Published: 30 Jan 2019
Imaginate has announced the programme for its 30th anniversary year, which will feature an enhanced Children’s Festival programme including an immersive production from ground-breaking Punchdrunk, two new commissions from Scottish theatre makers, an exciting year-round schools programme, new international partnerships and more development opportunities for artists.
Speaking at the launch in Bute House today, Paul Fitzpatrick, CEO of Imaginate, said: “Our 30th anniversary is the perfect opportunity to launch new programmes that will deepen our relationships with schools in Edinburgh and across Scotland, encourage artists to make new works for young audiences and create stronger international relationships. What’s exciting is that these new programmes will be in place for the next three years, making a real change to what we are providing for theatre and dance for young people in Scotland.” Highlights for the 30th anniversary year include:
Imaginate’s new offer for schools will include:
The Inspiring Schools programme is funded by PLACE (Platforms for Creative Excellence), a unique three-way partnership between the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh festivals.
Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and International Affairs Fiona Hyslop said: “Imaginate has had an incredible impact on Scotland’s arts scene over the last decades. This year’s plan, with its diverse, high-quality programme of activity, confirms the festival’s commitment to providing a platform for our young people to engage with the arts and experience culture from an early age. As Imaginate celebrates its 30th anniversary, I am pleased that we were able to contribute £126,000 in 2019 from the Scottish Government’s Festival Expo fund and £535,000 over the next three years through our PLACE fund. The funding will support the ‘Imaginate at 30’ and ‘Inspiring Generations’ programmes, as part of the Festival’s wider effort to develop a year-round offer for schools, and it will help ensure young people in some of the most deprived areas can be exposed to the arts.”
From its early beginning in a tented village in Inverleith Park, the Children’s Festival has become one of the most celebrated festivals for young audiences in the world, attracting over 11,000 children yearly, as well as hundreds of industry professionals from over 23 countries. The 30th edition of the Festival will take place from Saturday 25 May to Sunday 2 June 2019, showcasing some of the world’s best theatre and dance made for young audiences.
This year, the programme boasts a unique production from Punchdrunk, Small Wonders, an interactive theatrical experience where children are invited inside the home of an elderly miniaturist for an awe-inspiring magical journey. The production will be shown exceptionally over three weeks to enable as many children as possible to attend.
Punchdrunk’s Artistic Director Pete Higgins said: “We are hugely excited to be working with Imaginate over the next three years, both to bring our transformative projects to schools most in need and also to share our production, Small Wonders with Edinburgh audiences. At Punchdrunk we believe access to creativity can transform a child’s prospects. We are proud to be part of Imaginate’s programme for our first time in Scotland.”
Two new Imaginate commissions are also taking pride of place in the Festival programme. Stellar Quines, the award-winning Scottish theatre company that celebrates women in theatre, are staging a new production of the internationally acclaimed play This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing, a contemporary fairytale about triplet sisters abandoned in a forest, who follow their own path in the world and fulfil their dreams through courage, determination and friendship.
The Letter J’s Super Human Heroes is a comical and musical dance with darkness, exploring the ways we are, fail and try to be super human heroes. This funny and poignant family show featuring live music, dance and video projection, offers a version of the world where even Captain Sunshine is overwhelmed by the challenges of the day, tired of being sunny, funny and smart.
Both commissions are supported by the Scottish Government’s Festivals Expo Fund. The full Festival’s programme will be released on 20 March.
Having inspired children over the last 30 years, the Festival is now seeking to raise £10,000 to spend over the next five years to ensure that more children can access its world class shows regardless of their background and circumstance. The Inspiring Futures appeal will help make the Festival more accessible than ever before through transport subsidies, free tickets for those who need it most and adapted performances for children with additional support needs.
Imaginate’s Creative Development programme is also getting a boost. The programme plays a central role in the development of a vibrant sector, supporting artists with skills development, networking and international exchange.
Residencies will be set-up in partnership with key arts organisations across the country to encourage new artists to create work for young audiences. Diversity is at the heart of the programme. Residencies in 2019 will support artists with disability (with Birds of Paradise) and artists of colour (with Project X), with more opportunities being created over the next three years.
In addition, Imaginate is developing Accelerator, a programme offering funding and support to allow artists to take new and ambitious ideas to production. As well as artistic support and mentoring, artists will benefit from on-going assistance from a producer who will ensure the work has a life beyond the residency. To encourage new voices in the sector, Imaginate will also run Launchpad, an offer similar to Accelerator aimed at emerging artists.
Colin Bradie, Interim Head of Creative Learning at Creative Scotland said: “Creative Scotland recognises the considerable role Imaginate and the Children’s Festival has played over the past 30 years in developing, profiling and showcasing theatre and dance for young audiences, for not only Scotland but also the world. This significant 30 year milestone is marked by inspiring developments for artists and young audiences which will ensure the reach and impact of both Imaginate and the Children’s Festival continues.”
Imaginate has once again been awarded Creative Europe funding to lead PUSH+, a new artistic development project with four European partners and Thailand, to explore topics which are under-represented in theatre and dance for young audiences. The three-year project will enable artists from Scotland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark and Ireland to ‘push’ their thinking on the ideas of Home, Failure and Different Bodies, through labs, residencies and international workshops, leading to more diversity of people and stories in work for young people.
Lastly, an interactive archive will open up 30 years of Imaginate’s history to the public. Made in collaboration with a PhD student from the University of Edinburgh, the online tool will use new interviews, old photos, video clips and press cuttings to celebrate the organisation’s past as much as its present.
Imaginate is the national charity in Scotland, which promotes, develops and celebrates theatre and dance for children and young people. As well as supporting artists making high quality work for children with a year-round programme of creative development, Imaginate produces the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival which showcases the best of children’s theatre and dance from around the world and is recognized as one of the best places for international programmers to see work of the very highest standard. For more information about Imaginate please visit www.imaginate.org.uk. Follow us @imaginateUK and www.facebook.com/ImaginateUK/
The PLACE [Platforms for Creative Excellence] programme is a unique three-way partnership between the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh Festivals that will provide £15 million over the next five years for a range of creative and community projects. The introduction of the five-year commitment of the PLACE Programme creates a strategic approach to evolving the future direction of the festivals through long-term developments and collaborations with global as well as Scottish partners thus renewing the Festivals' ambition and purpose after the defining moment of their 70th anniversary. The PLACE Programme is funded by the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council, the Edinburgh Festivals, and supported and administered by Creative Scotland.
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
Punchdrunk: Founded by Artistic Director Felix Barrett, Punchdrunk is a world-renowned company whose work is recognised internationally as pioneering game-changing ways for audience to experience culture. Productions include Sleep No More now running in Shanghai and New York; The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable; The Borough and The Crash of the Elysium. Punchdrunk’s Enrichment programme, led by Peter Higgin, applies the company’s adventurous approach to young people, communities and other participants. Small Wonders, conceived by Punchdrunk and written by Nessah Muthy first premiered at Bernie Grant Arts Centre in 2018 part of LIFT, a ground-breaking international festival for London. It was originally commissioned by Punchdrunk, LIFT and Bernie Grant Arts Centre.
Stellar Quines: Stellar Quines retains a unique position within the cultural ecology of Scotland, as one of the few arts organisations whose primary occupation is concerned with the role of women. Stellar Quines’ vision is to be Scotland’s leading touring theatre company, inspiring excellence in women & girls supported by a mission to celebrate the value and diversity of women and girls by making brilliant theatre, provoking change, nurturing artists and empowering participation.
The Letter J: The Letter J was formed in 2012 by Judith Williams having been inspired by the illustrations of The Grey Earl [AKA Jon Bishop]. The Letter J make performance and art experiences for children and their communities. They seek to create high quality, relevant artistic experiences that resonate with young people, their families and communities. They see children as constructive critics and their practice is committed to making young voices heard within the children’s theatre sector.
Baillie Gifford employs 1,128 people and has assets under management and advice of £173.3 billion as at 31 December 2018. An asset management firm founded in 1908, it is headquartered in Edinburgh where most of its staff live and work.
The 6 PUSH+ partners are: Imaginate / Edinburgh International Children’s Festival (Scotland), Krokusfestival (Hasselt, Belgium), The Ark (Dublin, Ireland), Scenekunstbruket (Oslo, Norway) and Aabendans (Roskilde, Denmark) and new associated partner Bangkok International Children's Theatre Festival (Thailand).
Creative Europe is the European Union's programme to support the cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors. From 2014-2020, €1.46 billion is available to support European projects with the potential to travel, reach new audiences and encourage skill sharing and development. Creative Europe Desk UK promotes awareness and understanding of Creative Europe, and provides free advice and support for applicants from the UK. Creative Europe Desk UK’s team of specialists is based across the UK (in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast) and we organise workshops, seminars and industry events.
Background on Imaginate: Imaginate is a national organisation with an acclaimed international reputation for presenting, promoting, developing and advocating for professional theatre and dance for young audiences. Born out of the annual Scottish International Children’s Festival founded in 1989, the name Imaginate was adopted in 2000 to reflect the year-round activity which includes artist and art form development, working with schools and advocating for article 31 of the United Nations Rights of the Child, the right to arts and culture.
In 2002 Imaginate consolidated its place as the leading organisation committed to the development of artists, art form and engagement with schools by creating the new senior-management post of Creative Development Director. 2007 was a significant year, with the introduction of Scottish Government’s Expo Fund and the creation of Festivals Edinburgh. Imaginate was invited to be one of the founding members of Festivals Edinburgh, in recognition of the quality of the festival and the international leadership positon of the organisation. The Expo Fund allowed Imaginate to enhance the delegate programme of the festival and begin to commission new work.
Further leadership in the sector was demonstrated in 2009 when Imaginate hosted the Starcatchers early years project, which had started at North Edinburgh Arts. By providing a base, infrastructure and through identifying additional funding, Imaginate supported the project to become a company in its own right. It has gone on to become an internationally acclaimed leader in early years’ arts and one of Imaginate’s strategic partners.
2015 heralded a new chapter for the organisation, when director of 21 years Tony Reekie, stepped down and the organisation underwent a restructuring process implemented by the new Chief Executive, Paul Fitzpatrick. The new structure separated the Chief Executive’s responsibilities from the artistic demands of programming the festival so that he could focus on being the international ambassador for Imaginate with the aim of developing the year-round activity, creating new partnerships and identifying a wider and more stable income portfolio.
