Our behind-the-scenes look into the lives of arts people in the Highlands and Islands continues as ROBERT LIVINGSTON, Director of arts development agency, HI~Arts, records his hectic May 2003.

May 2

To Huntly (outside my usual territory) to chair a seminar for Deveron Arts linked to their ‘Empty Shop’ public art project.  Amazed to find over 60 people turning out for two hours on a Friday evening for a very lively, positive and well-informed debate on the role of the arts in relation to community development, tourism, etc.  Being presented with a side of smoked Greenland halibut by the Danish artist Eva Merz was an unexpected bonus!

May 6

To Edinburgh, to talk to our sponsors, Scottish Gas, about possible additional support for our proposed ‘second generation’ mobile cinema, and then to an evening planning meeting about Live Music Now! Scotland—I’m a member of the Scottish advisory panel.  Food and drink are clearly conducive to producing good ideas, and so many interesting proposals are brought forward that we all agree that it’s essential that Carol Main, the excellent LMN Scotland Director, needs to become fulltime to implement them all!

May 8

Meeting up in Forres with Nick Fearne, Moray’s Arts Development Officer, and his enthusiastic team.  It’s remarkable how completely the situation for the arts in Moray has been turned around in so short a time.  Lots of scope for collaborative work with HI~Arts.  In the evening, to Eden Court Theatre to see ABC Dance Company’s version of Hamlet, which turns out to be a truly unique occasion—the dancer playing Hamlet fell ill that morning, and no less than three other members of the cast dance different sections of the role in his place! A mesmerising evening.

May 12

Our little meeting room is full to the limits for the Steering Group for the ArtsPlayproject, which is now past the half-way mark of its two year progress.  It’s been a constant delight to work with the many umbrella groups who support the child care sector:  their enthusiasm for, and commitment to involving the arts in their work has been an inspiration for all of us.

May 15

Another full house in our meeting room—thank goodness we put in a smaller table!—this time to ‘brainstorm’ on the draft of the report which we’ve commissioned into possible developments for writers in the Highlands and Islands. Combining an Edinburgh based company—Jenny Brown Associates—with a locally based writer—Moira Forsyth—has clearly paid off in getting the widest possible response from writers—over 140 questionnaires returned!

May 19

A very intensive day working with our Audience Development Coordinator, Marcus Wilson, and Catalyst Arts—who are Keiran Cooper and Beth Applin. Catalyst are preparing a feasibility study for us into a possible online box office.  Like anything involving the Web, every answer raises another ten questions, and sometimes it feels like playing three dimensional chess, trying to juggle all the options. Fortunately, Catalyst know their stuff and think fast on their feet!

May 20

More mental gymnastics linked to the Internet, but this time it’s about our new Crafts web resource, being developed as a pilot for a national Crafts site.  I’m at Gray’s School of Art in a wonderfully verdant setting on the edge of Aberdeen.  The head of school, Ian Pirie, is also Chair of the Steering Group for this project, and he and Sarah Amundsen, our Crafts Database Coordinator, talk technical jargon with great fluency while I try hard to keep up!

Stamina of a different kind is required in the evening, as I’m also in Aberdeen to take in part of our 10-day festival Go North, a showcase for unsigned bands.  For three days at the heart of this festival, Aberdeen’s Belmont Street becomes like a mini-version of Dublin’s Temple Bar area.  Five venues in the street are in operation simultaneously.  This means that between 20.30 and midnight I get to see nine bands, and all that after hearing Tony Wilson of Factory Records in the Belmont cinema, being breathtakingly frank—and very funny—about the music business.

May 29

The biggest problem with our meeting room is actually trying to fit all our own staff in when, as now, we have a fortnightly team meeting!  We’ve been in this new office for less than 18 months, and already we’re having to review the layout of space to ensure enough ‘hot desks’ for all our team members who’re based outside the office, or for those on temporary contracts.

May 30

The newest member of our team is Tom Smith, a former bank manager who is acting as Project Manager for our plans to commission a ‘second generation’ Screen Machine mobile cinema.  We’ve been watching with appalled fascination as the exchange rate between sterling and the Euro keeps rising, as we will be ordering the cinema (if we raise the funds!) from France, and the price will be in Euros. But first we have to settle some of the key design issues, such as how many seats, what’s the highest we can build the cinema and still get on ferries,  and how wide do the aisles need to be to accommodate wheelchairs. It looks like being a busy summer!