An Exciting Place to Be

CLARE GEE looks back on a busy first year as Arts Officer in Orkney.

AS PART OF the series of articles by Highlands and Islands Arts Officers, I have been allocated June – which is perfect for me. It enables me to reflect (though not for too long I promise) on my first full year in post in Orkney, and it is an exciting time in the Orkney calendar, with the Orkney Folk Festival and St. Magnus Festival each just a few weeks away.

As Orkney’s first local authority arts development officer, this year has been a learning curve, both for me and for the incredibly enthusiastic and motivated arts practitioners in the county. I have been learning the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the county and the council, soaking up all the names and faces and history like a sponge. I have had a fantastic time, have been made to feel incredibly welcome and now call Orkney home.
 
When Alistair Peebles and I had a conversation for the August and September issues of the Arts Journal last year, we talked about a number of projects just getting off the ground or being thought about. I am delighted to report that the projects mentioned then have come to fruition.

The dance training weekends were extremely popular and positive, and have been the catalyst for a new partnership between the Orkney Traditional Dance Association and the Orkney Traditional Music Project. Young musicians are learning how to play for dance, and members of the dance association have been trained in calling for dance, creating self-sufficiency in Orkney dancing circles and bringing the generations together for mutual benefit.
 
The first Orkney Dance Festival, which took place at Easter, was also a significant success. Rob Corcoran of Northbeat was so pleased with the interest from locals and visitors alike, that he had already booked the hotels for the Easter 2006 festival before the opening concert for this year’s event!

I am beginning to get a much broader picture of Orkney, the potential for development and a longer term view.

Another project I mentioned in the last article was the development of www.orkneyarts.org.uk  – an Orkney-specific independent arts networking and forum website which is now up and running. orkneyarts was heavily involved in supporting Tullimentan 2005, the first showcase for the arts in Orkney, and probably the highest profile project I’ve undertaken here.

They provided the organisers – myself and Orkney Arts Forum – with a website to publicise the event, which took place in February, and incorporated the HI~Arts roadshow, displays by 29 local arts organisations, seminars supported by Orkney Enterprise, one-to-one advice surgeries, and an evening of presentations, performances, socialising and networking for the public and those involved in the arts.

We even had a ‘bop’ with the wonderful Lone Star Swing Band – despite the Friday night snow blizzards! The perceived need for an event of this kind has turned into an established need for an annual arts event for local people, taking place outside of the hectic summer season.

Orkney is an exciting place to be for the arts and some momentous projects are now underway. The Pier Arts Centre has closed and work has started on the major redevelopment of their galleries. It is great to see the work getting underway, and exciting to think not only about the impact the building work is going to have when the new doors open, but also the opportunities they have whilst the galleries are closed in not being tied to the building. I am anticipating some interesting projects emerging.
 
I am beginning to get a much broader picture of Orkney, the potential for development and a longer term view. Creating an arts capital strategy and a public art strategy are my current big projects, and I have finally managed to focus on opportunities and activities more widely than Mainland Orkney, with visits to Westray, Sanday and Stronsay so far.

I have worked with a lot of individuals and organisations to develop project ideas and seek funding – some successful and some not so successful, but there is a never ending supply of exciting ideas and cracking projects bursting to happen and more resources are starting to come Orkney’s way for projects, festivals, events, exhibitions and individuals’ own personal development.

I can see my second year being even busier than my first – a daunting, but very exciting prospect!

© Clare Gee, 2005