Published: 28 Jul 2017
36 Open Project Funding awards of between £3,500 and £85,000 made in June 2017
Creative Scotland has awarded over £800,000 National Lottery funding through the Open Project Fund in June 2017 to 36 recipients, including individual artists, musicians, a pop-up cinema space, writers, theatre makers, festivals and organisations working across the arts, screen and creative industries.
Social enterprise Cinemor 77 has received funding to deliver a year-long initiative, The Yurt Cinema Project. The project will see the Cinema Yurt pop-up cinema space touring music and film festivals throughout Scotland, including Kelburn Garden Party, Tiree Music Festival, Butefest, Belladrum, Lismore Lumia, Doune the Rabbit Hole, Electric Fields and Pollokshields Festival of Light, throughout summer 2017.
The Hebrides International Film Festival, 13-16 September 2017, has received funding towards its 2017 and 2018 programmes. This environmental film festival screens current world cinema on the theme of islands, environmental issues and indigenous peoples across Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra.
On receiving funding, Cinemor 77 said: “We're delighted to be receiving Open Project Funding from Creative Scotland. The funding will allow us to deliver a really high quality programme of films throughout our tour and to work with artists and musicians to put on special one off performances and workshops at festivals across Scotland.”
Among the multi-artform awards the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival has received funding towards this year’s programme, taking place in venues throughout Scotland this October.
Aberdeenshire-based community circus Modo has received funding to deliver On Mass: Scotland, a project aimed at bringing together emerging (16-25yrs) and professional performance artists from Aberdeenshire and London in celebration of youth, creativity and crossing borders.
Funding has been awarded to a partnership project between Scottish Book Trust, Scottish Poetry Library, Inverclyde Council, The Poetry Society, Tate St.Ives, Faber and Faber, BBC Radio, Kernow Education Arts Partnership and Donut Press, to deliver Language Is Where The People Are: W.S. Graham Centenary Celebrations 2018. Featuring a wide variety of events and activities that will take place throughout 2018, the project will help raise the profile of Graham’s work to a wider public.
Historic Environment Scotland has received funding to produce Heritage and Literature: Building Scotland’s Stories. Through the publication of two new books – one fiction and one non-fiction – featuring writing by some of Scotland's best known authors, the project seeks to offer illuminating perspectives of Scotland’s landscapes and history. The first, Bloody Scotland, will include work from authors Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Peter May and Denise Mina.
Funding for Contemporary Music for All will be used to produce the Contemporary Music Summer School. Taking place on Orkney at the end of July, the Summer School will provide opportunities for musicians of all abilities to explore, create and perform contemporary music in the company, and with the support of leading composers and musicians.
Alt-folk trio Salt House, along with trad duo, fiddler/singer Eilidh Shaw and guitarist Ross Martin, have received funding to support the development of new material.
Fife-based Dysart Colliery Silver Band have received funding to enable them to attend and compete at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2017 in Cheltenham, 16-17 September.
Alison Chapman, Dysart Colliery Silver Band said: “We are thrilled to have received funding from Creative Scotland. It is the band’s first win at the Scottish Championships since 1921 and the first time since 1945 that we have the chance to compete in the Nationals, so it is a big thing for us. Without Creative Scotland’s support, it just wouldn’t be possible. It’s not about winning, it’s about working together to be the very best that we can be, and we are delighted that, thanks to such support, we will be able to represent Scotland together in September.”
Funding for the Gary Clarke Company supports a tour of dance theatre production, COAL. Performed by seven professional dancers, the piece will feature locally recruited brass bands and a local community cast of women to venues across Scotland in Autumn 2017 and Spring 2018.
Industry body for dance, One Dance has received funding to deliver a programme of professional development activities for Scotland-based dancers, dance artists and choreographers, at every career stage from student to established artist. The programme will include a conference, mentoring and workshops.
Annabel Dunbar, Producer, COAL said: “We are delighted to have received Open Project Funding from Creative Scotland as this allows us to take COAL to five more Scottish venues, following the successful Scottish premiere at Glasgow Tramway last autumn.
“This vital funding will allow us to continue to reach out to audiences across Scotland and demonstrate once again the true universality of Gary Clarke’s extraordinary and far reaching vision of what community dance theatre should be about.”
Theatre makers Vision Mechanics will use their funding to create a new multi-media production for children aged 5+, Little Light. Dance, shadow puppetry, object theatre and animation will combine to tell the story of a lonely boy who discovers companionship and trust through the curiosity of a mischievous star and the devotion of a faithful dog.
Edinburgh-based multi-arts venue Summerhall has received funding to undertake a pilot programme of artist development initiatives. The Artist Development Programme will comprise two Labs, offering artists time, space and money to develop new work, two Scratch nights, offering artists the chance to try out an idea in front of an audience, and four space development weeks, offering artists in-kind space to develop new work.
Five artists; fine art photographer Frank McElhinnney, playwright Lesley Wilson, performance artist Kate Clayton, performer Ian Cameron and visual artist Annie Peel have received funding towards the development of their artistic collaboration, The Field. The project is inspired by Lesley Wilson's play, A Woman, A Crow, A Giant and A Field.
Sanctuary, 23-24 September 2017, a free, open access public art event has received a visual arts award. Taking place over the course of 24 hours in the Galloway Forest Dark Skies Park, Britain’s largest - and darkest - forest, the event will be co-curated by public artists Jo Hodges and Robbie Coleman.
Music educators, producers and sound designers, Bal Cooke and Ewan Sinclair will use their funding to support the development and presentation of a new and experimental music, art and technology project. SoundPlay will enable participants of all ages to experience direct interaction with cutting-edge digital soundscapes and lighting.
Iain Munro, Deputy CEO at Creative Scotland said:
“Collectively, these projects will reach many thousands of people from communities across Scotland, enabling them to participate in and enjoy artistic and creative experiences.
“We are particularly pleased to have been able to support such a wide range of cultural activity in this round, from Cinemor 77’s pop-up cinema space and CoMA’s Contemporary Music Summer School on Orkney, to supporting the Gary Clarke Company to tour community theatre work Coal and enabling the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival to continue their vital work.
“While, as always, there are many more good applications than we have the funds to support, these latest awards do provide invaluable support to the successful applicants and we look forward to seeing their work develop as a result.”
Open Project Funding is available to a wide range of organisations and individuals working across Scotland in the arts, screen and creative industries. It supports a broad spectrum of activity including creative and professional development, research and development, production, small capital requirements, touring and collaborations, festivals, arts programming, audience development, etc. A full list of activities supported through this route is set out in the Open Project Funding application guidance. Support is available for projects of different scale and duration with the maximum period of award being set at 2 years. Awards are made in the range £1,000 to £100,000 (or up to £150,000 by exception).
Please note the funding awards listed in the above download remain offers of funding until such time as all terms and conditions have been formally accepted and fulfilled by the award recipient. If an award recipient fails to accept any offer, the funding award will be withdrawn and credited to future Open Project Funding Panels.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
Eilidh Walker, Media Relations & PR Assistant, Creative Scotland
Email: eilidh.walker@creativescotland.com
T: +44 (0) 131 523 0019
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