The Year of Creative Scotland 2012 receives 2.2m boost.

More people will be given First in a Lifetime opportunities to experience creativity during the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, it was announced today.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, was in Glasgow to announce that the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland have boosted their support for the Year of Creative Scotland by nearly £2.2m, with total investment now hitting nearly £8m.

The additional funding comes in response to overwhelming interest in Creative Scotland’s Year of Creative Scotland funding programmes.

It means an extra twenty four projects will receive support through the expansion of Creative Scotland’s First in a Lifetime funding programme.

Ms Hyslop was at Elder Park to meet children from Riverside Primary School and representatives of the Friends of George Wyllie, who have received First in a Lifetime investment to work with communities in Glasgow and Inverclyde on initiatives including the Big Little Paper Boats schools project, where schoolchildren will create an Origami Line of paper boats to be exhibited at the George Wyllie Retrospective exhibition in November.

With projects stretching the length and breadth of the country, from the Isle of Barra to the Gorbals, the First in a Lifetime programme sees the Year of Creative Scotland 2012 reach into care homes, family centres, sporting venues, schools and streets.

George Wyllie's life will be celebrated at the end of the Year of Creative Scotland on Hogmanay, which would have been his 91st birthday, with the launch of thousands of Big Little Paper Boats along the Clyde from The Riverside Museum.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, said:

"Throughout the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, people and visitors in every corner of Scotland are being encouraged to see, experience and contribute to Scotland's rich, vibrant culture.

"We have experienced an overwhelming level of interest in the Year of Creative Scotland's funding programmes, demonstrating the remarkable impact that the Year is having on Scotland's communities.

"Supported initiatives, like the Big Little Paper Boats project, are helping to showcase, celebrate and promote Scotland's cultural and creative strengths. I am pleased to announce today, that a further £2.2 million will enable the expansion of this important work - taking the total support for the Year to almost £8 million."

Kenneth Fowler, Director of Communications at Creative Scotland, said:

“The staggering response we’ve received to the Year of Creative Scotland is proof of what a creative nation Scotland is. It is with great delight we’ve been able to increase the budget, allowing us to take forward even more inspiring and engaging projects.

“Today’s announcement sees the creation of an inspiring range of events that will offer people across the country unique experiences to join in the celebrations of Year of Creative Scotland 2012. George Wyllie’s project on Hogmanay is one of many exciting ways to celebrate the end of the year, but its legacy will continue on towards Homecoming 2014 and beyond”

The First in a Lifetime programme touches the lives of young and old alike; with Starcatchers and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra working with very young children, while Dance Ihayami and Art in Hospitals will work with older people. Other highlights include The Big Craft Giveaway, which sees communities across Scotland create thousands of Crafts objects to be given away at venues and hidden in cities; Seasons of Recovery will use creativity as a tool for recovery for people suffering addiction; While Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay and Friends of George Wylie take their inspiration from the sea and the river respectively.

In Glasgow, Refugees and asylum seekers will create their own oratorio at The Citizens Theatre. While in Aberdeen Dance-a-maz'in and UDANCER in East Ayrshire, will culminate in celebratory dance performances, feeding the ambition to Get Scotland Dancing.

Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said;

“This year is designed to position Scotland as one of the world’s most creative nations to audiences at home and across the world. Our culture is one of our greatest assets and Scotland has a wealth of world class cultural events, festivals, collections and organisations and we are working in close partnership with Creative Scotland to ensure Scotland’s cultural credentials are recognised throughout the world to encourage more people to visit.”

Louise Wyllie, daughter of the internationally renowned sculptor and writer, said: “My father always said that his art was place specific and people specific and for him, engaging with ordinary people through his work was what it was all about. So far, he has lived through 90 fantastically creative years in Scotland, bringing social sculptures such as The Paper Boat and The Straw Locomotive to the wider world's attention. We look forward to building on this legacy, thanks to this First in a Lifetime award.”

Supported projects through the £2.4m First in a Lifetime programme include:

Nationwide:

• Really Interesting Objects will organise The Big Craft Giveaway which will bring together leading craft artists with communities across Scotland to make thousands of craft objects which will be released across Scotland in September.
• The Royal Scottish National Orchestra will record a CD blending Scottish songs, nursery rhymes and children’s favourite classical pieces which marks the starting point of a programme to connect with babies and parents in celebration of Scotland’s musical heritage and performance excellence.

Glasgow & West:

• Alongside the projects outlined, Friends of George Wyllie will work with unemployed and retired construction workers to create 30 large question marks which will rise out of the waters of the Clyde, with an additional two giant question marks being hung from the Titan Crane in Greenock and the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow.
• Scottish Refugee Council will work with refugees, asylum seekers and the wider Gorbals community on a series of music workshops that will result in the performance of their own oratorio at The Citizens Theatre, culminating in a documentary film.
• Playwrights’ Studio Scotland will deliver ‘Born to Write’ a playwriting project that will allow the communities of Castlemilk, Drumchapel, East Glasgow and Pollok to immerse themselves in the joys and challenges of writing a play for the very first time.
• Through a series of artistic collaborations Tramway and Glas(s) Performance will work with residents living on and near Albert Drive, the street in which Tramway is located, to create a large-scale intergenerational weekend arts event in Summer 2013 exploring the central question 'who is my neighbour?'
• The Beacon will work with communities in Port Glasgow, East Greenock and Larkfield/Braeside to develop inspiring, inclusive, quality artistic residency engagement programme led by professional artists of international standing, resulting in artistic performances.
• Art in Hospitals will create an imaginary ‘washing line’ from here to there connecting frail older people in care homes in Glasgow to their communities through the visual arts.
• The Village Storytelling Centre will deliver Creative Sparks a new cross-art form Storytelling programme designed specifically for young carers in eight communities across the West of Scotland.
• Starcatchers will work with very young children, their parents and carers from family centres in South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire on a programme of arts activity including an artist in residence and a programme of professional development training for educators in the family centres, culminating in a celebration event.
• East Ayrshire Council will work with young people in three East Ayrshire communities to deliver UDANCER a programme of workshops focusing on street/freestyle dance. Culminating in celebratory performances and a ‘Dance Off’.

Edinburgh & East:

• Dance Ihayami will work with older people and those suffering dementia on a dance project, which will aim to build connections between cultures, culminating in a celebratory dance event.
• Scots Music Group will work with the community in Leith to offer traditional music and song opportunities for those affected by mental health, homelessness, poverty and addiction, and the opportunity to record and release songs for download.
• The Fruitmarket Gallery will work with Skills Development Scotland to place and support young people not in education or employment to take part in a programme of activities, leading to participation in the Gallery’s Youth Forum – a group who will learn professional and transferable skills, taking part in the Gallery’s work and programming a youth strand.
• Lyra Theatre and Catherine Wheels will programme ‘Arts Impulse’ for children and young people in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh. Offering opportunities to join Artspace youth theatres, create their own work - guided by artists, and see high quality theatre and dance performances.

North & North East:

• Citymoves Dance Agency will programme free dance sessions for all primary school children in Aberdeen and create Dance-a-maz'in, an interactive dance maze, to create an exciting and magical first arts experience for young people and their families.
• Dundee Rep Theatre will support two large scale community theatre works, with participants from Rep Creative Learning Programmes and Dundee Rep Ensemble who will stage She Town by Sharman Macdonald, and the community of Whitfield will create a new piece of work.

Central Scotland:

• The Collective Gallery will place contemporary artists in sporting venues associated to the Commonwealth Games (past and 2014) to work with families to create work in the ‘The All Sided Games’.
• Comas will work with people recovering from addiction in the Serenity Café, on ‘Seasons of Recovery: mind, body and spirit’ a year-long programme of arts activity in which they can explore their creative talents, and experience the arts as a tool for their recovery.
• Working with iconic writers, artists, musicians and politicians, the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum will deliver a programme of debates, readings, plays, and workshops that ask people to explore how issues critical to Burns are still an important part of life today.
• Trigger will work in partnership with the Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland (LTCAS) to produce and deliver 'Visit' a pilot programme of performances that will travel to the homes of people who are housebound.
• Artlink Central will deliver Abrupt Encounters a new inclusive live arts programme developed alongside adults with learning disabilities culminating in site-specific, live arts events in public spaces.

Highlands & Islands:

• Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay, will work in association with artist Stephen Hurrel and the community of Barra to develop a multi-layered digital map 'Sgeulachdan na Mara / Sea Stories'.
• The Promoters Art Network will train 40 young people age 16-26 as volunteer promoters within PAN’s operating area culminating in the programming of a tour aimed at new audiences and young people.

Credits:

Main Image and Article Image © Drew Farrell

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