“Landscape Photography” Commission from NHS Ayrshire and Arran

From Will Levi Marshall

NHS Ayrshire and Arran

Deadline: 27 February 2015 at 17:30

Project 1 Sea Photographs 
Outline 
Three, digital photographic prints of light on the surface of the sea. These will provide a key visual feature on the journey into the hospital. Their position and scale will allow them to be seen, through the glazing, on the approach to the building’s main entrance.

Project 2 Secret Place Photographs 
Outline 
The selected artist(s) is to photograph a series of twenty images from set locations based upon consultation already undertaken. Patients were asked for their beautiful, ‘off the beaten track’, places in Ayrshire. The commissioned photographer will visit twenty of these places to produce the imagery, e.g. Hanging gardens at Auchincruive.
The project also has the scope of being produced as a small visual publication for distribution throughout bedrooms and waiting areas. 

Project 3 River Photograph, Lightbox
Outline 
The selected artist(s) is to photograph an Ayrshire river. The work will be incorporated into a wall mounted light-box. By being in an area with seating the work will provide a contemplative resting point. The work is located in an area of little natural light, where the light box method of presentation will be most effective. The light-box will have daylight frequency lighting to add to its therapeutic effectiveness. 

Timescale/Stages
The commission will be completed in four stages within a total delivery period of about 9 months from the start date of 18th March 2015. 
Contractual Payment Details
The commission is based on a maximum assumed limit of 25 days for this work and invites competitive tenders based on a day rate. 
Additional to the photography fee, a budget is available for printing, framing, workshops, travel and the lightbox. This will not exceed £8,590 and the artist is to provide the required outputs from within this budget sum.

A further additional modest sum is available for enabling works for the light box to be carried out by the building contractor to the agreed design.

All applicants must email with a subject line “Landscape Photography” for full brief and application procedure.

Applications not in the format specified in the application procedure will not be accepted.

Location: East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire

For further information, please contact will.levi.marshall@btinternet.com (Will Levi Marshall), or call 01556 640399, or visit https://ayrshirehealthandarts.wordpress.com

The deadline is Friday 27 February 2015 at 17:30.

Milestones - A Waymarking Sculpture Commission for NHS Aryshire and Arran

From Will Levi Marshall

NHS Ayrshire and Arran

Deadline: 27 February 2015 at 17:30

Outline 
A key to mental and physical health and well-being is an active lifestyle. Support to help patients enjoy the outdoors is built into the new hospital facilities. This project helps reinforce these aims by providing distance waymarks, or “milestones” around the campus as prominent landmarks with possible supportive text. These will be benchmarks for activity and pleasing visual objects in themselves. 

This project is to design, manufacture and install these waymarking interventions in the landscape to mark significant distances. Starting at key location points (such as the main entrance/car parking etc.) distances (10m 25m 50m 100m) will be annotated by sculptural interventions. Patients participating in rehabilitation programmes could aim to reach ever increasing milestone distance targets as part of this programme. The sculptures are visual punctuations, creating a place for contemplation and rest within the landscape. The locations may have additional supporting text clearly delineating distances in an illuminating and engaging way, for example “A harbour porpoise can travel around 10 metres in a second”. 
Whilst the text and sculptural forms to be made will be agreed as part of the design process, they should relate directly back to the landscape, flora and fauna of the Ayrshire coast as directed by the strategic goals of the Arts Strategy. 

Please email with a subject line "Milestones brief" for Full brief, application procedure and supporting documentation. 

Applications not in the format detailed in the application pack will be ineligible. 

Contractual Payment Details

Base budget comprises of £ 17,430 Of the budget it is assumed that £13,680 will be used for manufacture and install of the sculptures. This assumes £3,750 is available for artists design fees.

A further additional £1,200 is available for engineering certification or permissions if needed, and a modest sum is available for enabling works executed by the building contractor if required by the design agreed.

Location: East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire

For further information, please contact will.levi.marshall@btinternet.com (Will Levi Marshall), or call 01556 640399, or visit https://ayrshirehealthandarts.wordpress.com

The deadline is Friday 27 February 2015 at 17:30.

Destination Seating Area design Commission for North Ayrshire Community Hospital

From Will Levi Marshall

Outline 
Research has highlighted the importance of connections between inside and outside in design for health and wellbeing. Creating meaningful opportunities to enjoy the landscape is central to the “Points of View” Arts Strategy for North Ayrshire Community hospital. Additionally a key to mental and physical health is an active lifestyle. Support to help patients enjoy the outdoors is built into the new hospital facilities. This project helps reinforce these aims by providing a destination seating area encouraging all weather access to the landscape.

The sited structure will provide shelter and be open and light enough to offer safety and security. The design will integrate into landscaping contours and include a wheelchair accessible path and handrails. It is anticipated that the seating will need to be arranged to allow small groups of two or three a sense of place as well as individual seats.
The finished design should provide a beautiful sensory ‘place apart’ feature on the campus, encouraging access to outdoor location. Additional benefit may be gained from short ramp and stairs with bespoke handrails to encourage mobility and light exercise. 

Please email for Full brief, application procedure and supporting documentation. 


Contractual Payment Details
Base budget comprises of £ 27,250. 
Of the budget it is assumed that £17,000 will be used for manufacture and install of the seating area and shelter. This assumes £5,750 is available for artists/design fees, and a further fee of £4,500 is available for engineering certification and permissions.

An allowance of £14,000 is available for enabling works executed by the Building Contractor if required by the design agreed.

Location: North Ayrshire

Deadline: Monday 16 February 2015

For further information, please contact will.levi.marshall@btinternet.com

Full details online here

Graphic and Design Commission from NHS Ayrshire and Arran

From Will Levi Marshall

Deadline: 30 January 2015 at 17:00

We are seeking and artist/designer or illustrator to develop three bespoke graphic outputs that will mesh with the way finding and interior strategy of the project. It is expected the selected artist/designer will work closely with the existing design team, building contractor, and their suppliers, as appropriate.

Project One: Reception Desk frontage 

Develop a design based on the sea and coastline around Ayrshire that will form part of the frontage for the main reception desk that welcomes everyone to the new hospital. After consultation an acrylic panel with a CNC etched design on the back face, illuminated by back or side lighting is proposed. The artist’s role will be to research and source imagery from the natural world of the Ayrshire coast and create a marine design to be cut on the panel.

Project Two: Wayfinding Iconography 

To design and develop iconographic imagery which could be based on or influenced by the name of the building and/or the individual ward names that will be integrated into the signage and way finding. Alternatively it could be based on the flora and fauna of Ayrshire. In view of the architectural heritage of existing buildings on the site an Art Deco theme may further inform the design work.

Project Three: Vinyl Manifestations 

Modern buildings benefit from large glazed areas. This has a dramatic and important positive effect in light levels and psychological connections to surrounding landscape. However in order for a building as complex as a hospital to function adequately different levels of visibility are required in specific locations. The requirements vary from full screening to minimal DDA compliance glazing dots. This project is to design Landscape based vinyl manifestation to screen glazing as deemed necessary. This will be rolled out across campus in targeted locations that require additional glazing to be screened. 

Design budget comprises of £10,750 with additional implementation budgets 

Please email for Full brief and supporting documentation.

Location: East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire

For further information, please contact will.levi.marshall@btinternet.com (Will Levi Marshall), or call 01556 640399, or visit the website here for more details

Oriental Dance Exercise Classes in Wigtown

From Petra Stetina

We moved to the Machars a year ago and I have been doing a weekly ODE (Oriental Dance Exercise) class ever since. I am not very good with advertising so its usually just me and a couple of dedicated ladies, so I would love to reach a wider audience because IT IS SOOOOOO MAGICAL the way these movements ( circles, spirals, 8,s, etc) up and down spine and extremities, enhance happiness and well-being of body mind and spirit!

Of course they do, because these are the movements of the UNIVERSE! the movements of the ATOMS! i can only strongly strongly recommend it!we move tooooooo little in our so called "civilised" society-this is EASY, MEDITATIVE, REPETiTIVE,(no choreography-no memorising or counting steps,as this distracts from the essence of the movement) it  also gives you a six pack after some time, is a really good exercise for all the  internal organs(womens especially!) strenghtens core muscles, improves balance, coordination, posture, breathing, flexibility, AND JOY de VIVRE!

Scotland Sings - Administrator Wanted

From Alison Burns

Part-time Dumfries and Galloway Administrator wanted for Scotland Sings, a Scotland-wide project run from Dumfries and Galloway for Hands Up For Trad, based in Glasgow. 15 hours week for 6 months. 

A job description and application form can be had from Persephone Nichol-Bose <persephone@handsupfortrad.co.uk> Deadline for applications 16th October. Interviews in week starting 20th October.

Scotland Sings is a Hands Up for Trad project, designed to bring new participants and audiences together through singing. Scotland Sings was launched in Autumn 2012 with over 60 separate events taking place across Scotland as part of the Scottish Government’s 2012 Winter Festival celebrations. We had over 3000 participants taking part from Stranraer to Lerwick.

More details online here

Professional Development Workshop: Facilitating Creative Writing for Wellbeing

From Carolyn Yates

'Writing place, space and landscape for wellbeing' is a year-long programme of workshops, events and facilitator training across Scotland in 2014 exploring the impact of creative writing, reading and storytelling about place on mental health. Funded by Awards for All Scotland . All Stories Are PLACED! 

Tracey Emin's Monument Valley (Grand Scale) 1995–97 Giving readings from her book, Exploration of the Soul

Professional development in facilitation skills.Sat 4 and Sun 5 October 2014, 10am to 5pm each day. Maggie's Glasgow, Gartnavel General Hospital, 1053 Great Western Road  G12 0YN. With Ted Bowman, Valerie Gillies and Larry Butler. 
Workshop fee: £90, Lapidus members £75, (a limited number of concessions will be available). 

Further information contact Carl:lapidus.scotland@yahoo.co.uk. tel 07786674300

Have your Say on Walking

Scotland's 'Walking Strategy' will be published on 13th June - now is the meoment to contribute your thoughts on the draft strategy. Christopher Topping of D&G Health and Wellbeing is gathering responses on behalf of the region - please send your thoughts direct to Christopher by email:  Christopher.Topping@dumgal.gov.uk by Tuesday 13th May

Click here to download the draft strategy.

Questions you might consider....
Vision
The draft Strategy sets the following vision: ‘A Scotland where places are well designed for walking, an increased number of people enjoy the outdoors and more people walk as part of their everyday journeys.’
1. Is this the right vision for Scotland?
2. Does the draft strategy provide the right framework to achieve this vision?
3. How does/could you/your organisation contribute towards achieving the vision?

 Strategic Aims
 4. Do the strategic aims support the delivery of the vision?

Great places
 5. How can we build on the current facilities in and around communities and ensure they are welcoming walking environments for everyone?
Click here to download a Microsoft Word version of the consultation questions.

Of Lochs and Glens - Castle Douglas Library Gallery

From Derby Stewart-Amsden

Hi,

I've been living in D&G for nearly a year and am I feeling able to reach out and re-birth my life and business (as artist, healer and retreat owner)

Here are details of my first exhibition at Castle Douglas. Hope you will drop in and enjoy it:

Mental Health and the Healing Power of Art

From Jenni Day

Tree of Life by Lol

 Art therapy has long been used as a tool in physical therapy. Painting, sculpture and collage creation, to name a few art forms, can be used to achieve a plethora of aims, everything from strengthening the pincer grip to sharpening differentiation of colour skills in the visually impaired. Art also bestows palpable benefits on our mental wellbeing and it might have something to do with the innate human need to create. It is thought that artistic expression can be traced back 1.5 million years, when our ancestor, homo erectus, first began using iron oxide pigments to create non-utilitarian visual representations. Art served as a visual representation for humankind’s thoughts and it continues to do so today; throughout history, the value of art has extended beyond the self; it has served as a means through which parents and children can bond, communities can be strengthened and traditions, adorned. Art/art therapy has also proven useful in dealing with an array of mental conditions. These are just a few areas in which art therapy is being used to foster well-being and greater mental health, and to overcome challenging problems like addiction:

• Art Therapy: fostering an empathetic approach to addiction: Many therapists use art therapy with persons in rehabilitation for substance abuse and other addiction issues, by using creative expression to break down their resistance to the 12-Step programme. Other therapists, however, believe that the best results are obtained, not by confronting a recovering addict regarding denial or resistance, if not by encouraging them to employ artistic creation to find their own motivation to change. Art becomes a means through which a recovering addict can explore their ambivalent feelings towards addiction. Therapist Brian J. Horay, for instance, describes how he used art therapy with a person he was caring for, asking the latter to create a collage which expressed first the ‘pro’s, then the ‘cons’, of not using drugs. Horay notes that the person was initially hesitant to list the ‘cons’ of leaving the world of drugs behind, but soon began to identify important reasons in his collage. By realising that rehabilitation involved giving up many aspects of his addiction that had seemed so attractive to him to begin with, he came to a much more realistic perspective of what the process involved – it would not be so easy as it seemed, yet the ‘pros’ definitely outweighed the ‘cons’.
• Art therapy and depression: Art is also often used with those suffering from depression, largely because of its immense power to provoke an emotional response. According to Eric Jensen, author of Arts with the Brain in Mind, “Making and observing visual art seems to enhance or ability to elicit and even mediate our emotional responses.” Different types of art (i.e. familiar looking vs. unique art) activate different parts of the brain and once we find something we recognise or find meaningful in a canvas, sculpture or drawing, we are moved in a positive manner. Art helps those who are depressed find positivity, since it distances them from their problems while showing them that there are many different interpretations that can be taken with respect to a situation. Creating art also involves making choices regarding colour, space, texture, etc, which teaches the budding artist that there is always more than one option; there is always more than one solution to even the most burdensome of problems and situations.
• Art therapy and dementia: Anthropologist, art therapist and psychologist, Dr. Patricia Banes, is renowned for her use of art therapy with persons with dementia. She notes that the remark made by one of her students upon finishing an artwork – “This is more important than eating or sleeping!” – is the starting point for thinking about dementia and creativity. Art therapy, she says, enables those with dementia to transcend their memory loss and see something unfolding before their eyes. It is also an excellent way for various persons with dementia to unite and create something together. Dementia can often cause feelings of intense isolation, so that working together on a painting or drawing can provide a unique opportunity to feel like part of a greater whole.

Green Hat by Grace

Art therapy has been found to bestow many more documented benefits. These include increased positive emotional responses, reduced agitation, an improvement in cognitive processes, greater verbal fluency, functional improvements, increased consumption of food, greater mobility, strength and equilibrium, better moods and attention spans, less stress (for both the carer and the receiver), a better quality of life and a more profound understanding of the human condition. Art will always be one of the most profound means of expression in existence and a powerful way to heal body and mind.