Another year in Moray

NICK FEARNE reports from Moray as our ongoing series of articles on the work of the Moray Council’s Arts Development Officers moves into a second cycle.

IS IT ONLY A YEAR since I kicked off with one of these articles? That means it’ll soon be Christmas!

A year ago I was writing about the visit by the RSC, and only the other day I emailed them to see if they would come back in 2007! Now, 2007, that rings a bell for some reason. Ah yes, a year of culture – thank goodness for that, only 8 months to wait until we get some.

You may detect a slight cynicism here towards the concept of Highland 2007, and you’d be right, although this has been tempered by the recent agreement between HIE Moray and Moray Council to put some money on the table. £360,000 to be precise, to support events and projects that will form part of the Highland 2007 celebrations in Moray. The Vicar of Bray will be out and about in Doric Moray!
  
I don’t want to dwell on H2007 but it does actually, now the cash is there, provide a great opportunity to support and develop the cultural potential of Moray. Interestingly 2007 is the year some of the recommendations from the Cultural Commission will kick in – no more Scottish Arts Council, Victoria Quay the Opera, and the hills will be alive with youngsters wearing cultural rucksacks!

But a funny thing has happened on the way to the future – things have been happening! The National Theatre of Scotland has burst on the scene and not just on the main stage of the central belt – it’s actually doing what it said on the tin!

Over the last year we have embarked on a rolling programme of putting artists into schools to work with pupils, academic and catering staff to create art in the dining hall

Talking of the great outdoors, last October saw the production of ‘Spinners – HipHopera A96’. This was a project that had grown out of using the arts to engage with young people at risk of offending. Through ‘detached’ youth arts work we involved young people from the Lossiemouth, Hopeman and Burghead areas in a performance project using drama, dance music and video.
 
Here in Moray we are working on ‘The Crucible’ project through a local NTS team – freelancers we regularly use who are now being employed by NTS. As well as working with a community cast that will be part of the TAG cast when ‘The Crucible’ plays Findhorn at the end of April, the team have been creating ‘companion pieces’ round themes in the play that are relevant to the area. In the case of Moray that seems to be witchcraft (is that a surprise in Macbeth country?) – so look out for burning iron maidens rolling down hillsides!

Thanks to a SAC Lottery grant the whole thing was staged over three nights in an area of Roseisle woods near to Burghead Caravan Park. Screens, lights and TVs were strung in trees, crashed cars littered the forest floor, firemen cut crash victims free as the audience moved through the trees and watched a mix of recorded film and live video feed from the cars.

Car crashes on the A96 involving young people may not seem the cheeriest of topics – it’s not – but it happens and all too often is part of the lives of these young people. Incidentally, courtesy of NTS (their first project), Poorboy, currently ‘Falling’ through Glasgow, undertook site management.

Although Moray has an Arts Team (and the three Arts Development Workers now have permanent posts!) we use many local freelancers. In doing so we are able to help artists continue to live and work in Moray, and in many cases return to Moray.

This has been particularly true through our Hungry for Success programme. H4S is a Scottish Executive initiative to improve the eating experience of children in schools – not just from a nutritional point of view but looking at the surroundings in which lunch is taken.
 
Over the last year we have embarked on a rolling programme of putting artists into schools to work with pupils, academic and catering staff to create art in the dining hall – and not a lettuce in sight! At the moment we are working our way through 46 primary schools, with approaching 30 completed. With a budget of £65,000 in 2005/6 it is possible to offer employment to a number and range of artists.

At the end of last year the great waste play debate was raging on the Highlands and Islands Theatre Network smartgroups email thingy. I won’t go into all the details – George Gunn will happily do that (we’re still good friends) – but will report that Dogdaze theatre had a successful tour round Moray primary schools with ‘It’s a Wasteful Life’. There have been calls from a number of councillors to perform the piece in the newly refurbished council chambers – go figure!

(Nick Fearne, Arts Development Officer, Moray Council)

© Nick Fearne, 2006