In the Loop 3.5: Making Connections is a knitting conference that takes place from 31 July to 2 August, exploring the contemporary potential of knitting with a strong Nordic theme. At the conference participants will hear speakers who are experts in the field of textiles, including artists, curators, designers, knitters, theorists, and historians. In the Loop 3.5 is the fourth in a series of acclaimed knitting conferences initiated and led by Linda Newington from the University of Southampton Library, this year run in collaboration with Shetland Arts. The price to attend the whole conference is £75, and day packages are available for £15 for day 1, and £30 for days 2 and 3. Places can be booked via Shetland Box Office and the conference is open to anyone interested in attending.

Saturday 3 August will see the public opening of Lighten, an exhibition of textile art at Bonhoga Gallery by a group of ten textile artists from Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, exhibiting along with two Shetland artists. Interested members of the public are invited to attend the opening which runs from 11am-1pm, and/or to visit the exhibition which runs from 3 August to 15 September. There will also be a gallery talk by artist Bente Saetrang on Saturday 3 August from 1-1.30pm. Bente is a well known Norweigian textile artist who specialises in printing on fabric. All events at Bonhoga are free to attend and all are welcome.

Also on Saturday 3 August is Meet Shetland Textiles – a drop-in, free to attend, textile networking afternoon. Come along to the Upper Cafe Bar in Mareel from 2 -5.30pm and meet textile artists and craftmakers living and working in Shetland. A unique chance to meet with and find out all about the amazing textile work going on in Shetland. The textile artists available to meet on the day are: Emma Blain, Julia Downing, Ella Gordon, Margaret Hamilton, Wendy Inkster, Barbara Isbister, Jo Jack, Pearl Johnson, Elizabeth Johnson, Niela Kalra, Wilma Malcolmson, Roxane Permar, Barbara Ridland, Helen Robertson, Hilary Seatter, Wendy Shaw, Suzanne Shearer, Nan Smith, Hazel Tindall, Andrea Williamson, and Julie Williamson.

Textile enthusiasts can also look forward to the opportunity to join two ‘Textile Tours’ on Monday 5 August – one to the West of Shetland exploring open studios and textile centres, from NielaNell and Laurence Odie Knitwear to Jamieson’s Spinning Mill, and one to the North of Shetland inlcuding a special visit to the Unst Heritage Centre for a lace knitting exhibition. Both tours will go on sale via Shetland Box Office soon.

Shetland Arts is also looking for local knitters to sign up to take part in Own Our Own Time, a participative outdoor knitting circle project taking place on Thursday 1 August. Basic knitting skills are required. Own Our Own Time will take place at the Shetland Textile Museum at the Bod of Gremista on Thursday 1 August from 6-8pm. Anyone interested in taking part is asked to email admin@shetlandarts.org.

Knitters can also attend a drop-in afternoon of Swedish 2 ended knitting at Shetland Textile Museum on Saturday 3 August from 2pm (participants are asked to bring size 2.5 or 3 needles), or take part in an Estonian Knitting workshop in Mareel’s Green Room on Wednesday 31 July led by Kait Lubja (places will go on sale soon).

A number of exhibitions across Shetland will also play a part in the festival: a Nordic themed exhibition of contemporary textiles by Shetland College Students being shown at Shetland Museum & Archives during July and August, an international textile collection being exhibited at ASF Shetland (Ann Sutton Foundation, Sellafirth, Yell) in July and August, a Nordic Textiles exhibition at Shetland Textile Museum running from May to October, and a lace knitting exhibition at Unst Heritage Centre from May to September.

The Living Lerwick Fair Isle Festival & Street Market will also get involved with textile window displays and a Fair Isle knitwear-wearing bike ride from 4 – 11 August.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “Textiles have long been important to Shetlanders, and the International Textile Festival aims to explore their contemporary potential and future in relation to the wider world, particularly the Nordic countries. We’ve already had lots of interest and we expect, with the launch of the full programme of activities, we’ll see even more people getting involved.”

Shetland Arts’ International Textile Festival has a strong Nordic theme and will cover the broad activity of textiles; including art, knitting, design, education, and business. More information about the International Textile Festival and its associated events can be found at www.shetlandarts.org/textilefestival

Source: Shetland Arts

Shetland Arts and Stomping Ground are working together to produce a brand new summer project full of theatre making, game playing, character creating and storytelling. There will be two groups, running in tandem catering for anyone aged between 7 and 21. Participants will learn about lots of different drama techniques, tell stories, create new characters, play fun games and make lots of new friends. Both groups will be using the same stimulus to create two entirely different performances, which will be created using participants’ ideas. These will be short and informal, and a chance for friends and family to see what we’ve been up to, and what we’ve learnt.

Shetland Youth Theatre was founded in 1994 and has a national reputation for high quality, innovative theatre. The company is run by John Haswell, one of the country’s leading youth theatre practitioners.

Stomping Ground is dedicated to creating diverse and inclusive theatre by and for communities and young people. The company is run by Sian Thomas, who has run numerous youth theatres and drama projects in London and hopes to expand the range drama opportunities for young people and communities here in Shetland.

Make a Scene will take place at the Garrison Theatre. For children aged 7 -12 the sessions will take place from 9.30am – 12.30pm from Monday 5th to Friday 9th August . These sessions will be led by Sian Thomas. For young people aged 12 – 21 the activity will run over two weeks. From Monday 5th August to Friday 9th August the sessions will be from 2.00pm t0 5.00pm. During week 2 (Monday12th August – Friday 16th August) the sessions will be morning and afternoon 10.00am to 5.00pm. These sessions will be led by John Haswell

Fees for Make a Scene are £50 for 7 -12 year olds and £80 for 12-21 year olds with a 20% discount for siblings in either group. Places are limited and pre-booking is required.

Place scan be booked via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Managed by Shetland Arts Development Agency, the leading arts agency in Shetland, Mareel is the UK’s most northerly music, cinema and creative industries centre.

Iain Connelly, President of the RIAS, said: “The 75 submissions from throughout Scotland, ranging in cost from zero to over £30m, is a tremendous vote of confidence. It absolutely confirms that this award, in only its second year, is now the single most important recognition of architectural achievement in Scotland.” Of those 75 submissions, 12 buildings, including Mareel, received awards and were shortlisted.

The building, designed by Gareth Hoskins Architects, is situated in a prominent quayside area in Lerwick, adjacent to the Shetland Museum and Archives and incorporates: a live performance auditorium, two cinema screens, rehearsal rooms, a recording studio, education and training spaces, a digital media production suite, broadcast facilities and a cafe bar with free, high speed wi-fi internet access.

Providing a year round programme of film, live music, education and other performance events, Mareel is a hub and a focus for the creative communities not just in Shetland but beyond, and a catalyst for creative industry in Shetland.

Niall Iain Wright, Associate at Gareth Hoskins Architects, said: “We are very proud of Mareel and delighted to receive a RIAS award. It goes some way to rewarding the endeavours of those, from within our office, from PJP Architects and from Shetland Arts, who put in so much effort to deliver the project. As ever, our greatest satisfaction remains in seeing the building being well used, enjoyed and becoming a central part of the Shetland community.”

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “Mareel is a building of national significance and we are very proud to see it recognised in the form of a RIAS Award and shortlisting for the prestigious Andrew Doolan Prize.”

The winner of the Andrew Doolan Prize for Best Building in Scotland will be announced later this year.

Source: Shetland Arts

Managed by Shetland Arts Development Agency, the leading arts agency in Shetland, Mareel is the UK’s most northerly music, cinema and creative industries centre.

The building, designed by Gareth Hoskins Architects, is situated in a prominent quayside area in Lerwick, adjacent to the Shetland Museum and Archives and incorporates: a live performance auditorium, two cinema screens, rehearsal rooms, a recording studio, education and training spaces, a digital media production suite, broadcast facilities and a cafe bar with free, high speed wi-fi internet access.

Providing a year round programme of film, live music, education and other performance events, Mareel is a hub and a focus for the creative communities not just in Shetland but beyond, and a catalyst for the creative industry sector in Shetland.

RIBA president Angela Brady said: “Risk-taking is not for the faint-hearted in recessionary times, but amongst this year’s crop of truly exceptional buildings I am delighted to see such a variety of projects doing just that.”

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “Mareel is an exceptional building and we are proud to see it acknowledged by these national institutes for architectural excellence.”

The winner of the Stirling Prize will be announced on 26 September in London.

Source: Shetland Arts

The all-ages workshop Structure, rhythm, form accompanies Julie Brook’s solo Made, Unmade exhibition in the main gallery at Bonhoga which opens this Friday. The Art in the Landscape season is funded by Scottish Natural Heritage and Shetland Arts and is part of Scotland’s Year of Natural Heritage. It also celebrates the Shetland Nature Festival.

Julie Brook is a landscape artist based in Skye and her exhibition is both indoors and outdoors at Bonhoga. Her show indoors is film and photographic work exploring the relationship between suggested and constructed sculptural forms in the desert landscapes of Libya and North West Namibia. This exhibition of work has toured to Shetland from the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh. Outside the gallery in Weisdale, Julie has constructed a unique site specific piece of land art which will also be open to the public.

Clair Aldington of Shetland Arts, said: “It is a privilege to have an artist of Julie’s standing creating a new work especially for Shetland here at Bonhoga. The workshop she’ll be leading is a great opportunity for folk to work with her to develop their drawing skills, and to hear more about her work in other parts of the world.”

In the other areas of Bonhoga Gallery, local artist and ranger Howard Towll has a selection of sketches and drawings of Shetland’s wildlife and nature. The show, Sketches, is displayed in the Lower Gallery in the café area. Also in the café, the Craft Cabinet is showcasing the work of local furniture maker Cecil Tait in an exhibition entitled Shetlandmade. The Stairwell Gallery is showing Scottish Natural Heritage’s Four Corners photography project, which aimed to get schoolchildren from the four corners of Shetland out exploring their local environments.  Pupils from Fair Isle, Foula, Unst and Bressay made visits to their local nature sites (the isles of Fair Isle and Foula, and the National Nature Reserves of Hermaness and Noss), documenting their experiences through photography.

All the above exhibitions run from 15 June – 28 July with a public opening from 6-8pm on Friday 14 July which is open to anyone to attend. Shetland Arts’ Art in the Landscape season will continue with other events over the summer.

Source: Shetland Arts

Chloe is already well-known locally for her distinctive vocal style and her catchy tunes. Her two most well-kent songs are Fish Out Of Water and Vitamin D Deficiency, both regularly played on SIBC.

Paul Brady is one of Ireland’s most highly regarded and successful artists. He incorporates folk, rock, blues, traditional Irish, and classic pop styles into his song writing. Often described as “a musicians’ musician,” his songs have been covered by a huge array of major artists including Tina Turner, Cher, Joe Cocker, and Carlos Santana.

At these two concerts he will perform sets including songs from his extensive 40 year catalogue, including hits from his albums Hard Station, True For You, Back To The Centre, Primitive Dance, Trick Or Treat, Spirits Colliding, and more.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “Chloe is fast establishing herself as a gifted singer songwriter of limitless potential. She will make a wonderful support act for Paul Brady.”

Tickets for both concerts are available now via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Shetland Arts is looking for local knitters to sign up to take part in Own Our Own Time, an outdoor knitting circle project taking place on 1 August as part of Shetland Arts’ International Textile Festival running from 31 July – 5 August this year. Basic knitting skills are required.

Own Our Own Time is an art project that deals with issues of time associated with a human pace, in form of a monumental knitting with 80 people all knitting together in a circle.

The project aims to raise questions about tradition and development, the participants’ own stories and about attention. It is run by the Swedish artist Kerstin Lindstrom with the help of skilled knitters from many countries. This event is being presented in collaboration with Shetland Textile Museum.

Kerstin Lindstrom is well known for her participative performance art, aiming in her work to evoke emotions, and elements of behaviour and relationships with people and places.

Own Our Own Time will take place at the Shetland Textile Museum at the Bod of Gremista on Thursday 1 August from 6-8pm and more information is available at Kerstin’s blog: http://knittingincircle.blogspot.co.uk/ Anyone interested in taking part is asked to email admin@shetlandarts.org.

Shetland Arts’ International Textile Festival will take place in Mareel, Bonhoga Gallery, Shetland Museum & Archives, and other locations in Shetland. The Festival has a strong Nordic theme and will cover the broad activity of textiles; including art, knitting, design, education, and business.

Events for the public and textile enthusiasts include a Nordic textile art exhibition at Bonhoga Gallery called Lighten and a Knitting Conference at Mareel and Shetland Museum & Archives called In the Loop 3.5: Making Connections.

The conference takes place from 31 July to 2 August 2013. At the conference, participants will hear speakers who are experts in the field of textiles, including artists, curators, designers, knitters, theorists, and historians. Artists exhibiting in the Nordic Textile Exhibition Lighten at Bonhoga Gallery will also be attending the conference.

In the Loop 3.5 is the fourth in a series of acclaimed knitting conferences initiated and led by Linda Newington from the University of Southampton Library, this year run in collaboration with Shetland Arts.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “There are loads of knitters in Shetland, from beginners right through to experts, and it’d be great to see a wide range of them getting involved with the International Textile Festival, whether by volunteering to take part in the Own Our Own Time knitting circle, booking a place at the In The Loop 3.5 conference, or by coming along to one of the many other events happening as part of the Festival.”

Members of the public can book a place at the conference for £75 via Shetland Box Office in Mareel and Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

More information about the International Textile Festival and its associated events can be found at http://www.shetlandarts.org/whats-on/festivals/international-textile-festival/

Source: Shetland Arts

Tuesday 9 July at 11am, 3pm, & 7pm @ Mareel, Shetland

Join Doctor Smith from the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies as he puts you at the heart of a hypothetical Zombieism epidemic, and teaches you what to do when a Zombie outbreak occurs. Worst Case Scenario is a new spoof tutorial on the real science behind a disease outbreak, featuring a multi-media presentation and interactive demonstrations the outcome of the outbreak is down to you; with multiple endings depending on how you decide to deal with the Zombies.

Founder of the Institute, Doctor Austin says: “Generally people believe the best way to deal with Zombies is to conduct involuntary euthanasia, but murdering people afflicted with a disease isn’t very nice, or effective. “

This tutorial is a sequel to the successful 2010/11 Zombie Science 1Z lecture which explored the real science behind the undead and received a wealth of critical acclaim and five star reviews.

Worst Case Scenario expands on the science covered in Zombie Science 1Z to communicate topics including genetics, virology and epidemiology. The tutorial format will simulate a Zombieism outbreak and teach you how the cause of a new disease is identified, what preventative measures can reduce its spread, and how treatments and cures are developed.

Supported by the Scottish Government, Wellcome Trust and University of Glasgow, Zombie Science: Worst Case Scenario is designed to educate, entertain, and inspire teenage & adult audiences about Zombiology as well as other biological sciences.

Ensuring the science is deadly accurate are a team of scientists including; Dr. Kevin O’Dell, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Genetics at the University of Glasgow and Dr. Katie White, a research associate at the University of Glasgow with a PhD in Cardiovascular Gene Therapy.

Always remember in the fight against Zombieism the greatest weapon is knowledge, and crossbows, but mainly knowledge.

Zombie Science: Worst Case Scenario is suitable for people aged 13+. It is free to attend, but booking is recommended to avoid disappointment. Tickets are available to book via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Julie Brook is a British artist who works with the land, where her response to the forms and materials to hand is expressed through her work. Over the past twenty years she has lived and worked in a succession of wild and remote landscapes, creating sculptures, paintings, drawings and films.

During 2008/09 Julie Brook travelled and worked in the black volcanic desert in central Libya and in the Jebel Acacus mountains in South West Libya. The stark landscape influenced a corresponding shift in the way she made large scale drawings and sculptural work in situ. This led to further exploration in 2011/12 in the semi-desert of North West Namibia where the absolute nature of the light and shadow is expressed in the new sculptural work.

The work is transient and changes significantly according to the light and time of day it is seen. Brook explores these changes through film and photography which become in turn the expression of the work.

Julie Brook’s first solo exhibition since her return has just closed at the Dovecot in Edinburgh and the work for exhibition in Bonhoga will be coming directly from there. It is a great addition to the project that Shetland Arts is able to commission her to create a site-specific work for Shetland.

Jane Matthews, Shetland Arts’ Exhibitions Officer, said: “We’re extremely grateful to SNH for their support, enabling this project to happen, strengthening and celebrating the connections between art and the landscape in the Year of Natural Scotland.”

Julie will also be running a drawing workshop in the landscape, also funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, on the 15th June from 11am – 1pm. For more details and booking visit shetlandboxoffice.org or call 01595 745 555.

Source: Shetland Arts

All the squares were knitted by members of the public, or a member of the monthly Mareel knitting group, and will vary from full patchwork knitted blankets to tablemats and chairbacks of stitched knitted squares, donated to the project in response to a knitting challenge for knitters of all ages in Shetland. After Dementia Awareness Week all the knitting will be stitched into blankets and donated to various Shetland charities.

Members of the public are also welcome to come along to Bonhoga Gallery on Saturday 1 June from 10am to 4pm to join in on a ‘Sewing Up Day.’

Ann Williamson, Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Advisor, said “The installation will hopefully get everyone thinking about Dementia. The number of people with Dementia is set to double in a generation and it is important that communities are dementia aware and talking about the illness in order to be well informed.”

Source: Shetland Arts

DF Concerts & Events in association with Shetland Arts presents Tim Burgess live at Mareel on Friday 27 September.

Tim is touring his new album ‘Oh No I Love You’, which will be released on September 2, around the UK with his five-piece band, including The Charlatans guitarist Mark Collins.

The Charlatans front-man, who recently published his autobiography Telling Stories, worked with Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner on the record.

Speaking of the making of ‘Oh No I Love You’, Tim said: “The root of this album goes right back to a Kurt Wagner show in Manchester…I carried Kurt’s guitar to the car for him. I took the chance to ask him if he would ever consider writing a song with me. He said, ‘Sure Tim, you write the music and I’ll write the words’. That one song turned into an album and almost ten year’s after we first talked about it, the album is read.y”

Recorded in Nashville with producer Mark Nevers, it features members of Lambchop, Clem Snide, and My Morning Jacket. Chris Scruggs, grandson of the legendary banjo player Earl Scruggs played on the album, as well as experimentalist R Stevie Moore. Further contributions came from Factory Floor’s Gabe Gurnsey and Nik Colk Void.

Tickets go on sale this Friday (31 May) at 9am via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org and www.mareel.org. Tickets will also be available via Ticketmaster. For more information, please see www.gigsinscotland.com

Source: Shetland Arts

Conjoining the sound of their own musical traditions, Vamm is an exciting string trio who weave together melody and harmony creating a rich sound, bursting with texture and groove. Newly formed in 2012, Shetland born Catriona MacDonald (ex Blazin’ Fiddles), Perthshire’s Patsy Reid (founding member of Breabach) and Norwegian Marit Falt, seamlessly create a dynamic yet intimate sound that will take your breath away. Vamm released their debut album earlier this year in late April to rave reviews.

Sardinian-born Elena Piras inherited her father’s love of music and singing – especially folk music. As a young child she sang in church choirs and later appeared regularly on local Italian TV. By the time she was a teenager Elena – who has been visually-impaired since birth – was an experienced artist performing for large audiences, singing and playing guitar professionally.

Since moving to the UK at the age of 18, Elena (who speaks six languages and is now learning Gaelic) has lived in London, where she co-founded and toured with the successful London Bulgarian choir. In 2006 she moved to Edinburgh, where her work at the Royal Scottish Academy of Art gave her the opportunity to become fully immersed in the music scene in Scotland.

Today, and now resident in Lerwick, she is a popular personality on the gigs and festivals circuit. She’s currently working on her own material, writing new arrangements for old traditional songs and also enjoying the success of her debut album Journey.

Source: Shetland Arts

DF Concerts & Events in association with Shetland Arts present Ricky Ross live at Mareel on Tuesday 19 November 2013. The Deacon Blue front man is touring his new album Trouble Came Looking, as well as performing other hits from his solo catalogue and Deacon Blue songs.

Ricky began writing Trouble Came Looking as the recession hit. It’s a modern folk album about the helplessness felt as governments signed off billions to protect banks, leaving the people to fend for themselves. Ricky said of the tour: “I’m looking forward to playing places we couldn’t get to with Deacon Blue, and sharing the untold stories behind my songs.”

A consummate songwriter, Ricky also spends a lot of his time co-writing songs for other acts. He has written for and with James Blunt, Ronan Keating, KT Tunstall, Cathy Burton, Gareth Gates, Emma Bunton, Will Young, and Jamie Cullum, among others.

Ricky also currently presents’ Another Country with Ricky Ross’ on BBC Radio Scotland and has covered for Bob Harris and Dermot O’Leary on BBC Radio 2. He also occasionally broadcasts for Radio 2 from the yearly Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “Ricky Ross is a real legend of the Scottish music scene. We expect that interest in this concert will be very high and recommend booking tickets early to avoid disappointment.”

Tickets cost £20 and will go on sale tomorrow morning (Friday 17 May) via Gigs In Scotland at www.gigsinscotland.com & Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org & www.mareel.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Wind-Up Projectiles comprise young musicians Joe Watt on lead vocals and guitar, Hayden Hook on double bass, Chris Thomson on keys and Lewis Murray on drums. The hip hop / rock crossover group are influenced by musicians including Queens of the Stone Age, Soul Coughing, Cake, Tom Vek, Beck, A Tribe Called Quest and many more New York and LA Hip Hop groups.

Support will be provided on the night by singer-songwriter Chloe Robertson and Troppo Funk.

Prior to the public concert, there will be an invite only event featuring an acoustic set performed by the band upstairs in Mareel’s Cafe Bar. The band will host a Q&A session, and there will be a talk from Dirk Robertson who created the artwork for the E.P. and from Marjolein Robertson of Maddrim Media about the video for the track Confabulation, which will be premiered on the night.

Joe Watt said: “Recording our first E.P. with such a powerful resource base here at Mareel has been a great learning experience and an exciting venture into the inner workings of the UK Music Industry. We’ve all gained so much, it’s difficult to pick out individual things to commend, the whole thing has been bewilderingly awesome.”

The record label and live promotions company, together with video and radio production companies, are a network of projects set up by Shetland College music students studying at Mareel. The aim is to provide a real world commercial environment in which students can record, release and promote recordings and other media under the guidance of Mareel’s lecturers and technical staff. All aspects of the record industry are represented, and profits generated will be reinvested into future student projects.

Bryan Peterson, Course Leader and Shetland Arts Music Development Officer said: “We’re really lucky to have so many talented musicians on the courses, but playing ability is only one aspect of a successful career in music. The students have pulled together a wide range of Creative Industry skills and interests and made the best use of Mareel’s facilities to produce some fantastic quality and interlinked creative projects.”

Battery Park Records is a label run by Peter Keay, Hayden Hook and Patrick Mainland. Between them they fulfil all the roles of a record label – scouting for new talent, recording, mixing and mastering the material, legal and copyright requirements, through to the promotion and distribution stages.

To produce the Wind-Up Projectiles E.P. they had access to Mareel’s recording and multi-media production facilities, including the Pro Tools HD based studio and a range of world class recording spaces, microphones and preamps. The recording sessions were then completed by Chris Thomson at his home studio before coming back to Mareel for final mastering stages. The CD has been printed by local duplication company Cumlie Media, run by Maurice Smith.

Battery Park Records has several other releases in the pipeline, including recordings made by local traditional and heavy metal groups.

Battery Park Records takes its name from the Royal Navy Reserve gun battery which was based on the site of Mareel during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Fittingly, the 32 pounder cannons were used for training and target practice after being moved from Fort Charlotte due to the “terrible noise”.

Patrick Mainland said: “Being involved in all the functions of a small independent record company has been a rewarding experience for us, and has taught us skills which we can retain and use in further creative industry work. The Battery Park Records project is also a very exciting prospect for the prolific Shetland youth music scene.”

Renemal Promotions is run by Norman Willmore and Max Tyler who have been organising promotional videos, album tasters, posters, flyers and other marketing materials for the album launch events.

Norman Willmore said: “So far the college course has exceeded all my expectations and given me solid real life knowledge of the Creative Industries. I’m looking forward to the E.P. launch and seeing months of hard work pay off.”

Screenhack Media is run by students Damien Calder and Martha Thomson who have produced a promotional video and a ‘making of’ documentary for the E.P. which will be premiered at the launch event. They also plan to release a live music video of the concert.

Damien Calder said: “It’s been a great experience doing this creative project as well as the rest of the HNC Music course. Working with all of the others in the class, and the facilities in Mareel have made for an incredible learning environment. It has provided me with a lot of valuable information that I can apply to things I do outside of college.”

Shetland Independent Radio Productions is run by Joseph McCormack, Gwyn Davies and Eamonn Watt. They have produced a number of programmes for 60 North Radio which aim to highlight the diversity of Shetland musicians and provide talented content creators, both up-and-coming and experienced, with a platform to promote their work, discuss their stories and influences and to showcase their work to a wider audience.

Joseph McCormack said: “Getting the opportunity to be involved in real-world radio production has been an exciting and educational experience. The multimedia facilities at Mareel have been enormously useful, and have allowed us to tie our individual projects together to create a microcosmic music industry.”

For more information on the educational activities available at Mareel visit www.mareel.org/learn

The doors for the EP Launch gig open at 8:00pm and the gig starts at 8:30pm. Tickets are £8 flat rate, and are available via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

The E.P. will be available to purchase from Mareel & High Level Music.

E.P. Launch Facebook page

Box Office – http://www.shetlandboxoffice.org/whats-on/wind-up-projectiles-ep-launch

E.P. taster tracks on Soundcloud

Wind Up Projectiles E.P. Launch Promo video

Battery Park Records Facebook page

ScreenhackMedia Facebook page

Wind-Up Projectiles Facebook page

Source: Shetland Arts

A concert by the Ukulele Orchestra is a funny, virtuosic, twanging, awesome, foot-stomping obituary of rock-n-roll and melodious light entertainment featuring only the “bonsai guitar” and a menagerie of voices in a collision of post-punk performance and toe-tapping oldies. There are no drums, pianos, backing tracks or banjos, no pitch shifters or electronic trickery. Only an astonishing revelation of the rich palette of orchestration afforded by ukuleles and singing (and a bit of whistling). Audiences have a good time with the Ukulele Orchestra. Going from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana via Otis Redding and Spaghetti Western soundtracks, the Orchestra takes us on “a world tour with only hand luggage” and gives the listener “One Plucking Thing After Another.”

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “The Ukulele Orchestra is known worldwide for their fun and impressive performances, and will be the perfect antidote to the dark nights rolling in again in October.”

The Orchestra was formed in 1985 as a bit of fun, but the first gig was an instant sell-out, and they’ve been performing ever since. By 1988 they had released an LP, appeared on BBC TV, played at WOMAD and recorded a BBC Radio 1 session. The current ensemble has been playing together for over 20 years, and has become something of a national institution. The Orchestra has given thousands of sold-out concerts across the world, including Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Poland, France, America, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. They have more recently performed sell-out shows at the Sydney Opera House (2012), The Royal Albert Hall (2008) and New York’s Carnegie Hall (2010).

Tickets cost £28 and will go on sale on Saturday 18 May at 2pm via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org and www.mareel.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Matthew Barley is celebrating 100 years of Benjamin Britten with an ambitious national tour which will include a performance in Mareel in Shetland. In what promises to be a fascinating and intriguing solo performance, showcasing his ever-growing virtuosity as a world-renowned cellist, Barley places Britten’s powerful Third Cello Suite at the centre of a programme which also includes a suite by J.S. Bach, who greatly inspired Britten. The programme also includes solo cello music by Tavener and specially commissioned new works by Dai Fujikura, James MacMillion, and DJ Jan Bang. Tickets cost £18 and are available via Shetland Box Office.

The four musicians of the Edrom String Quartet first met over 40 years ago through studies in Vienna and Austria during 1968 and 1970 before going their separate ways to follow their careers. Maeve became a member of the Wiener Solisten and Professor of Violin at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna; Lucy performed a wide variety of music playing baroque violin with the Banquet of Musick and teaching at the R.S.A.M.D. and playing Scots fiddle with Scottish Borders Music and the Rowantree Company; Ferdinand became Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the Hague Conservatoire of Music and his recordings with the Orlando and Parkanyi Quartets were awarded 2 Grand Prix du Disques; and Donald joined the Music Faculty of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and was Associate Principal Cellist in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

The four friends have met regularly over the years as Coaches at Spring and Summer Courses of the International Cello Centre (now known as the Edrom Casals Centre) a music school established by Pablo Casals in 1953. These courses took place for many years at Edrom House in the Scottish Borders and led to many performances by the Edrom Quartet. Tickets for their performance at Mareel cost £18 and are available via Shetland Box Office.

The Scottish Ensemble will take up a mini residency in Shetland from Wednesday 31 July to Saturday 3 August, engaging with the community in a bespoke programme of events including a silent movie screening and performance, a day of community events all around the Isles, an afternoon of ballroom dancing and cream tea, and culminating in a concert at Mareel which will feature a special composition about a sea journey from Dundee to Shetland – Seavaigers by Sally Beamish. Tickets for the concert cost £18 and will be available via Shetland Box Office from Saturday 18 May. More information on the mini residency is available at www.shetlandarts.org and www.mareel.org

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “Shetland Arts’ Summer of Classical Music is a celebration of the stunning musicianship and wide diversity of styles in the classical music scene. We know that there are a lot of classical music lovers in Shetland who will appreciate the chance to see these world-class musicians, and we expect that, by the end of the summer, there will be some new converts to the scene too.”

Tickets for Matthew Barley: Around Britten and the Edrom String Quartet are both available now via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org Tickets for the Scottish Ensemble final concert will go on sale via Shetland Box Office on Saturday 18 May at 2pm, and tickets for the Scottish Ensemble’s residency activities will go on sale in the near future. Please check Shetland Arts’ and Mareel’s websites and social media for updates.

Source: Shetland Arts

The programme for the Saturday evening concert aims to create new connections between folk and classical traditions, interweaving Scots folk with baroque and 20th century string music. The Scottish Ensemble will team up with folk super-duo Shetlander Chris Stout (fiddle) and Catriona McKay (Scottish harp), for a programme centring on two double concertos. This first describes a sea journey from Dundee to Shetland in Seavaigers, composed by Sally Beamish specifically for this combination of performers. In Bach’s instantly recognisable Concerto for 2 Violins, Chris Stout and Catriona McKay join the individual virtuosi of the Scottish Ensemble in a fresh take on core string repertoire. Tickets for this concert will go on sale on Saturday 18 May at 2pm via Shetland Box Office.

The residency in Shetland will kick off with Faust, a boundary-pushing night of electronic music, film and live performance from the Scottish Ensemble and DJ Alex Smoke on Wednesday 31 July in Mareel’s Main Auditorium. Murnau’s 1926 expressionist fantasy, Faust, tells the classic cautionary tale of the deadly consequences of entering into self-destructive deals with the devil. Paying homage to the musical accompaniments of the silent film era, DJ Alex Smoke has created a 21st-century soundtrack for electronics and strings bringing this dark and fantastical film to life. Lauded by the house and techno communities, Alex’s sets blur the boundaries between electronica, classical and hip hop and have led him to appear across the globe, including at the prestigious Sonar Festival in Barcelona.

On Thursday 1 August, the Ensemble is planning an Out & About Day – a day of events and performances all around the Islands. They are keen for members of the public, community groups, and local businesses to get in touch with Shetland Arts to suggest how the Ensemble and its musicians might best benefit the community. This might be a performance in a workplace, workshops with young musicians, or care home and community performances. If the environment is waterproof they are willing to consider all suggestions! Please email info@shetlandarts.org or call 01595 743 843 to register an interest or make a suggestion.

On 2 August, the Scottish Ensemble will take up the role of palm court orchestra for a Friday afternoon of ballroom classics, dancing and afternoon tea in Mareel’s Main Auditorium. Members of the public are invited to choose their partners and dance to favourites from a golden age performed by the talented players of the UK’s only professional string orchestra while enjoying a delicious afternoon tea. During the residency, the Ensemble will also lead workshops with local musicians and interested parties.

Scottish Ensemble Chief Executive, Thorben Dittes said: “Our residencies are all about developing relationships with communities. We respond to their individual needs by crafting a tailored programme of on- and off-platform events specific to the local area. Our collaboration with Shetland Arts is a dynamic new partnership which has been generously supported by Inksters Solicitors and Arts and Business Scotland to benefit the community of Shetland.”

The project is sponsored by Inksters Solicitors, owned by Shetlander Brian Inkster. Brian said: “After hearing the premier of Seavaigers at Celtic Connections in Glasgow in 2012 I thought it was appropriate for the piece to be performed in Shetland. My law firm, Inksters, has a strong Shetland connection with us doing legal work for many Shetlanders from Glasgow. I am delighted to strengthen that link and help take Scottish Ensemble to Shetland to perform Seavaigers with Chris and Catriona.”

The Ensemble has been awarded a New Arts Sponsorship grant to support its work during the Shetland residency. The grants provide match funding for new arts sponsors, doubling their sponsorship benefits. The scheme is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by Arts and Business Scotland. David Watt, Chief Executive, Arts and Business Scotland said: “Inksters Solicitors’ sponsorship of the Scottish Ensemble clearly demonstrates how business can really benefit from associating with the arts. The New Arts Sponsorship grant also recognises how this partnership has empowered the Scottish Ensemble to create an innovative programme of activities that will engage with a wide variety of audiences during their residency in Shetland.”

Lisa Ward, Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, said: “The Scottish Ensemble is famous internationally for their ability to inspire audiences with vibrant performances which are powerful, challenging, and rewarding for all. Shetland Arts is pleased to work with them to deliver these residency activities in Shetland and the final concert at Mareel.”

Tickets for the final concert cost £18 and go on sale on Saturday 18 May at 2pm via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555,and online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org and www.mareel.org. Tickets for the residency activities will also go on sale soon via Shetland Box Office.

Source: Shetland Arts

Shetland Arts is delighted to announce that it will present an American Roots weekend in July, Thursday 18 – Saturday 20, featuring gospel, Cajun, and bluegrass music from The McCrary Sisters, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, and The Coal Porters.

The McCrary Sisters will open the weekend with a performance in Mareel on Thursday 18 July. Alfreda, Ann, Deborah and Regina were recently crowned as “arguably Nashville’s greatest soul sisters” by Robert Oermann in the USA’s famed Music Row Magazine, and have long been the first-call soul voices for the likes of Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Dr John, Isaac Hayes, Buddy Miller, and Patty Griffin. They have also sung with Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and recently appeared on the new Mavericks album.

Having shared the stage over the years with the afore-mentioned legends, they hit the spotlight in their own right in 2011 thanks to their hugely acclaimed debut album Our Journey, an album that made many Top 10 lists in the USA that year. This years’ follow up All the Way is another triumphant blend of classic gospel, funk, blues and soul.

There are few words to describe the power, passion and pure soulfulness of the sisters live. They are making their first visit to the UK as part of this years’ Southern Fried Festival in Perth, and Shetland Arts is proud to be working in association with Southern Fried to bring Shetland audiences a unique taste of this magnificent group during their brief visit to the UK.

Friday 19 July will see Mareel welcome Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys. In their 25 years together, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys have deservedly gained a world-wide, unparalleled reputation for excellence in Cajun music, going from strength to strength, constantly evolving, but still sounding as fresh and invigorated as the day they first formed.

Never before in the world of Cajun music has such a comparable wealth of individual musical talent and skill been brought together at the same table: Riley wields a button box that “squeezes like an accordion but shouts hallelujah like a big brass band,” and is surrounded by fiddle, guitar, three heartfelt voices and a power-house rhythm section.

The Coal Porters, formed ten years ago by ex Long Ryders front-man Sid Griffin, will make a welcome return to Shetland on Saturday 20 July to provide the bluegrass strand of the American Roots weekend. They will also do a second rural concert on Friday 19 at the Muckle Roe Hall.

After five very well received albums, plus live appearances at the likes of the Glastonbury Festival, extensive tours of the USA, Europe and further afield and opening for the likes of the legendary Chris Hillman (Byrds and Flying Burrito Bros) The Coal Porters continue to delight audiences all over the world with the intense power of fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, doghouse bass and a wonderful four-part harmony vocal delivery.

The Coal Porters deliver a fresh, invigorated ‘take’ on traditional, acoustic bluegrass that still maintains all the authentic and necessary elements of the original music and sound, attracting new and often younger audiences to the genre, while still more than satisfying the already committed and purist Bluegrass aficionado in the process.

Their one-off Scottish date in Mareel will round off wonderfully what should be a terrific three days of American Roots music in the islands.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “The American Roots weekend this summer is going to be something really special. The line-up is world-class, and sure to be very popular with Shetland audiences.”

Tickets cost £20 for each concert at Mareel, or as a special American Roots weekend deal, £50 for all three concerts. They will go on sale on Saturday 18 May and will be available to purchase via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org and www.mareel.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Gaby Chiappe and Richard Davidson are visiting Shetland to lead the workshop and to research the upcoming crime series, Shetland. It is a 6 part series which they are in the process of adapting from two of Ann Cleeves’s Shetland novels, Raven Black and Blue Lightning.

Gaby Chiappe has been a screenwriter for fifteen years. Her recent work includes episodes of Survivors, Lark Rise to Candleford and The Paradise for BBC 1, and Vera for ITV. She has also adapted Lissa Evans novel Their Finest Hour and a Half for Wildgaze Films, Number 9 films and BBC films. She is currently adapting Ann Cleeves’ Raven Black for the forthcoming series of Shetland.

An award-winning playwright, Richard Davidson’s screenwriting career began with Eastenders. He was a lead writer on the show for six years, contributing more than 60 episodes. Recently, he’s become a key writer on Silent Witness – writing for the last 3 seasons – and is currently working on Vera for ITV, and an adaptation of Ann Cleeves’ Blue Lightning for Shetland. Richard is also adapting Midge Gillies’ Barbed Wire University for BBC Drama.

As its title suggests, the subject of the workshop will be adaptation of existing texts, including novels and short stories for the screen.

The workshop will be a practical one in the sense that participants will be encouraged to do some structuring and writing themselves. It will also include the analysis of and discussion about some existing screen writing and of the finished on screen product.

Shetland Arts Literature Development Officer, Donald Anderson said: “This is a great opportunity for anybody who is interested in developing their writing for screen to take part in what promises to be a fascinating and helpful workshop, led by two vastly experienced screen writers.”

Places on the workshop cost £5 and can be booked via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online here. Places are limited, so prompt booking is highly recommended.

Source: Shetland Arts

Graeme Taylor moved to Shetland with his family after gaining a degree in Fine Art in Wales. Since then he has been working to develop artworks reflecting the forces of nature that have shaped Shetland’s unique backdrop.

Shetland Arts has been working with Graeme in conjunction with Moving On Employment Project, to help him develop a body of work for exhibition. This is his first solo exhibition and will be displayed upstairs in Mareel outside Cinemas 1 & 2 until the end of August.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “It’s been a privilege for Shetland Arts’ to work with Graeme and the Moving On Employment Project to display his work in this Forces of Nature exhibition at Mareel.”

The Moving On Employment Project is a charity-based organisation offering support to anyone over the age of 16 in Shetland with any barrier to employment. This can include physical and mental health problems, disabilities, or lack of confidence. It is based at Market House, Lerwick, however offer support, where possible, in all rural areas. For more information visit www.moep.co.uk or contact 01595 743926.

Source: Shetland Arts

Joan Fraser graduated with an MA in Art & Design at Gray’s School of Art and has worked for a number of years at the University of Aberdeen, leading learning technology design projects. Returning to Shetland she studied knitwear design at Shetland College and is currently setting up her textile business and developing a range of accessories in lambswool, cashmere and Shetland wool. Fair Isle patterns influence her designs for the infinite variety of combinations. Her favourite patterns are the old fillers, such as ‘seeds’ and ‘peerie’s’ which were traditionally used between the rows of larger motifs.

Monica Pothecary has been busy working on her own range of printed designs since graduating from the Shetland College with a BA in contemporary textiles last year. Her collection of cards is inspired by a collection of photographs taken over a number of years while riding her scooter around Shetland. She conveys a unique view of tradition with a fresh colour palette in a contemporary style combining hand drawing and digital techniques.

Angela Smith of Bonhoga Gallery said: ‘We are very excited about having the opportunity to launch the work of these two very talented designers and the response so far suggests they are going to do very well.”

Source: Shetland Arts

Seth has released six albums including 2005’s Mercury-nominated Kitty Jay through to his latest album, Tales from the Barrel House, which confirms Seth’s innate knack for writing both foot-stomping, sing-along songs and more tender, thoughtful ballads.

His fiddle and tenor guitar playing is often breathtaking and Seth’s trademark, soaring vocals are at the forefront of the album and his live performances, as beguiling and haunting as ever.

Seth and the band will be playing tracks from all his previous studio albums plus a few brand new songs on the Autumn tour.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “Shetland Arts is proud to get to present such a talented artist at a live performance in Mareel. Tickets are already selling well, and we’re sure he and his band are going to provide a concert to remember.”

The concert is on Thursday 10 October, doors at 7pm, start at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £20 and are available now from Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Conductor of the Shetland Choral Society, Peter Davis, said: “This concert is a great opportunity to hear Shetland Choral Society together with four fine young solo singers from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in choral music by Haydn, Vaughan Williams, and Karl Jenkins. With assistance from the Shetland Arts Fund we hope to develop a close working relationship between the Choral and the Royal Conservatoire.”

Also joined by Nigel Hayward on accompaniment, the Choral Society will open the concert with a piece by contemporary Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. The Jenkins’ piece is the first of his Songs of Sanctuary, Adiemus, and uses the voices more like instruments, with no lyrics other than syllables and invented words.

The Choral Society will then perform a piece by Vaughan Williams, who set the words of 17th century poet George Herbert to music in his Five Mystical Songs, first performed in 1911. Written for baritone soloist, choir, and accompaniment, it anticipates much of the composer’s pastoral style which was to follow.

The major work in the programme is Haydn’s Theresienmesse, or Maria Theresa Mass, from 1799; a large scale setting of the Latin Mass including four vocal soloists. It is full of exuberance, originality, and classical Viennese elegance.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome the Shetland Choral Society and the soloists from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to Mareel for this Spring Concert. I’m sure the audience will really enjoy the diverse programme.”

The Spring Concert will take place on Friday 17 May, doors at 7pm, and is supported by the Shetland Arts Fund. Tickets cost £12 / £8 and are available to book now via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

In The Loop 3.5 takes place in Shetland from 31 July to 2 August 2013, as part of Shetland Arts’ International Textile Festival which will run from 31 July to 5 August. Conference goers will hear speakers who may be artists, curators, designers, knitters, theorists, or historians. In the Loop 3.5 starts in Mareel then conference days 2 and 3 will transfer to Shetland Museum & Archives.

The official opening of the Shetland Arts’ International Textile Festival happens with the commencement of In the Loop 3.5 on 31 July. In the Loop3.5 is the fourth in a series of acclaimed knitting conferences initiated and led by Linda Newington from the University of Southampton Library, and run this time in collaboration with Shetland Arts, as part of the Festival. The conference will focus on making connections and the way textile cultures may develop in the 21st century, with a strong Nordic theme running throughout the conference and the Festival as a whole.

The Shetland Arts’ International Textile Festival is a festival for everyone, and will cover the broad activity of textiles including art, knitting, design, education and business. The Festival is about exploring the contemporary potential and future of textiles, making new connections, and learning from other textile cultures.

As part of the Festival, Shetland Arts will welcome a group of ten textile artists from Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, exhibiting along with two Shetland artists, in Lighten, an exhibition in Bonhoga Gallery from 3rd August to 15th September. The exhibiting artists will take part in the public opening of Lighten on Saturday 3 August from 11am to 1pm, and give gallery talks. The exhibiting artists will also be attending In the Loop 3.5. Three of the artists; Agneta Hobin, Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, and Ulla-Maija Vikman; are responsible for originating the international exhibition in collaboration with Shetland Arts.

The Festival will also include textile tours, gallery talks, and Meet Shetland Textiles, a free networking event for the public, textile makers, artists, knitters, designers, the exhibiting artists and delegates.

Over the International Textile Festival weekend, events will take place in Mareel, Bonhoga Gallery, Shetland Museum & Archives and other places in Shetland.

Tickets for In the Loop 3.5 went on sale yesterday, and in the coming weeks tickets for more Festival events will also go on sale. Tickets for the conference cost £75 for the full three days and are available to book now via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online here: http://www.mareel.org/learn/workshops-talks-masterclasses/shetland-arts-textile-festival/

For more information, including the programme for the Festival, see: http://www.shetlandarts.org/whats-on/festivals/international-textile-festival/

Source: Shetland Arts

We aim to make at least 171 special knitted patchwork pieces, stitched from sets of knitted squares of any size, or completed blankets. The 171 objects will be installed during Alzheimer Awareness Week in surprising or obvious places in and around the Foyer and Café in Mareel. The total of 171 represents the number of people in the Shetland community who have a diagnosis of dementia.

Ann Williamson, Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Advisor, said : “The number of people with dementia is set to double in a generation. It is important that communities are dementia aware and talking about the illness in order to be well informed. Knitting for Alzheimer Awareness will hopefully get everyone knitting and thinking about Dementia.”

Last summer the Shetland community responded to our first knitting challenge and generously donated enough squares and finished blankets to make a total of around twenty six knitted patchwork blankets, in only six weeks.

Squares and blanket pieces were knitted by people of all ages and delivered to Shetland Arts from all parts of Shetland. The completed blankets were sent from Shetland to Glasgow to contribute to Alzheimer Scotland’s successful attempt at breaking the world record for the biggest knitted blanket of 91,400 squares or 914 blankets measuring 1metre square. The individual blankets were donated to various charities.

For anyone wanting to join us in knitting squares, Shetland Arts and Alzheimer Scotland hold informal knitting afternoons on the last Thursday of each month in the Upper Café in Mareel, from 2- 4.30pm. Some knitters take their own knitting along or knit squares for the challenge.

Craft Development Officer at Shetland Arts, Hazel Hughson said: “Anyone can join us to knit, or to stitch squares together and for the challenge, Bonhoga Gallery Café will have yarn and needles available for anyone wanting to knit squares there. The knitting challenge is part of the various arts projects Shetland Arts are involved with or help facilitate for Alzheimer Scotland.”

Alzheimer Scotland and Shetland Arts welcome donations now of knitted squares of any size, in any type of yarn or colour, stitched together in strips or in bundles of loose squares. The collection points are Mareel Reception and Bonhoga Gallery.

Source: Shetland Arts

Saturday 27 April – Sunday 9 June 2013. Public Opening: Friday 26 April 6-8pm

Opening at Bonhoga Gallery on Friday night is an exhibition showcasing 4 very different artistic journeys that have taken place over the past year. The winners from the 4 categories of the Shetland Open Awards 2012 were given the opportunity to develop work for a group show, and Four Journeys from Blue is the result. Each came to the project from a very different standpoint, some with a wealth of exhibition experience, some with none, all with enthusiasm to create a new collection of work representing both a connectivity and development in practice.

The 4 women; Ria Moncrieff, Gail Harvey, Diane Garrick and Rachel Ross-Smith; have worked together from the outset, on the theme of journeys. They decided collectively to start by exploring the theme using film, a medium new to all of them. Shetland Arts provided a small hand-held camera to each and they went their separate ways.

Gail Harvey, a well-established painter, chose a whole new direction for her work and began crafting puppets that she used to create a film telling the story of a fairy called Fen. Rachel Ross-Smith used the camera to reflect changing colour in the seasons, Diane Garrick used hers to chart physical journeys she has made in the landscape, while Ria’s journeys are subjective and reflective, symbolic of her journeys through motherhood. These films are the glue that binds the exhibition together, a platform from which to view the very different styles of work on display in the gallery.

Gail explained that the exhibition gave her the opportunity to experiment: “In many ways this project has been waiting to surface since my childhood. Ever since I was able to use scissors (I remember those strangely useless plastic ones), I’ve been making little people and animals from all sorts of scraps of things. There were so many surprises.”

Jane Matthews, Exhibitions Officer at Shetland Arts said: “It has been a treat to work with such an enthusiastic group with such varying styles and experiences. Everyone has embraced the aim of the project wholeheartedly, developing their work in different ways and taking inspiration from each other. The result is a captivating exhibition for all ages.”

The exhibition preview is this Friday, 26 April, from 6-8pm and everyone is welcome. The exhibition runs until 9th June, complemented by the Bairns Open in the lower galley and new craft ranges in the cabinet.

Source: Shetland Arts

The Revellers, who also headlined Mareel’s first sell-out standing gig in October last year, have been working hard with the staff at Shetland Arts since before Christmas to record the 10 track album, with at least one song written by each member of the 7 piece band.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “We loved working with the guys in The Revellers to record this album. Our Production Manager Iain Waddell and Senior Sound Technician Jonathan Ritch worked tirelessly to help them produce an album equal in sound and quality to anything you’d hear on the Mainland. We expect Renegades will be very popular indeed!”

Reveller’s bass player, Craig Birnie, said: “It has been extremely exciting to be the first band to record an album entirely in the studio at Mareel. The facilities are second to none and we are lucky that so much great music can now be created and recorded in Shetland. Huge credit must go to everyone at SADA who has helped with this project but especially to Jonathan and Iain who have been incredibly patient with us and have helped us deliver an album we feel everyone can be really proud of.”

He added: “We are absolutely delighted with how Renegades sounds. It’s excellent to hear how professionally the album has turned out, we are quite a busy band in terms of instruments but we think everything has been given its platform perfectly. It’s always been our dream to release an album and Mareel has helped us realise this locally. We hope everyone enjoys listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.”

You can hear the album and buy a copy for £10 from Room 16 in Islesburgh on Thursday 2 May, 5-7pm. After that the album will be available from various local outlets. The Revellers also plan to make it available via Amazon and iTunes in the future, but for the near future the albums will be exclusively available in Shetland outlets.

Source: Shetland Arts

Fiddlers’ Bid will open the festival with a concert on Sunday 4 August in Mareel. They are known internationally as leading exponents of Shetland’s rich fiddle tradition and are global ambassadors for Isles. Since forming in 1991, they have established an identity as a unique band with a harmonious sound developed though many years of playing together. Their 4 fiddle frontline showcases some of Shetland’s finest fiddlers – Chris Stout, Kevin Henderson, Andrew Gifford and Maurice Henderson, joined by a fantastic backing band featuring harpist Catriona McKay, guitarist Fionan De Barra, and bassist Jonathan Ritch, creating a display of stunning virtuosity at every concert.

Aly & Phil are the headliners for a concert on Monday 5 August in Mareel. No strangers to Shetland, Phil Cunningham and Shetland native Aly Bain have been playing, touring, and recording together since 1988 and to date have recorded four albums and played to thousands around the world. Shetland Arts is delighted to welcome them to perform in Shetland again, helping celebrate the 10th anniversary of Fiddle Frenzy 2013. They are also performing an additional pre-Fiddle Frenzy concert in Cullivoe Hall, Yell, on Saturday 3 August.

On Wednesday 7 August, Shetland Arts is delighted to welcome Lau to Mareel. Winners of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Group 2013, Lau are modern folk music’s most innovative band. Brilliant musicians, thrilling performers and free-thinking visionaries. Featuring the beautiful vocals and skillful guitar playing of award winning orcadian songwriter Kris Drever. Pioneering post-everything accordion and electronics from Martin Green and the timeless masterful and melodic creativity of scottish fiddler Aidan O’Rourke. They have long since established themselves as one of the most sought after and creative live acts performing today.

And finally, on Saturday 10 August, everyone is invited along to Mareel for the Fiddle Frenzy Finale: 10th Birthday Bash. This is an event jam-packed with local fiddle talent, performances from the Fiddle Frenzy students, and a party atmosphere, celebrating 10 years of Fiddle Frenzy.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “The line up for Fiddle Frenzy 2013 really is something special, which is very fitting considering it’s the 10th anniversary of the festival. We are delighted that Jenna and Bethany have helped to organise such a fantastic week, to be hosting Fiddle Frenzy events in Mareel for the first time, and to welcome the hugely talented headliners to Fiddle Frenzy for its 10th anniversary.”

Tickets for these concerts will go on sale on Wednesday 24 April, and Fiddle Frenzy packages are already on sale, via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “We have an amazing line-up of gigs and concerts programmed for the summer, with even more to go on sale soon! We hope that Shetlanders and visitors alike will be as excited by the upcoming performances as we are, and that we’ll continue to see good audience turnout at these events.”

In May, Shetland Arts will welcome Roddy Woomble to Mareel for a concert on Monday 13. Roddy is familiar many thousands of music fans as the front man in the Scottish rock band Idlewild, and is also a celebrated solo songwriter & performer. As well as songs from his new album released in March, his live set will feature tunes from both his solo albums, alongside several Idlewild numbers. Support on the night will come from local stars Freda and Brian.

Also in May, Vamm will play live in Mareel on Sunday 26 and at the Fetlar Hall on Saturday 25. Formed in 2012, Shetland born Catriona Macdonald (formerly of Blazin’ Fiddles), Perthshire’s Patsy Reid (of Breabach), and Norwegian Marit Falt seamlessly create a dynamic yet intimate sound that will take your breath away. Their concerts are described as “a must-see” for trad fans.

June is jam packed with events, beginning on Saturday 1 with Shooglenifty and support from Vair. Shooglenifty is one of Scotland’s most unique musical exports, playing an infectious blend of Celtic traditional music and dance grooves that they describe as “hypno-folkadelic ambient trad.” Vair have already gained a shining reputation for their unique take on the folk sound and are sure to start the night in style. Tickets are already selling fast.

Just a few days later, on Tuesday 4 June, world-renowned cellist Matthew Barley will play a concert in Mareel as part of his Around Britten national tour, celebrating 100 years of Benjamin Britten. In what promises to be a fascinating and intriguing solo performance, showcasing his ever-growing virtuosity as a cellist, Barley will place Britten’s powerful Third Cello Suite at the centre of a programme which also includes a suite by J.S. Bach, who greatly inspired Britten. The programme will also include solo cello music by Tavener and specially commissioned new works by Dai Fujikura, James MacMillion, and DJ Jan Bang.

And that’s not all June has to offer for strings fans: on Wednesday 12 Shetland Arts’ is delighted to present the Edrom String Quartet, consisting of Lucy and Maeve Auer, Ferdinand Erblich and Shetland resident Donald MacDonald. The 4 musicians first met over 40 years ago through studies in Vienna and Austria and met regularly over the years as Coaches at Courses of the International Cello Centre (now known as the Edrom Casals Centre).

And just a few days after that, music-fans will get their dancing shoes on again for a gig on Saturday 15 by Peatbog Faeries in Mareel. Peatbog Faeries are a Celtic fusion band featuring Shetland’s own Ross Couper on fiddle. Their music embodies many styles and influences, including folk, electronica, rock, and jazz. They have twice won “Live Band of the Year” at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards, and were nominated for “Live Band of the Year” at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

The end of June will see 21 year old singer Carrbridge singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni playing a concert in Mareel on Wednesday 26. Rachel has wowed audiences across the UK, Europe, India and the USA over the past year playing in excess of 150 shows. A straight-up storyteller with a voice that Mojo magazine described as ‘clean as cut glass’, Rachel packs an almighty punch with her earthy melodies and incredible acoustic guitar skills. On her only previous visit to Shetland Rachel provided the support slot for Mumford and Sons during their gig in the Whiteness and Weisdale Hall. At that she made such an impact that there has been a substantial demand to bring her back to the islands again to deliver a full show of her own.

And finally, in July Tally Ho Entertainment in association with Shetland Arts presents Paul Brady live in Mareel on Friday 12 & Saturday 13. Paul Brady is one of Ireland’s most highly regarded and successful artists, incorporating folk, rock, blues, traditional Irish, and classic pop styles into his song writing. Often classified as a musicians’ musician, Paul Brady’s songs have been covered by a huge array of major artists including Bonnie Raitt, Tina Turner, Cher, and Maura O’Connell, Brookes and Dunnie, Joe Cocker, and Carlos Santana.

Other non-Shetland Arts’ events in Mareel this summer include the Shetland Choral Society Spring Concert on Friday 17 May, and Inferno To Malawi on Friday 14 June.

Tickets for these events can all be purchased now via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org and www.mareel.org

Source: Shetland Arts

The Motion reads: “Ignition Community Theatre Project in Shetland—That the Parliament congratulates the Ignition creative concept theatre project in Shetland, whose aim was to explore people’s love-hate relationship with the automobile; understands that this was a partnership project between Shetland Arts and the National Theatre of Scotland (NTOS) and that it was the biggest, most ambitious community engagement programme ever undertaken by the NTOS, receiving rave reviews in national and local press; understands that the project has brought over £250,000 worth of funding into Shetland since it began in October 2012, and commends the project leaders, Wils Wilson and John Haswell, for creating the opportunity for people of all ages in Shetland to display their talent, creativity and originality through the medium of community theatre.”

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “We are delighted that Tavish put forward this Motion in Parliament. Ignition was a hugely ambitious project, and Shetland Arts enjoyed working with the National Theatre of Scotland to make it a success.”

Ignition used a range of workshops/residencies, pop-up events and public events to help gather information from as many of Shetland’s residents as possible. This included Dance and Parkour Workshops exploring travel. The White Wife, an actor travelling round Shetland’s long and winding roads, used a number of methods to gather ‘car stories’, from hitch-hiking, to Sunday Teas on Wheels, to travelling ‘On Da Buses’ exploring the use of public transport. Music was also been used to extract some stories and thoughts about the car. Ignition’s resident composer Hugh Nankivell worked with schools and music groups to write and arrange music inspired by travel.

Ignition culminated with a final series of performances in March that delivered one of the most ambitious, exciting and unique site theatre experiences, and rave reviews in both the national and local press.

Source: Shetland Arts

On Saturday night the adjudicators will decide who is worthy of the prestigious title of Young Fiddler of the Year 2013 at the Finals Night Concert. Junior and Intermediate winners will perform as well as all the entries in the Open section. The winning tunes from the Shetland Folk Society Tune Competition will be performed by Bryan Gear and adjudicated by Violet Tulloch and Debbie Scott. The concert will be compered by Valerie Watt.

This year’s competition is being organised by Shetland Folk Society members Valerie Watt and Vaila Grant. They have taken over from Charlie Simpson and Douglas Sinclair who have run the competition voluntarily for many years. Charlie and Douglas still contribute to the running of the competition as office bearers on the committee.

Valerie said: “We are really looking forward to showcasing all our young fiddlers in the Mareel Auditorium. The high quality of fiddle instruction provided in schools across Shetland is something to be proud of.”

Vaila added: “We have over 80 fiddlers competing for six titles over three age groups under the age of 16 over both days. The Finals Concert will be worth seeing!”

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “It’s a delight to welcome the Young Fiddler of the Year competition to Mareel for the very first time. The competition and concert are a Shetland institution, and we are very excited to hear the talented young fiddlers playing in Mareel’s Main Auditorium.”

Tickets for the Finals Night Concert on Saturday cost £6 (£4 concessions) and are available via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

The interactive schedule allows you to pick your bus route and automatically generates the most suitable times for you for any given screening. The app was designed by MH Apps, a Shetland based software development and consultancy service for businesses, founded by Shetlander Mark Hume.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “This is a very useful new feature on the Mareel Cinema app, and we hope it will be helpful for customers who rely on public transport to plan out their cinema visits. We’re keen to get people trying it out and letting us know what we think so we can continue to improve our service and make films at Mareel accessible to all who want to see them.”

Tickets for films at Mareel can be purchased via Shetland Box Office, based in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, online by film at http://www.mareel.org/watch or online by day at http://m.mareel.org

Source: Shetland Arts

The Bon Accord Silver Band, based in Aberdeen, is touring Orkney and Shetland as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations. The band features some of the finest brass musicians in the UK, and is amongst the top flight of bands in the country. The band will be under the direction of their professional conductor, Steven Martin, and players on tour with the band include the former principal tuba player of the Halle Orchestra, Andrew Duncan, who is also a well-known composer, arranger, adjudicator, and conductor.

The finale of the concert will feature the world premiere of “Where Seas and Oceans Meet”, a work in five movements, composed by Unst’s Peter Jones. The work is inspired by the land and seascapes around Shetland where the composer has kayaked or toured. Each movement is named after the Old Norse names for regions of Shetland: (i) Muckle Flugga; (ii) Ornyst, (Eagles’ Nest = Unst); (iii) Esjanes (Eshaness); (iv) Friðarey (Fair Isle); and (v) Dunrøstar Høfdi (Head of the Thunderous Noise = Sumburgh Head). The style of the music is melodic and is proving popular with the band. Bon Accord also plans to include it as the finale in their 50th Anniversary Concert later this year.

Peter, who came to Shetland over 3 years ago when his wife, Lynne, became the Health Visitor for the North Isles, has been a finalist in a number of international composition competitions in the past year alone. The Welshman was a former winner at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and has also won prizes as a soloist & conductor.

Briefly a professional orchestral trombonist as a teenager, Peter soon decided he would change career and became a naval officer, reaching the rank of Captain after seeing service all around the globe. Indeed, in 2009, Peter was the subject of a press campaign to be awarded the George Cross for his bravery in the Falklands in helping, in extreme weather conditions, to stop a runaway barge full of around 35 tons of highly unstable explosives from striking a troop ship with about 2000 personnel on board. The islands’ MP, Alistair Carmichael, took a deep interest in the affair and supported fully the campaign after having been given all the details of the citation by a pressure group.

Peter, forced to give up his career because of arthritis and fibromyalgia, returned to music and became a composer, and has had numerous pieces played by groups around Europe and the US. As a player, he has appeared with some of the finest and best-known ensembles in the world, including the World, European and British champion bands. He will be playing with the band at the concert as their usual principal trombone, professional player Mark Boyd, is unable to go on tour. Since coming to the islands, Peter has been involved as a player, arranger and conductor with the well-known Yell-based chamber ensemble, Fancytunes. Qualified for MENSA since his teenage days, he has had a short story published and read out on Radio 4, has written for TV and magazines, was an athlete and player at representative level in a number of sports, and was a full karate international.

Modern top brass bands have come a very long way from the old image of hymn tunes and marches, and can play any piece of music put in front of them and can overcome the most fierce technical challenges; from the most lyrical and beautiful music to a huge symphonic sound. The concert programme for the Mareel is highly entertaining and wide ranging, and will appeal to music lovers of all ages.

The band’s Principal Cornet and Chairman, Dr. David Cooper, is no stranger to Shetland as he regularly comes to train the islands’ medical personnel in emergency procedures as part of the BASICS team – this is where he met Peter, who attended the course as one of Unst’s volunteer ambulance men. Although a full-time GP, David has been at the very pinnacle of cornet/trumpet players in Scotland since his earliest days, and has held many prestigious positions such as the principal player of ensembles as the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the National Wind Band, and Whitburn Band (generally acknowledged as one of the world’s finest bands). David’s wife, Karen, holds the Solo Horn chair with the band and is a professional brass tutor.

Richard Kidd, the band’s euphonium soloist, started his playing career with Bon-Accord Silver ‘B’ Band in 1999. Since then, he went on to become principal euphonium with Whitburn Band and, for six years, the National Youth Band of Scotland. Richard won the Scottish Youth Solo title four times, won Champion Euphonium Player of Scotland three times, and was a finalist in the first BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Soloist of the Year in 2004. He is a rising star as conductor of the ‘B’ Band and other ensembles.

The band will conduct a workshop with players of Lerwick’s own brass band, well known on the Up Helly Aa circuit; and part of the final concert will feature both bands. The concert is in Mareel on Sunday 31st March at 7:30pm. Tickets cost £12 / £10 and are available from Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org or www.shetlandboxoffice.org. You can also buy on the door.

Source: Shetland Arts

The RCS includes some of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians, from the length and breadth of the country, all studying on the BA Scottish Music course in Glasgow. From the gracious notes on the pipes, to the respectable resonance of the fiddles, the RCS creates a beautiful music at every concert.

All in their third year of study, this 7 piece band has extraordinary range and variety. Combining styles together from the Isles of Shetland and Lewis, and mainland corners of the North, East, South and West, to produce some ritzy, innovative and unique music.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer , Lisa Ward, said: “It’s a real honour to welcome the RCS to Mareel and Shetland for this unique concert. Traditional music is always popular in Shetland and I would encourage anyone involved in the local scene to come along to this concert and enjoy some of the finest trad music Scotland has to offer.”

This ensemble of the RSC have a huge number of prestigious achievements to their names, including multi gold medalist of the National Mod 2011, winner of the World Pipe Band Championships 2011, plus many other renowned awards. They have also performed in such prestigious venues as the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as playing alongside some of today’s greatest Scottish musicians, including Phil Cunningham, Aly Bain, and Dougie MacLean.

The concert is on Tuesday 2 April and doors are at 7pm. Tickets cost £10 / £8 and are available from Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

IT’S SAFE TO say the parents of Stuart Henderson, who died in a road accident in 2007, can have had no idea what they would set in motion when they suggested to director John Haswell that their son’s youth theatre should create a play in his memory.

FIVE years later, and with Shetland Arts and the National Theatre of Scotland on board, Ignition is the culmination of an islands-wide arts project on an unprecedented scale. Besides the innovative performances taking place in Brae, Bigton and Yell, there has been an extensive six-month programme of activity throughout the community.

Ignition (image NTS)

Children have written songs with Hugh Nankivell, teenagers have sharpened up their parkour skills with Chris Grant, care-home residents have reminisced with choreographer Janice Parker, knitters have created giant woollen artworks with writer Jacqui Clark and designer Becky Minto, and drivers have shared stories with Lowri Evans as she hitchhiked across the islands dressed as the ghostly White Wife of local folklore.

It is from this vast store of material that director Wils Wilson has drawn to piece together the final production. Despite the project’s tragic inspiration, this is no didactic show about road safety. Instead, it is an impressionistic consideration of the motor car’s place in island life. Although some older residents have never learnt to drive and many younger ones think nothing of walking three miles home from the ferry terminal, it is impossible to imagine today’s Shetland economy without motorised transport. Not only is off-shore oil a major industry, but in a sparsely populated region, almost nothing happens without a car.

Ignition is a celebration not of cars in themselves but the things they make possible. Appropriately, most of the show takes place inside moving and stationary vehicles. Everyone’s journey is slightly different, but it will include a choreographed display of free-running and ballroom dancing set to a soundtrack of travel-related interviews played over your car radio. You will give a lift to a hitchhiker who will tell you their story (mine had come from the mainland in search of the home of his forebears) and you will get into someone else’s car for more tales of vehicles loved and lost.

The unusual format, involving long drives and precision parking, inevitably means it’s not as technically slick as a regular NTS show, but all the strands come movingly together when we return to the village hall. It’s laid out as if for a Sunday tea and, as we tuck into coffee and cakes, we join in with the choir singing songs written by children and other local people about the landscape they know and love. “All the journeys we’ve made . . . All the places we’ll go to,” goes one refrain as Lowri Evans reads out the dream destinations we have written down earlier in the evening. The effect is a big-hearted celebration of life as it is lived, a community looking at itself and liking what it sees.

© Francis McLachlan, 2013

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Describing themselves as “intense funk-fusion, at its finest,” Troppo Funk has been playing gigs around Shetland for the past year, including slots at both the Blues Festival and Jazz Festival, and features Norman Willmore on saxophone, Max Tyler on piano, Hayden Hook on bass, Joe Watt on guitar, and Lewis Murray on drums. Norman, Max, and Hayden will be familiar to anyone who has attended the Sunday Afternoon Jazz performances in Mareel’s Cafe Bar where they play fortnightly, and Joe Watt is also well known for his playing in local bands The First Foot Soldiers and Wind Up Projectiles.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “We’re very happy to welcome Troppo Funk to Mareel to support The Beat. Ska and funk are both very popular in Shetland, so between the two bands, I’m sure the audience will have a great time!”

The Beat are known as one of the biggest bands of the 2-Tone movement and they play with the aim of connecting with and entertaining their appreciative audience with their relentless energy and world class musicianship.

The Beat are known the world over for a string of hit singles, including ‘Mirror in the Bathroom,’ ‘Too Nice To Talk To,’ ‘Can’t Get Used To Losing You,’ ‘Hands off She’s Mine’ and ‘All Out To Get You’. Their songs of peace, love and unity fuse ska, pop, reggae and punk rock and their dynamic live show has garnered them a loyal following at home and abroad

The Beat formed in Birmingham in 1978, part of the West Midlands ska revival scene that also produced The Specials and The Selecter, whilst London saw the formation of Madness and The Bodysnatchers.

Their first single was an arresting version of Smokey Robinson’s ‘Tears Of A Clown,’ given a completely new feel, and was backed with their own composition “Ranking Full Stop”. Released in a one-off deal on Jerry Dammers’ Chrysalis-backed 2-Tone label, the single stormed into the Top 10 in December 1979, and saw the band appear twice on Top Of The Pops. Backed by Arista, the band formed their own label Go-Feet Records. The first release in February 1980 was another Top 10 hit, ‘Hands Off… She’s Mine,’ and was the first of twelve chart singles for the band on Go-Feet.

The band released three albums ‘I Just Can’t Stop It’ (1980), ‘Wha’ppen’ (1981) and ‘Special Beat Service’ (1982), which contained many tracks that demonstrated their more politicised and socially-conscious leanings. All three albums were reissued in the Summer of 2012 by Edsel Records with bonus additions.

The 2012 line-up features Ranking Roger and Ranking Junior on vocals, Everett on drums plus Andy Pearson, Michael Billingham, Matt Godwin and Steve Harper on sax, keys and guitars.

Tickets for this concert cost £18 and are available for purchase via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Doors on 6 April are at 8pm.

Source: Shetland Arts

The Grease Singalong will take place on Saturday 30 March at 8pm, giving fans a chance for fans to don their pink jackets, grease up their quiffs, and let their inhibitions go for an evening. This is a fully interactive singalong event, guaranteed to get you dancing in the aisles.

Madama Butterfly 3D will be shown on Sunday 31 March at 3pm. This classic opera is sung in Italian with English subtitles. Puccini’s heartrending tale of love and betrayal has been brought to the big screen in this exquisite Julian Napier film, in which the characters and key moments of the action are heightened and enriched through the immersive power of 3D.

Tickets for both screenings go on sale this Saturday, 9 March, at 2pm via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Paul is one of Ireland’s most highly regarded and successful artists. He crosses musical boundaries again and again, incorporating folk, rock, blues, traditional Irish, and classic pop styles into his song writing.

Often described as “a musicians’ musician,” his songs have been covered by a huge array of major artists including Tina Turner, Cher, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt, Maura O’Connel, and Carlos Santana.

At these two concerts he will perform sets including songs from his extensive 40 year catalogue, including hits from his albums Hard Station, True For You, Back To The Centre, Primitive Dance, Trick Or Treat, Spirits Colliding, and more.

Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, Lisa Ward, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Tally Ho Entertainment to host these two fantastic Paul Brady concerts in July. Paul is a real living legend and we’re sure he will go down a storm in Mareel.”

Tickets for both concerts are available now via Shetland Box Office in Mareel & Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at www.mareel.org and www.shetlandboxoffice.org

Source: Shetland Arts

Heather is an artist based in Shetland and the pieces she has on display in the Lower Gallery café area are exquisite embroidered patches, which explore where modern woman fits into culture and where she herself can be represented within the stereotypes of modern society. The artist strives to “shift the dynamics of accepted female representation by making new cultural symbols”. Heather’s embroidered patches are created from sketchbook images in response to everyday experiences. They are personal and confessional images, transferred to material and then industrially manufactured, thus reversing the traditional link of women and craft.

Heather said: “The work exposes the rigidity of the prescribed belief system where we are expected to fit into the shape moulded by society, rather than creating an individual cast. Roles and meaning are rendered flexible, altering cultural perceptions which previously may have prevented engagement with new avenues of thinking.”

International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900s and its theme for 2013 is The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum, complementing the UN’s International Women’s Day theme of A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women. Each year on March 8th, and throughout the month, thousands of events occur all over the world to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women whilst supporting and recognising the need for further sustainable change.

Heather Wilson’s show is part of Shetland Arts’ wider celebrations for International Women’s Day which includes a special screening of Jane Campion’s The Piano at Mareel on Friday 8 March at 6.30pm.

Where She Resides accompanies the work of Sheila McDonald, jeweller, whose work is on display in the Lower Gallery Craft Cabinet. In the Upper Gallery, Shetland Arts is delighted to present Reflections on Shetland, a solo show by renowned silversmith Rod Kelly. Many of Rod’s prestigious commissions have been inspired by Shetland.

All three shows open on Friday 8 March at from 6-8pm. Everyone welcome. The exhibitions will run until April 21st.

Source: Shetland Arts

Together, Jenna and Bethany Reid have played for many years, most notably with Shetland fiddle quartet Filska and in Jenna’s solo oufit The Jenna Reid Band. Their most recent collaboration saw the release of their self penned album ‘Escape’ in 2010, which commemorated the story of Norwegian Soldier Jan Baalsrud and his survival during the World War two operations know as the Shetland Bus. This year the sisters are set to record with Rant, an unaccompanied fiddle quartet in which they join forces with highland fiddlers Sarah Jane Summers and Lauren MacColl.

Jenna is one of Shetland’s leading exponents of the local fiddle tradition, and has played professionally since graduating with a BA in Traditional Scottish Music from The Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow. She has toured with many bands and is a member of Blazin Fiddles.

Bethany has also played from a young age, being the youngest ever to win Shetland’s coveted Shetland Young Fiddler of the Year award. Graduating in 2008 with a BA in Applied Music, Bethany currently teaches music at St Ninians High School in Glasgow.

Jenna and Bethany said: “We are delighted to be involved as curators at this year’s Fiddle Frenzy.  For many years we have been warmly invited to return as fiddle tutors, taking part in classes and performances – a rare treat in our musical calendar. Our Shetland Bus CD launch is a great memory for us, with the Shetland Arts’ Fiddle Frenzy team going to every length to make a very special event. We hope you enjoy what we bring to the festival this year, it’s an honour to make the 10th Fiddle frenzy another special week for all involved.”

Gwilym Gibbons, Director of Shetland Arts said: “Shetland Arts is delighted to welcome Jenna and Bethany Reid back to Shetland to work with our team to create a very special programme for Fiddle Frenzy on its tenth anniversary. We are also happy to be hosting Fiddle Frenzy in Mareel for the first time ever, and look forward to the venue becoming the home of the festival in future years.”

Fiddle Frenzy has grown to attract around 100 students each year from within Shetland, across the UK, Europe and as far afield as Australia, Canada and America. As always, this 10th anniversary week of celebrations will focus on workshops in traditional fiddle tunes and techniques, taught by a range of local tutors. Options to explore Shetland and experience local culture will also be speckled across the week. This year, Fiddle Frenzy will find a new home in Mareel, providing for the first time a festival hub for workshops, evening concerts and the Festival Club. Some workshops will also take place in Shetland Museum & Archives.

Evening concerts showcasing local and visiting traditional talents will take place in Mareel on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings, with some out of town events including a homecoming night for Jenna & Bethany at the Quarff Hall on Friday. With some detail of the programme still be to confirmed, Shetland Arts is delighted to announce at this stage that Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham will return to celebrate the 10th year, headlining the Monday evening concert, and Lau, winners of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Best Group 2013 Awards, will headline Wednesday evening.

For the first time, student packages will be available to buy on Shetland Box Office including a full week package, allowing flexible options for classes/trips and concerts, a workshop only package, as well as tickets for individual events. For more information on packages and booking, visit www.shetlandarts.org/fiddlefrenzy or email fiddle.frenzy@shetlandarts.org. All packages and concerts tickets will go on sale on Friday 1st March at 2pm, online at www.shetlandboxoffice.org, in person at Mareel or Islesburgh or phone 01595 745555. Early booking is recommended to avoid disappointment.

Source: Shetland Arts