be enjoyed for decades.
“The creative sector offers all sorts of fulfilling career opportunities for young people and is of growing importance to Scotland’s economy. This gave Lockerbie students a taste of what life as an artist could be like – and we hope it has fired their imaginations about what they can achieve in their own lives.”
The artists went into the school for five days in December and January and each worked with groups of pupils.

Carol Donnelly, art and design teacher at the school, said: “The artworks produced by our pupils are fantastic! Both the staff and the students have thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience!
“We would definitely recommend this type of collaboration to other schools as a way of enriching the classroom experience and accessing new skills, techniques and materials.”

The unveiling was attended by D&G’s Director of Education Colin Grant, who added: “I am delighted that students from Lockerbie Academy have had this exciting opportunity to work with professional artists, it will have no doubt added another dimension to their learning.
“What I am also pleased to see if a former pupil of the school coming back and sharing her knowledge and experiences with pupils and showing that you can succeed in life beyond school.”

Ryan Youth Theatre And Dumfries Junior Guild In Double Performance

From Sid Ambrose, DG Unlimited Wigtownshire Area Arts Convenor

My head was very warm recently, which was no doubt due to the fact that l was in Stranraer's Ryan Theatre whilst wearing two hats. Hat number one represented my role as Wigtownshire Arts Hub Convenor, while hat number two signified the work l do for the Kirkcudbright based South West Scotland Sectarian project. In my case this explains the line from the old song “Where did you get that hat”.

Anyway moving on, The Ryan Youth Theatre delivered a powerful performance, on their home turf to a packed audience. Their production called Freedom Square was inspired by the turbulent events which took place in George Square, Glasgow on the eve of the Scottish referendum. Sectarianism, bigotry, love and nationalism were the key themes in the script which was written by celebrated playwright Des Dillon.

the cast from Ryan Youth Theatre rehearsing for Freedom Square

The play was commissioned by Wigtown Festival Company which received a grant from the Voluntary Action Fund small grants to sectarianism programme. Joining them in a double bill were young people from Dumfries junior guild under the tutelage of James Napper who delivered a performance titled “Unite Don't Fight” which was based around sectarianism and gang culture. The two shows were followed by a lively audience discussion on sectarianism and tolerance which was chaired by literature development officer Carolyn Yates.

James Napper who worked and starred with the Junior Guild

My twin hatted role involved linking the Ryan Youth Theatre up with the Stranraer based African Drummers, for both groups this created a new working environment and the sum of the parts i.e. youth theatre and percussion based performers was very definitely greater than the whole. I also suggested the double billing show which saw young people from Dumfries travelling across to Stranraer to perform in tandem with their counterparts. Similarly all three groups worked together to perform in New Galloway the following evening.

Carolyn Yates felt that the performances had been a credit to all of the young people involved and she was keen to thank all of those who had worked hard to bring the script to life, the Ryan Centre staff were singled out for special praise for their input on technical production, catering and general support.

The Ryan Youth Theatre performances in Stranraer saw young people working alongside a professional director in the form of Chris Taylor, the script was devised by Garlieston based playwright Des Dillon who is most famous for his comedy show called “Singing I’m no a billy he's a tim”. In addition they received direction from a specialist in stage movement and Blocking and they were able to choreograph the scenes to a live music accompaniment. All in all these skills and new working relationships incrementally strengthen the arts sector in Wigtownshire, and l am happy to play my part in supporting this even if it does require the odd change of hat.

Emerging Photographers Opportunity in Carlisle

From Carlisle Photo Festival

Carlisle Photo Festival Bursary – £500

Open Theme: Any Subject

Who is eligible: New and Emerging Photographers with up to three years experience.

What are we looking for: A written project proposal up to 1000 words outlining your proposal to include timescales and costings. Plus a short artists CV.

Submission Deadline: Midnight Saturday 28th February 2015

How to enter: email your application to carlislephotoenquiries@gmail.com

What happens next: Bursary winner announced the end of March 2015

Bursary winner’s work will be exhibited in Carlisle Photo Festival 16

Full details on the festival website here

Spring Fling Young Artists Exhibition

From Katie Anderson

Please join us for Spring Fling's Young Artists exhbition opening at Gracefield Arts Centre, next Saturday 28th of February from 2pm - 4pm. The exhibition will showcase artists from this and previous years Young Artist Bursary programme, including Katie Anderson, Terri Campbell, Holly Clothier, Rory Laycock, Fraser Irvine and Emma Kerr.

Have your say on DMC 2015

From The Stove Network

Hector Bizerk playing live at the Stove during DMC2013

It’s back! Dumfries Music Conference is making it’s grand return this April, heralding the opening of 100 High Street. For those of you who have not attended DMC event’s in the past, we’ve included record fairs, live music, song writing workshops and seminars with music industry professionals.

This will be the third year the Stove has hosted the Music Conference and the DMC team would love to hear from you what you would like to see and be part of at this years event. Have you got a great idea or suggestion?

Please take a moment out to fill in our quick survey available online here and help shape DMC 2015!

Freedom Square and Unite Don’t Fight to Tour Dumfries and Galloway

From Carolyn Yates and Sid Ambrose

Two hard hitting new plays based on Sectarianism, will premier across Dumfries and Galloway over the month of February. Freedom Square and Unite Don’t Fight will be performed by young people from the Ryan Youth Theatre and Dumfries Junior Guild. The free shows will embark on a pan Galloway tour with performances scheduled to take place from Stranraer to Dumfries.

Freedom Square has been described in promotional material as “The spark of first love across Scotland’s New Divide in the incendiary week of the referendum. She’s a Yes, he’s a no, their parents are bigots, and the Orange Lodge are gearing up to attack the square – what can possibly go wrong”?

Dumfries Young Guild of Players

Whilst Unite Don’t Fight, portrays a gritty and extreme example of Sectarianism. It tells the story of how four siblings have their family and home destroyed as victims of a religious hatred attack.  What starts as banter results in an arson attack and the death of their parents.  Hear them tell their side of the story as their nightmare is relived over and over again in the mind of the killer.

Both plays are supported by grants from the Voluntary Action Fund, Scottish Government’s Tackling Sectarianism Small Grant Programme and have been assisted by the Kirkcudbright based South West Scotland Sectarian Project.

Chris Taylor ( Freedom Square Director)

Freedom Square has been commissioned by Wigtown Festival Company, It was written and devised by award winning playwright Des Dillon in conjunction with the Ryan Youth Theatre, and is directed by Chris Taylor. Unite Don’t Fight has been written and directed by Dumfries based James Napper who has had a long association with local youth theatre groups.

The intention of the performances is to raise awareness of sectarianism which blights many communities across Scotland. Stevie Carr from the South West Scotland Sectarian Project Commented “Sectarianism can take many forms, from so called banter to prejudice and violence, l believe the plays are a great way to communicate with young people and make them better informed about sectarianism which at the end of the day is just another form of bullying.”

The inaugural performance of both plays will take place in a double bill at the Ryan Centre Theatre Stranraer between 6 and 8 pm on the 16^th February. The free performances will be followed by a meet and greet session with the cast and crew, for those interested in finding out more about the plays and the issues raised.

Other double bill performances will take place on the 17^th February from 7 to 9pm in New Galloway Town Hall and on the 27^th February at the Brigend Theatre Dumfries. A further solo showing of Unite Don’t Fight is scheduled for the Old Well Theatre Moffat on February the 20^th starting at 7pm.

For further information on the performances please contact Carolyn Yates, Literature Development

carolyn@literaturedevelopment.org  Phone: 01988 402036, Mobile: 07717179653

Please note although these are free events you may need to register your interest first to guarantee entry.