Editorial by Kenny Mathieson
Not so Jolly Roger
1 Nov 2009
THE INVERNESS WINTER FESTIVAL 2009 got off to a rocky start when a single complaint about a Jolly Roger flying from the flagpole on the Town House led to the removal of the “offending” item, apparently on the grounds that it gave succour and support to Somalian and other latter-day pirates.
The flag was there to promote their Blackbeard’s Haunted Ness Islands Halloween Show, but Highland Council felt obliged to remove it following that single complaint. It made our correspondent “Jolly Roger” feel rather less than jolly about the whole business of Creative Censorship – read his/her reaction here.
Meanwhile Homecoming Scotland 2009 moves into its final stages this month, culminating with another surge of events leading up to St Andrews Day . A flick through the Finale brochure reveals only one major event in the Highlands, a St Andrews Fèis Homecoming event at Eden Court (27 November 2009).
The final assessment of the merits or otherwise of the promotion will only emerge later, and will doubtless be the subject of ongoing debate. Whether it achieved it broader aims of generating visitor numbers I cannot say, but I can say I’m not sorry to see it end. I am not a fan of these year-long extravaganzas, and this one seemed even more amorphous than Highland 2007.
Doubtless a number of events would not have taken place without it, or would have done so in a different form, and artists and promoters have equally doubtless been happy to take advantage of the funding opportunities it has offered.
Once again, though, there seemed to be a great deal of slapping a Homecoming logo onto things that were already happening, and a lot of slightly strained attempts to manufacture a Homecoming slant to events that did not really fit the template. Or am I just being unduly grumpy?
Reports from The Gathering, Homecoming’s flagship event in Edinburgh this summer, suggested that conditions were less than ideal for the inaugural performance of The True North Orchestra, led by Jim Sutherland. There will be another chance to hear them when they perform in the opening concert of Celtic Connections 2010 in January.
Oh, and there is also another year-long celebration waiting in the wings, albeit not as lavish – 2010 is BBC Scotland’s Year of Song, and they plan to celebrate songs and song-writers (in all genres) across their radio, television and online programming.
More immediately, the Inverness Film Festival rolls out in November. Their website promised programme details as of 12 October 2009, but remained ominously unchanged. Enquires have revealed that all is well, the programme is in place, and was scheduled to be revealed on 29 October 2009.
In our lead interview this month, Barry Gordon caught up with a couple of music promoters trying hard to bring name bands to his native Caithness. A number of companies based in the Highlands & Islands are out and about this month, including the Black Isle-based Plan B . Frank McConnell revisits a 1988 collaboration with Michael Marra, director Gerry Mulgrew and designer Karen Tennent in A Wee Home From Home.
Moray-based Wildbird take an unusual look at the Bard in Playing A Round With Shakespeare, while Strathspey-based Dannsa team up with the Cape Breton band Beòlach on a tour.
Kenny Mathieson
Commissioning Editor, Northings
Kenny Mathieson lives and works in Boat of Garten, Strathspey. He studied American and English Literature at the University of East Anglia, graduating with a BA (First Class) in 1978, and a PhD in 1983. He has been a freelance writer on various arts-related subjects since 1982, and contributes to the Inverness Courier, The Scotsman, The Herald, The List, and other publications. He has contributed to numerous reference books, and has written books on jazz and Celtic music.
Duncan MacInnes has highlighted a growing awareness at grass roots level of why we are being asked to apply for a grant. The economic impact con for those who don’t know involves Quangos with funds asking for applications for grants from local bodies, selecting a limited number for financial support and then publishing a list of everyone who did apply on their official website. The final act enabling them to a) say they are helping you with your marketing and b) enabling them to claim that they have hundreds more events in their programme than they are supporting. The hundreds more events THEN enables them to draw the wool over the eyes of politicians by enabling them to grossly inflate the economic impact of THEIR year long festival.
Thank you Kenny for voicing what I am sure is a universal area reaction to the Homecoming project. As a promoter on Skye we tried to avoid direct involvement – we had no desire to fill in forms just to increase our existing programme of 40 events this year! But we did receive several events who came clutching a Homecoming banner. This included one real homecoming visit from Newfoundland Gaels who largely paid their own way but who were kindly given a homecoming banner to display. Another flagship event landed on us and did not, I am afraid, live up to expectations.
But then there was Highland Homecoming’s missed opportunity of the year – Mairearad Green’s ‘Passing Places’ (which had a bit of Highland exposure in the summer). During the Highland Homecoming I believe it was funded for only one gig, here with SEALL events at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. With any sense this would have been seen in every Highland venue and sent to every venue in Scotland and then around the world. It alone would have done more for Scottish cultural tourism than all the rest put together!
I agree with Dragan!
Nice to get a trip to Iceland…
When I attended the International Festival and Events Association’s European Conference in Iceland early last year I sat listening to Dragan Klaic explaining precisely WHY year long festivals cannot work in Reykjavik Art Museum.
A former President of the European Forum for Arts & Heritage (EFAH, Brussels) Dragan pulled no punches in his speech and said that anybody who thinks that year long festivals are a good idea needs educating.
Just for the record Dragan teaches Arts and Cultural Policy at the University of Leiden and serves as a Permanent Fellow of Felix Meritis Foundation in Amsterdam.