EDEN COURT held its first ever break-dancing event last night as part of Breakin’ Convention; one of the biggest international festivals of hip-hop theatre.

HOSTED by veterans of the British hip hop scene, Jonzi D and Tony Thrills, the show included performances by both internationally acclaimed artists and local groups.

Vagabond Crew's Alien

On entering Eden Court, it seemed that the festival had overtaken not only the Empire Theatre, but the entire venue. The foyer was filled with tracksuit clad break-dancers, and dance mats were placed throughout the building to make way for appearances from local dance groups who couldn’t be slotted into the main performance.  As part of the festival, the day had also included pre-show talks on the history of hip hop theatre with Jonzi, who is also Breakin’ Convention’s artistic director.

Opening the evening’s show was North Highland group Rush Dance, made up of young people aged six to sixteen from Caithness and Sutherland. Formed in 2010 by former Scottish b-boy champion Willie Miller, Rush Dance is the most northerly street dance school in Scotland. Despite their relative youth as a group, the quality of dance was exceptional, and their set was met by resounding applause from the audience.

Following Rush Dance were Glaswegian group the Flyin’ Jalapenos, who told the story of their groups emergence on the Scottish break-dancing scene over the past ten years, from their first meetings at a local hip hop shop, to their materialization as an established company, with workshops, their own studio space, and appearances at T in the Park. This set also included an appearance from one of their younger ‘crew’ members, who is one of many mentored by the group in their efforts to the foster the next generation of Scottish break-dancers.

The second half was opened by all-girl group Rockabeat, fronted by founder and choreographer Christina ‘Xena’ Gusthart. Their set was sharp and perfectly executed, with a touch of tongue-in-cheek retro references to complement their 80s funk soundtrack. The addition of beat-boxer Bigg Taj created an interesting experiment to see how the two disciplines could work together.

Clash 66 followed with a performance that challenged and pushed the boundaries of street dance by taking it into the realm of contemporary theatre, while still retaining the genre’s integrity. France’s Sébastien Ramirez and Korean Honji have been working together to create their unique interpretations of break-dancing for several years, and the chemistry between the two performers made for a transfixing set. Honji’s 10 years of ballet training were showcased in her fluid, refined movements, which put an entirely different perspective on break-dancing, which is so often characterised by jagged, athletic movement.

The convention was closed by world-champion break-dancers Vagabond Crew, performing their signature piece Alien.  If Clash 66 pushed the boundaries of hip hop dance, then Vagabond Crew broke them into pieces and backflipped over them. Alien, an ambitious piece that explores the contrasting themes of hope and fatalism, life and death, is performed with electrifying intensity to the Saw soundtrack.  Choreographed by Mohamed Belarbi, Alien displays how versatile break-dancing can be as a genre, and the ways it can be developed. There is a sense, as the Vagabond Crew took their triumphant final bow and launched into freestyle with the other performers, that Breakin’ Convention is just the tip of the iceberg.

© Rowan Macfie, 2012

Links

• Breakin’ Convention

Admittance is by ticket only and a lucky ticket number will be drawn on the night providing a prize of £50 to the lucky holder.

Tickets cost £5 each and can be purchased from selected retail outlets and from ForWORDS members.

 Source: ForWords

Baltic traders in Stornoway

Bookmarks

Dinny Smith comes home

Among the Bushrangers


The Gorilla Hunters

Two Years before the Mast


The Coral Sea


The Sea of Adventure

Kidnapped

Northern Diver

From Russia with Love

And then there was John Sandwick

who steered you to the Baltic

(the books department, not the shoes).


You browsed, he smiled.

You’d read everything in the house


but you’d reached the age for tickets.


You read the books at the shelves

till they said you could take them home.

The lady librarian explained spines,

how they could snap

if you folded and squeezed down,

how dog-ears spoiled it for everyone,

how bookmarks were best.

For more information about Ian visit his website at www.ianstephen.co.uk

© Ian Stephen, 2012

Joyce McMillan and Mark Fisher, co-conveners of the CATS, said: “Alan Cumming is part of a game-changing generation of Scottish artists who have helped to transform Scotland’s image on the international stage, and we are thrilled that he will be joining us as our guest presenter.  Many of the CATS judges have been following him since his early dazzling work at the RSAMD, and have enjoyed his performances ever since, from the hilarity of Victor and Barry to the Greek tragedy of the National Theatre of Scotland’s The Bacchae.  We’re delighted that he’ll be part of our 2012 celebration of theatre in Scotland.”

In between rehearsals for National Theatre of Scotland’s Macbeth which opens at Tramway, Glasgow on Wednesday 13th June, Alan Cumming commented: “I’m looking forward to catching up with old friends, and celebrating another great year of Scottish theatre at the Tron Theatre for the CATS awards.”

Originally from Aberfeldy and now based in New York, Mr Cumming is working with directors John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg to create his own solo multimedia version of this chilling tale.

The National Theatre of Scotland has 12 nominations for awards spread across seven different productions. Its single most nominated production is Graham McLaren’s  expressionist version of A Christmas Carol.  Its bold Five Minute Theatre experiment, 24 hours of short plays streamed live over the internet to celebrate its fifth birthday last summer has also been nominated for best technical presentation.

Other heavily fancied shows include Dundee Rep’s Further than the Furthest Thing and Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre’s recent production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal.

However, the nominations have also seen first time entries for Bard in the Botanics (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Shona Reppe Puppets (The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean), Magnetic North (Pass the Spoon), Theatre Jezebel (Days of Wine and Roses) and Frozen Charlotte (Too Many Penguins).

In addition, Rachel O’Riordan, who only took over as artistic director at Perth Theatre last summer, saw her production of Frank McGuinness’ Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me pick up three nominations for Best Actor, Best Ensemble and Best Director.

The CATS celebrated its 10th year by announcing a new sponsorship deal with BBC Scotland’s Radio Drama department which joins a roster of sponsors including STV, W&P Longreach–Theatre Insurance Brokers, Equity, the actors union and Northern Light, the specialist theatre suppliers.

It also announced the introduction of a new occasional award, known as the CATS Whiskers which will be given in recognition of an outstanding contribution to theatre in Scotland that isn’t already reflected in the other awards.  The winner will be announced on Monday 4th June, 2012.

Of the 202 productions considered for nomination, 123 were eligible for Best New Play and 36 were created for children and young people.  A total of 23 shows have reached the final nominations stage and the winners will be announced at the CATS Awards ceremony on Sunday 10th June, 2012 at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre.

The event is open to members of the public and offers a unique opportunity for audiences to come together with the cream of the Scottish theatre community to celebrate the contribution that work produced in Scotland makes to the cultural life of the country.

Tickets cost £15 (entry to the awards ceremony, a pre and post show glass of fizz and light refreshments) and can be purchased through the Tron Theatre, box office. For further information on the CATS visit: www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com

Source: CATS

Taking place in October 2012 the festival will showcase the arts, creativity and ageing in a diverse and large-scale celebration of older artists, performers and participants across the generations.

The festival is part of Creative Scotland’s drive to increase the numbers of older people enjoying high quality arts activities, whether as artists, performers, participants or consumers, as research has shown that older people are less likely than other groups to take part in cultural activities.

‘Luminate’ was chosen from over twenty names suggested by the general public and creative and care industry insiders following a call for submissions made by newly appointed Festival Director, Anne Gallacher at the beginning of April.

At the time, Gallacher said: “As this festival is new, we’re looking for an inspirational name for it and wanted to ask the public to contribute with their ideas. This festival is all about the people of Scotland enjoying opportunities to be more creative as a natural part of ageing, so it’s important to ask them for their input.”

After careful consideration by representatives of the three Festival partners, Creative Scotland, the Baring Foundation and AgeScotland, Gallacher is delighted to announce the name saying: “Luminate clearly expresses a sense of light and energy and reflects the feeling of optimism and anticipation that we are looking to achieve in our Festival programming.”

In July, Gallacher will announce programme highlights, followed by full programme details in September. For updates, visit: www.creativescotland.com

In the meantime, she explains more about programming the first festival of its kind in Scotland: “The programme for Luminate is taking shape, and I am looking forward to an exciting month of events and activities across Scotland this October.

“Luminate will feature a wide range of projects aimed at older people as participants or audience members, activities that bring the generations together, work by older professional artists, creative activities with people being cared for in residential homes and in their local community, and work which explores what it means to all of us that society is ageing.”

Gallacher goes on to describe how organisations and groups can apply to take part: “We want as many people as possible to take part, and I would like to invite any organisations, groups and artists who would like their work to be featured in the festival to apply for inclusion in our brochure. Details of how to apply will be available on the Creative Scotland website shortly, or you can register your interest by emailing luminate@agescotland.org.uk”

Iain Munro, Director of Creative Development at Creative Scotland, said; “Luminate is a fantastic name for this exciting new addition to Scotland’s festival calendar – it will bring a spotlight directly on to our amazing range of artists and onto the benefit that a rich creative life can bring, whether you’re aged 9 – or 90!”

Learning from existing festival models including Bealtaine in Ireland and Gwanwyn in Wales, Luminate will bring social, economic and health benefits to older people and the wider community, and will encourage intergenerational connections.

Katie Docherty of Age Scotland, said: “We believe this to be a positive development that in the longer term will have a major impact on Scotland’s older population and their involvement in and appreciation of the arts.

“In the recent past the emphasis appears to have been mainly on the younger artist, perhaps contributing to a bit of a cultural vacuum as far as older artists and those in later life who appreciate and enjoy the arts are concerned.

“We are confident that this festival will address concerns in this regard and result in improved intergenerational co-operation to the benefit of all of Scotland’s communities.”

Source: Wendy Grannon

Sandstone Press Managing Director Robert Davidson says: ‘Cory Taylor’s book is a triumph of empathy and an acute commentary on family and sexual relationships. Told entirely without judgement it lays bare the vulnerability of individuals across not only the sexes but also the generations. The voice of Martha is going to resonate wherever it is heard.’

Author Cory Taylor says: ‘To have this kind of recognition for your work is exciting for any writer, given that writing is so much about confidence in the worth of what you’re trying to do. And to be recognized out of a field of such quality and diversity is especially thrilling. It gives me a special sense of connection to new writers from all over the world. Somehow the imperative to tell stories seems less isolating and more like a communal undertaking.’

Author Isla Dewar has already given this comment: ‘A beautifully paced and endlessly witty book about love and about growing up. Not the inevitable moving into adulthood growing up, but the growing up we all have to do, and keep on doing all our lives. I loved this book.’

Chair of the Commonwealth Book Prize, Margaret Busby says, ‘We were wonderfully spoilt for choice among some strong regional contenders on the shortlist. Here are novels with memorable characters, unpredictable situations, a sense of humour, books that give insights into cultures and histories not our own, crafted by writers who care about language, and its ability to renew and enrich our view of the world.’

Sandstone Press will release both book and ebook to the British and Irish markets on July 19th 2012. The book is published in Australia by Text.

Source: Sandstone Press

From film festivals to football tournaments, comedy nights to carnivals, exhibitions, concerts, workshops, parties and much more, Refugee Week Scotland 2012 (18 – 24 June) is a week-long festival recognising both the contribution refugees make to Scottish culture and the welcome and support Scotland gives to refugees.

Scottish Refugee Council is also launching its Refugee Week Fundraising appeal. All proceeds raised will allow us to continue supporting refugees seeking sanctuary in Scotland.

Refugee Week Scotland opens its festivities with a concert, curated by Mercury prize nominated King Creosote, founder of the acclaimed Scottish independent music label, the Fence Collective. He will also be headlining the night as well as performing with special guests, including other Fence members, The Pictish Trail and Randolph’s Leap.

All proceeds raised from the concert will go to Scottish Refugee Council and British Red Cross.

Refugee Week also marks the culmination of our Spirit photography project at Trongate 103 (8 June – 22 July). Scottish Refugee Council, in partnership with Street Level Photoworks, has been working with seven photographers from refugee backgrounds who have been out photographing different refugee communities.

Suzi Simpson, Arts and Cultural Development Officer said: “We are really excited to launch another fabulous Refugee Week, this year themed around Spirit. There are over 100 events planned including a star-studded opening concert featuring Fence Collective’s King Creosote, an exclusive preview of excerpts from Cora Bissett’s new musical, Glasgow Girls, and a wealth of community celebrations demonstrating the strength of spirit of refugees across Scotland.

“This year we are also launching our Refugee Week Scotland Fundraising Appeal. We can’t do this without support so we hope everyone will get in the spirit and help us to ensure this great festival continues to go from strength to strength.”

Download our programme at www.refugeeweekscotland.com

Source: Refugee Week Scotland

www.showaddywaddy.net

The gig by Cal on 1 June has been cancelled. Ticket buyers are being refunded.

3 June 12 noon to 4 pm Strathpeffer Community Diamond Jubilee Picnic in the Pavilion gardens – processions, live music, treasure hunt, baking competitions, storytelling – bring your own picnic or buy refreshments, hot and cold drinks on sale

8 June 8 pm the brilliant Scottish Ensemble with harpist Catrin Finch pay a musical homage to the Auld Alliance with music by French composers Debussy (Marche écossaise and Danses sacrée et profane) and Ravel (Petite Symphonie) plus a new concerto for pedal harp by acclaimed Scottish composer Savourna Stevenson, which will have its world premier in Edinburgh the previous night. Continuing the Celtic connection, Welsh harpist Catrin Finch is a former Royal Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales and is now in demand as a soloist across the world. Tickets £10 (£5 for school pupils) on-line from www.WeGotTickets.com and www.Ticketweb.co.uk, also from 24-hour hotline 08444 771000, Pavilion office 01997 420124 (9 to 6 Monday to Friday) and June’s Card Shop Dingwall.

www.scottishensemble.co.uk

www.catrinfinch.com

9 June 11 am to 4 pm Strathpeffer’s famous Victorian Market Day, with stalls in the Square and events throughout the village, including an exhibition of historic photographs, arranged in the veranda of the Pavilion by Friends of the Pavilion, who will also sell their delicious teas in the main hall.

9 June 8.30 to midnight Ceilidh organised by the Victorian Strathpeffer Committee, with the band Highland Ceilidh, complete with dance caller. Tickets £8 online from WeGotTickets and TicketWeb, also TicketWeb 24-hr hotline 08444 771000 – now also from Pavilion 01997 420124, Aladdin’s Cave Strathpeffer and Sports & Model Shop Dingwall

www.highlandceilidh.co.uk

16 June 8.30pm to midnight, Dance organised by Strathpeffer Spa Golf Club, with music by local band Rant. Tickets £10 from the Golf Club 01997 421219 or Rachael Maclean – now also from Pavilion 01997 420124. A return bus service is available from Conon Bridge, via Maryburgh and Dingwall – bus fare £3 return.

21 June 8 pm concert by Plockton Music School – the Pavilion is proud to present some of Scotland’s finest young musical talent in a concert showcasing the healthy state of Scotland’s traditional music scene. 24 students of the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music, based at Plockton High School, will perform as part of their annual tour, designed to show people throughout Scotland what the Centre does. Tickets £7, conc. £3 online from WeGotTickets and TicketWeb, also TicketWeb 24-hr hotline 08444 771000 – now also from June’s Card Shop Dingwall and Pavilion 01997 420124

www.musicplockton.org

5 July 8 pm The Alexander Brothers – since rocketing to fame with “Nobody’s Child” in the 1960s, the Alexander Brothers have become firmly established among Scotland’s leading international entertainers. As well known in Canada and the United States as they are in the UK, they have always been in demand for theatre productions and television programmes and still regularly tour around the world.

Tickets £14 (conc. £12) on-line from www.WeGotTickets.com and www.Ticketweb.co.uk, also from 24-hour hotline 08444 771000 and Pavilion office 01997 420124 (9 to 6 Monday to Friday) and June’s Card Shop Dingwall.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alexander.brothers

20 July 8 pm the Scottish Chamber Orchestra makes its popular annual visit to the Pavilion, conducted by Nicholas McGegan and with baritone William Berger. Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, Haydn arias and Symphony No. 88 in G, Cimarosa Overture to Il Maestro di Capella, and Mozart Symphony No. 31 “Paris”. Tickets £14 (seniors £12, other conc. and all under 26s £5) on-line from www.WeGotTickets.com and www.Ticketweb.co.uk, also from 24-hour hotline 08444 771000 – now also from June’s Card Shop Dingwall and Pavilion 01997 420124

www.sco.org.uk

http://nicholasmcgegan.com

www.williamberger.com

25 July 8 pm the Tannahill Weavers – one of Scotland’s longest-established traditional groups, whose great music reflects both the Highland and Lowland aspects of our musical heritage. Tickets £12 / £11 / £6 online from WeGotTickets and TicketWeb, also TicketWeb 24-hr hotline 08444 771000 – now also from June’s Card Shop Dingwall and Pavilion office 01997 420124

www.tannahillweavers.com

2 Aug 8 pm Strangebird Zirkus thrilled the Pavilion audience last year with a performance of “Uncharted Waters” with aerial dance company All Or Nothing. This year, Strangebird returns with a new production, “Ornithology”, which is also sure to provide acrobatic thrills for young and old alike. “A charismatic combination of thoughtful theatre and physical skill” (The Scotsman). Tickets £12 (conc. £11, school pupils £6) online from WeGotTickets and TicketWeb, also TicketWeb 24-hr hotline 08444 771000 – now also from June’s Card Shop Dingwall and Pavilion 01997 420124

www.strangebirdzirkus.com

7 Sep 7.30 pm Blas Festival tribute to Calum Kennedy. Hosted by Fiona Kennedy and Arthur Cormack, this evening pays tribute to Fiona’s late and internationally acclaimed father. Joining them will be James Graham, Darren Maclean and Kristine Kennedy, along with old friends and acquaintances gathering together in song, story and evocative imagery, to create a picture of the legendary Calum Kennedy. Tickets already on sale from TicketWeb.co.uk including special 24hr hotline 0844 248 5096 – Earlybird price £12 until 31 July

www.blas-festival.com/dihaoine–friday-7th.html

29 Sep 8 pm Dr. Feelgood: touring pretty much continuously since 1973, Dr. Feelgood always give 100% of the finest British rhythm and blues to make you feel good. Performing such hits as “Milk & Alcohol”, “Down At The Doctors” and “Roxette”, the Doctors will see you now! Tickets £15 (conc. £14, school pupils £6) online from WeGotTickets and TicketWeb, also TicketWeb 24-hr hotline 08444 771000 – now also from Pavilion 01997 420124

http://drfeelgood.org

Plus conferences, weddings, functions and other private events not included on this list

Strathpeffer Pavilion 01997 420124

www.StrathpefferPavilion.org

enquiries@StrathpefferPavilion.org

TicketWeb 24/7 ticket hotline: 08444 771000

Source: Strathpeffer Pavilion

CARTOON Theatre’s latest production brings the company’s trademark blend of live performance and animation together in tribute to this year’s big event: the Olympics.

STARRING Artair Donald, along with a host of colourful projections, the audience is taken on an adventure through a young man’s exhilarating journey to the Games. Geared towards the 5-10 age group, A Sporting Chance creates a fantastic show for children by keeping them continually captivated. On his way to the games, our hero completes every activity possible, including racing, cycling, parachuting and swimming.

Artair Donald in Cartoon Theatre's A Sporting Chance

Those who have seen Dave Smith’s previous work with John Mcgeogh for Clown Jewels will be familiar with their zany and inspired artwork. Aside from creating a background for the cartoon projections, the stage multitasks in innovative ways; sections of the screen unzip so that the character can become part of his surroundings, allowing him to ride a school bus, and swim effortlessly through an ocean scene.

The animated backdrop also lets him enter all kinds of fantastic situations, from an underwater fencing match with a dancing skeleton, to a commercial plane flight piloted by sheep. When he stumbles on a school sports day, the egg and spoon race consists of real eggs and spoons, Alice in Wonderland style. Best of all, the marathon scene includes drawings from a local primary school workshop, making for a surreal race with cat and monster headed participants.

Unfortunately, the Craigmonie centre performance was vastly under-attended, with only a meagre handful of children and parents dotted through the stalls. But what the audience lacked in numbers, they made up for in enthusiasm. The show is so interactive that any children, no matter how few, can’t fail to be spellbound.

However, it’s early days for A Sporting Chance, and Cartoon Theatre plan on running the production from the Olympics, all the way through to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014. In this time, the show will doubtless develop in all kinds of different directions, with more audience participation and workshops along the way. Also, thanks to the bilingual Donald, the Gaelic version has also been well-received throughout the Western Isles. Let’s just hope that word spreads about this very worthwhile production.

© Rowan Macfie, 2012

Links

• Cartoon Theatre

The sausage and beer thing is interesting. Here, that would be very much a class divide—opera goers nipping into a local ‘greasy spoon’ before visiting ‘The Garden’ would definitely be slumming. Before a visit to the Vienna Volksoper, we dined in the Volksoper Café opposite, and were fascinated to see members of the Viennese establishment, dressed to the nines, tucking into their wursts and their long glasses of local beer.

Don’t get me started on the trains. In the course of 18 days we made ten separate train journeys across Bavaria and Austria, including connections, and all were on time, left from the platform noted on the ticket and, although mostly very busy, were never over-crowded. And they’re cheaper, too. And the stations are clean, bright, and full of great food outlets. Our hotel in Vienna, being very green, offered a ten per cent discount to those, like us, who arrived and left by train. Of course: it’s the only way to travel.

If the trains were cheap, so were the concerts, operas and ballets. In the city of Regensburg, which with a population of about 150,000 is roughly the size of Dundee, but has over 1500 listed buildings (the RAF never got round to bombing it) we went to see the local opera company. http://www.theater-regensburg.de For just 25 euros each we had great seats in the stalls, in a gem of a mid-19th century theatre, beautifully restored, to see a production of Richard Strauss’s Elektra, an opera that requires such lavish orchestral forces, and such star singers, that Scottish Opera has never mounted it, and probably never will. It was superb—great singing and playing, and an intelligent and powerful staging with a brilliant set. Scottish Opera’s Tosca, at Eden Court last week, cost £40 each for equivalent seats.

Even the Vienna Volksoper was still cheaper than Scottish Opera for a ballet version of Carl Orff’s warhorse ‘Carmina Burana’ that involved an on-stage chorus of 70 (plus at times a children’s chorus of 30), a corps de ballet of 25, three operatic soloists, and a symphony orchestra in the pit. I’d booked for the show thinking it might be a bit of a romp. It turned out to be an overwhelming artistic and emotional experience, and I don’t mind admitting I was in tears by the end. The production redeemed a great musical masterpiece from the degradation of Old Spice adverts, horror movies and Classic FM.

One interesting factor is that companies like the Volksoper, and indeed the equivalent companies in Regensburg and Salzburg, stage operas and musicals together in the same season, with the same company. In Britain, musicals tend to be the preserve of theatres, like the RSC or Dundee Rep. Linking operas and musicals is clearly to the benefit of each. The ‘musicals’ sensibility brought a tremendous ‘oomph’ to the production of ‘Carmina Burana’, while I’m sure those operatic voices will sound wonderful in the forthcoming 50th anniversary production of ‘The Sound of Music’.

Of course, there is the opposite end of the scale. We also stayed with an old friend in Salzburg, where the annual festival has some of the highest ticket prices in Europe. But what we’ve seen of those Festival audiences, on past visits and on films, suggests that those attending are doing so as much for social (or even business) reasons as for artistic purposes. Some of the men, in particular, looked as if they’d rather be somewhere else—the golf course, perhaps. At the events we attended—in Bamberg, as well as Regensburg and Vienna, the large (often sold out) audiences were emphatically there for the music—listened with massive attention, and responded with rapturous applause.

And sometimes a great experience can be free (apart, that is, from a small offering). In Salzburg the Dom (Cathedral) and the neighbouring Franziskaner Church, have live music as part of mass every Sunday. In the Franziskaner that means a Mozart mass and Church Sonata, with orchestra, organist, soloists and choir, beautifully integrated into the liturgical service. I first enjoyed this uplifting Salzburg Sunday morning experience as a student, 37 years ago—it was great to see the tradition continuing.

One aspect of price that is, of course, very different in Germany and Austria is the admission charges for galleries and museums. We’re spoilt here in the UK by our free admission, and I couldn’t help feeling again that we’re missing a trick. Once you’ve got to somewhere like Regensburg or Vienna, the cost of admission to a gallery is one of the smallest costs of your trip—less probably than you’ll pay for lunch. Few people are going to be put off, especially as most major cities have offers like the ‘Vienna Card’ which combines free public transport with discounted admission to dozens of venues. Now, technology should make it easy for galleries here to offer free admission to UK (or even just local) residents, through some kind of smart card, while charging a reasonable admission price to tourists. As public funding shrinks, this is surely an issue that needs to be revisited.

And using such technology could deliver tremendous visitor data, whether the card was being swiped for free admission or as part of a paid package. A decade ago we had a holiday in Amsterdam and bought the annual Netherlands Gallery card which, for a modest price, gave free admission to some 400 museums and galleries throughout the Netherlands. That meant that the specific visits—where, when, and how often—of every card holder could be tracked and accumulated. So much more robust than visitor surveys, and so much simpler for the visitor. By the way, we managed a neat trick by going back to Amsterdam the following year a week earlier and getting even more value out of our cards. Of course, as my colleague Sian pointed out, first we’d have to overcome the very healthy British dislike of being electronically tracked!

And there is also the question of value for money. Admission to the V&A’s current piece of Olympics propaganda, British Design 1948-2012, costs £12 full whack. In Vienna, we paid 12 euros for admission to the Albertina, a lesser-known treasure of the city which specialises in works on paper, but that ticket price covered no less than three major exhibitions.  2012 is the 150th anniversary of the quintessential Viennese artist, Gustav Klimt, and every major gallery has its own exhibition about him. The Albertina’s contribution explores his life and work through his drawings—over 200 of them. It was an utterly engrossing exhibition, which changed forever our perceptions of an artist too readily dismissed as kitsch. But after that demanding and inspiring experience, we were then faced with ‘Impressionismus’, another 200 works on paper by Impressionist artists from Boudin to Redon and Manet to Cezanne. This was by any standards a world class exhibition—the substantial section on Degas alone would have been an impressive exhibition in most contexts. After nearly three hours, mentally and physically exhausted, we couldn’t begin to contemplate the third exhibition, ‘From Monet to Picasso’. But we’d certainly got full value from the ticket price!

And that poses a question I’ve asked once or twice before? Can we have too much art? Of course, a resident of Vienna wouldn’t need to cram those three blockbuster exhibitions into one visit, as we did with only three days in the city, but I think they’d still have had to buy a ticket for each visit. So, did the exhibitions need to be so huge? Could we have understood Klimt’s remarkable qualities as a draughtsman by seeing only half as many works? Would we have felt we’d got value for money, and had an enriching experience, if we’d only seen that Degas section, and not the whole comprehensive survey. I suspect the answer to both questions is ‘yes’.

So why the epic quality of these, and indeed of several other exhibitions we saw on our travels, not to mention several which Judith has seen in London recently? I suspect there are three factors: the ambition (and obsession) of curators, the expectations of sponsors, and the need to create a media ‘buzz’. The trouble is that none of these factors take much account of the needs of the footsore, eye-strained, brain dead visitor.

Fortunately, not every celebration of Klimt had to be on this scale. Early in his career Klimt painted some of the murals for the great stair hall of the then new Kunsthistorisches Museumin Vienna. Usually you’d need opera glasses to study them. But for this anniversary year the museum authorities have constructed a scaffolding gantry that allows visitors to get up close and personal to these beautiful paintings, made on the cusp of Klimt’s maturity. Of course, they couldn’t leave it at that—there’s also an enormous, comprehensively documented, exhibition about how these works came about. But that’s in another room, you don’t have to go there, you can just enjoy the exhibition experience at its purest: getting to spend some time, at your own pace, in the company of great art.

© Robert Livingston

DARKNESS falls in the Universal Hall, then the glass pentagon set into the centre of the floor begins to glow to the otherworldly sound of Huun Huur Tu’s Mongolian throat singing intertwined with wordless, ethereal Bulgarian voices.

MOVEMENT, shapes are dimly discernible in the gloom. Then an arm, a leg, a face, underlit, unspeakably eerie, appear over the pentagon as the voices become more urgent, more passionate. This is surely what it must have felt like, being at a ritual in a cave back in the Stone Age. The Rite of Spring doesn’t come close.

Kirstie Simpson

We’re used to improvisation in jazz and traditional music, whether on stage or in post-show sessions. We’re used to improv and standup comedy and rap. But in dance, everything is choreographed, rehearsed, and polished with nothing left to chance. It’s very rare to see improvised dance, and rarer still to see it done with the finesse, artistry and bubbling joie de vivre that Kirstie Simson and Michael Schumacher bring.

From its hieratic beginnings through sections which recall other great partnerships – from Laurel and Hardy to Morecambe and Wise – and an eclectic sound mix of hang drum, Japanese sax solos, cello, finishing with Tom Waits, it’s an enthralling evening shot through with humour and a refreshing refusal to take itself too seriously. In the middle of an exhilarating solo Simson pauses, raises her head and says in explanation, “We’ve been teaching all week”. Everyone laughs, understanding – now – how trammelled they must have felt.

The audience includes a good number of small children whose delighted, laughter-filled responses to the dancing add greatly to the collective pleasure. If you think improvised dance involves a great deal of arm-waving and inversely-proportioned artistic content, you need to see Simson and Schumacher perform. It’ll change the way you experience dance.

© Jennie Macfie, 2012

Links

• Bodysurf Scotland
• Katrina MacPherson film about Kirstie Simson
• Jennie Macfie

Come along to these informal events. Food and refreshments provided along with bright ideas, creative solutions and new contacts!

Creating Enterprise to Enable Social Benefit

Come to Badaguish Outdoor centre on Wednesday 23 May to find out about the support available, for free, for Social Enterprises. Whether you are interested in new funding, procurement, developing new business or becoming sustainable this is a chance to network and find out more.

Sign up now

Creating Enterprise to Enable Social Benefit

Come to Corran Halls in Oban on Tuesday 29 May to find out about the support available, for free, for Social Enterprises. Whether you are interested in new funding, procurement, developing new business or becoming sustainable this is a chance to network and find out more.

Sign up now

Creating Opportunities for all – Young People & Social Enterprise

Are you engaging with young people through your social enterprise?

Are you interested in creating new opportunities for young people in your community?

Are you a young person involved in Social Enterprise?

Come along to Elgin Youth Cafe, in Elgin on Wednesday 6 June to find out more.

Sign up now.

Better Business Planning Workshop

This workshop, delivered at Pulteney Community Centre, Wick on Tuesday 12 June, digs into the details of everything you need to consider when writing a business plan; working out your structure; expressing yourself clearly. Bring your business plan with you so you can work on it together.

Sign up now.

Community Retailing; How can we improve and develop retail skills?

Come Uig Community Shop, Isle of Lewis on Tuesday 12 June. Find out how they operate, service the community and be inspired. In addition to this you can find out more about:

How using Social Media can generate sales

How to finance and manage your store

You can attend this event in person or virtually so let us know how you will be joining us when you sign up online.

Source: HISEZ

The latest theatre production from Right Lines will be a fast moving four-hander comedy that examines the issue of migration to and from the Highlands on local, national and intergalactic levels! They ask the questions – why do people come, why do people stay and why do they go? Furthermore, what exactly does it mean to be a local?

Following a one-off UFO experience, Jack has been pursuing his passion for all things extraterrestrial for years. He has joined an online community of fellow enthusiasts and they have given him the task of building an Intergalactic Communicator to establish Contact. Only his day job as a garage mechanic in a remote Highland village and the influence of his level-headed daughter Mhairi have prevented him from spending all his time reaching out to commune with life beyond the stars.

Mhairi has kept the business going, just, but now the planets are perfectly aligned and the day of the Big Test is approaching…

Into Jack’s world happens Felicity, moving to the area to escape a marriage and establish a Healing Centre. Her city-slicker son Darren plans to stay only long enough to drop his mother off before racing back to the South in his extremely expensive sports car.

However, the car breaks down outside the garage at exactly the same time as Jack realises the long-awaited final component for his Communicator device doesn’t fit. He needs to find a replacement part quickly to finish his machine… and where on earth can he find it?

As the lives of these four individuals collide, is this a calamity or good fortune for all concerned. Or both? And what are those strange lights in the night sky…?

From These Parts will feature a very strong cast: Ron Emslie, Vari Sylvester, Helen Mackay and Ewan Donald. The Director is Ian Grieve, Set Design by Mike Taylor and Michael Start and the Writers are Euan Martin and Dave Smith.

“We are very fortunate to have the services of Ron Emslie once again. He has worked with Right Lines on several shows including Who Bares Wins, Watching Bluebottles and Whisky Kisses. In fact, it was through Whisky Kisses that Director Ian Grieve met Ron and promptly cast him in the lead role of Willy Loman in the highly-acclaimed Perth Theatre production of Death of a Salesman in 2011. Coincidentally, Vari and Ewan were also in Death of a Salesman and From These Parts is the first time they have all been reunited with Ian Grieve since then.”

Helen Mackay from Caithness makes up the acting contingent. Helen has also worked with Right Lines previously in The Accidental Death of an Accordionist and alongside Ron Emslie in the online radio comedy Morrison’s Van which is still available to download on the Northings website.

From These Parts is funded by the Northern Scottish Touring Fund and will tour to venues across the Highlands & Islands and North-East of Scotland in June 2012.

For this production, they are collaborating with two new artists on Set Design. Thet enlisted Tain artist Mike Taylor whose work ranges from the most detailed trompe l’oeil to full-scale murals on the side of the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior. Through connections in the Moray Arts community, Euan met up with Michael Start from The House of Automata in Kinloss. Michael is a world expert on horology and Automata and he was the expert advisor to Martin Scorsese on the recent Oscar-winning Hollywood movie “Hugo”.

“As the main character in the play is building an Intergalactic Communicator, I thought Michael would be the ideal person to help us design and build this essential centre-piece to our production. Despite a very busy schedule, including a major contribution to the Daniel Radcliffe film “The Woman in Black” and appearances at the Brit Awards and on Britain’s Got Talent with his Flea Circus, Michael agreed to work with us. Having an advisor to an Oscar-winning movie is a fantastic addition to our Creative Team, as well as a great career move for Michael, obviously!”

Right Lines Productions will tour From These Parts in the Highlands, North-East and Western Isles between 16th – 30th June 2012.

For further information, please contact Euan Martin at euan@rightlines.net or visit the following websites:

Right Lines – www.rightlines.net

NSTF – www.nxne.info

Northings – www.northings.com

House of Automata – www.automatomania.co.uk

Euan Martin, Right Lines Productions www.rightlines.net 07540 049865.

Source: Right Lines Productions

Book Publication: The Language of the Body: Figure Drawings in Four Chapters by Alan McGowan.

The practice of Life Drawing has been almost completely eradicated from British art schools over the past twenty years. Alan McGowan’s work seeks to reinvigorate the form combining expressionistic draughtsmanship with a visceral approach to the nude and seeks to locate the discipline within the theoretical framework which is often lacking. In both the exhibition and accompanying book publication “The Language of the Body” McGowan identifies drawing with the concerns of epistemelogical enquiry and doubt of thinkers ranging from Michel de Montaigne and Marcel Proust to Michel Serres and John Gray.

Drawings often have an immediacy and accessability which is absent from more finished artworks which has lead to renewed interest in them as a form in recent years. These works on paper are clearly influenced by the long history of life study but also by contemporary concerns. McGowan’s work relates not only to the strong tradition of Scottish figurative art from Raeburn to Currie and Jenny Saville but also to a new wave of neo figurative artists emerging internationally such as Alex Kanevsky (USA) and Sophie Jodoin (Canada).

Alan McGowan was born in East Kilbride in 1964 and studied at Edinburgh College of Art. He has exhibited throughout the UK and internationally and taught drawing at Edinburgh College of Art, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art Dundee and Leith School of Art. He is based in Edinburgh.

Exhibition:

The Language of the Body. Gallery 3, Art’s Complex, 151 London Road, Edinburgh.

26th May to 2nd June 2012.

Preview Friday 25th May 6-8.30.

Book Publication:

The Language of the Body: Figure Drawings in Four Chapters by Alan McGowan.

80 pages. 65 illustrations full colour.

ISBN 9780957242807

Published by SATURATION 2012. Price £20

http://www.alibris.co.uk/booksearch.detail?invid=11274027347

Source: Alan McGowan

The Tannahill Weavers are one of Scotland ‘s premier traditional bands.  Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries and swings from instrumentals and reflective ballads to footstomping reels and jigs to demonstrate the rich musical heritage of the Celtic people. This combination of traditional melodies, delivered with tight harmonies and driving rhythmic accompaniment, makes their performances truly memorable, and has won them fans from beyond the folk and Celtic music scenes. This is a welcome return to the Universal Hall a venue they last played in 2009.

“An especially eloquent mixture of the old and the new.” New York Times

Wed 30th May, 7.30pm, £10/£8 concs/£6 U16’s

Tickets at The Phoenix Stores 01309 690110 and online at www.wegottickets.com/UniversalHall

Source: Universal Hall

Exhibition: Up to 16 artists will be selected for the exhibition in this exciting new gallery in Portree from 25 June to 31 August 2012. Up to six works an artist will be accepted, with works on display being rotated during the exhibition.

Submissions deadline: Friday 8 June 2012

Mediums: Painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, textile, ceramic, sculpture. Photography is excluded as our summer exhibition will be followed by a group photographic exhibition. There is a lot of natural light in the gallery, especially during the long summer days, so do bear this in mind with textile-based, light- or heat-sensitive works. There is no size restriction other than ability to transport the work, but artists should bear in mind that space constraints may mean only one large work could be displayed.

Submissions process: Initial submissions by email only. Send photos (as .jpgs, no more than 1MB a photo) of 4 to 10 works by email to skyeworksgallery@gmail.com together with a brief artist’s statement, your contact details (including phone), details of the artworks (titles, medium, size) and selling prices.

Work should have been completed within the last four years and all works must be for sale. A commission of 35% plus the gallery’s VAT obligation will be charged on the price paid for work. To fit with our policy of making art accessible, no individual piece should cost more than £1,200.

The final selection will be done Skyeworks gallery owner Liza Hawthorne. Successful artists will be contacted by phone on Tuesday 12 June 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter. Work must be delivered to the gallery by 16h00 on Wednesday 20 June 2012 at the latest. Personal delivery is preferred as we like to meet artists, but delivery/collection by post/courier is acceptable. Delivery and collection are at the artist’s expense. Any unsold work must be collected during the first week of September.

All work must be ready for display once packaging has been removed. Packaging must be reusable. Work to be hung must have D-rings with wire/string and ideally be in a plain black or white frame. There should not be any projections whatsoever from the back of the frames to prevent damage to other works. Metal frames, clip frames and unprotected glass edges must not be used. Works on paper should be framed behind glass. Works in oil paint must be completely dry or framed behind glass.

Copyright in all works exhibited at Skyeworks remains with the artist, but the artist grants Skyeworks the right of free reproduction of the work in print and online in connection with the exhibition.

All exhibiting artists will be invited to the Private View on the evening of Monday 25 June 2012 starting at 6pm.

While every care will be taken when handling works, the responsibility for damage or loss, however caused, remains the artist’s and artists are therefore advised to arrange adequate insurance cover against such risks both in transit and whilst at the Gallery.

By entering a work the artist confirms that it is their own original work, that they hold all intellectual property rights in the work, and that they have written approval for the use of any third party copyrighted material contained in it.. The artwork may not be a copy or likeness of another’s work (i.e. painting, drawing, photograph, digital image or print) or a derivative work.

http://skyeworksgallery.wordpress.com

Source: Skyeworks Gallery

LIFE is so much easier as an arts reviewer, rather than an arts critic.

IF ONE of those omniscient characters had been in the Empire Theatre at Eden Court last Thursday for the latest revival of Scottish Opera’s 1980 production of Puccini’s Tosca he would have been hard pushed to fill a space the size of a postage stamp, whereas the reviewer has full scope to lavish the praise on the performance that it deserved.

Tosca. Susannah Glanville and Jose Ferrero as Tosca and Cavaradossi (photo Mark Hamilton)

For an opera novice, this Tosca delivers everything that one could imagine an opera should contain; love and lust, violence and death, lush music and intense drama. Puccini and his librettists Giacosa and Illica used the Sardou play La Tosca as the basis of their opera, and in turn Sardou had based his main characters on real people in the struggle between the Neapolitan Royalists and the Bonapartists following the Battle of Marengo in June 1800.

There really was a theatrical singer called Floria Tosca. She was a waif from Verona, taken in by Benedictine monks and taught to sing in church. It was at the insistence of Cimarosa and of Pope Pius VII that she became an opera singer. The two other main characters, Mario Cavaradossi the painter, and the cruel ruthless licentious Baron Scarpia had real life equivalents in Caravadossi and Sciarpa.

But the renowned director Anthony Besch and his colleague and regular collaborator, the designer Peter Rice, decided to bring the action forward from Rome in June 1800 to Rome in June 1943, when the conflict was between Mussolini’s Fascisti and the many Italians who supported the Allies in World War II. And it works beautifully as the only elements that need to change chronologically are the costumes. The buildings where the action takes place are timeless, and almost uniquely in opera, this thirty-two year old production is still fresh and contemporary, for which praise must be lavished on the revival director,  Jonathan Cocker.

The singing was exquisite. Making their Scottish Opera debuts as the lovers Cavaradossi and Tosca were José Ferrero and Susannah Glanville, two characters devoted to each other despite the petty squabbles. Ferrero has a tenor voice that is not overly powerful but rather is pure and rich, and he uses that voice to great effect without overdoing the melodramatic emotions. By convention, as the tenor, Cavaradossi has the best tunes, such as Recondita armonia in the opening scenes, or E lucevan le stelle in the final act

But the dominating relationship in the opera is not that between the lovers, but the one between the evil Scarpia and Tosca. Susannah Glanville has but one great solo aria, Visi d’arte, sung, cowering immobile on Scarpia’s very ordinary bed, with a sense of despair during Act II as she beseeches the monster to spare her lover’s life. For the most part her role is in duets with either Cavaradossi or Scarpia, or in a style of singgedicht, but such is the quality of her voice that at no time is the audience aware of the lack of show-stopping numbers. Not that conductor Derek Clark was giving the packed theatre any encouragement to break the tension with applause as he took the music forward without stopping

Holding the whole opera together is the menacing presence of Baron Scarpia, the Chief of Police. Even if not on stage, his threatening musical motif hangs over everything like a storm cloud. Baritone Robert Poulton fitted the role to a tee, with a thin veneer of urbanity masking the cruel and lascivious evil lurking underneath. From his majestic Te Deum in the first act until even after death, stabbed by Tosca at the end of Act II, his spectre shrouds the vain dreams of the lovers. The only occasion when this mask was allowed to slip was when he was greeted by a chorus of booing at his curtain call! His smile said it all, “Result!

We have become used to the little touches that set a Scottish Opera production apart from the mere ordinary, be it the bicycling nun in The Barber of Seville, or the domestic details in Intermezzo (sadly not seen in Inverness). In this Tosca there were the extra non-singing characters that added flesh to the bare bones of the melodrama; of course a diva like Floria Tosca would have a chauffeur, and Mussolini would accompany the King and Queen of Italy to the Te Deum. It is this level of perfection that all of a sudden makes us think that of course Scarpia would expect one of his henchmen to attend to the mundane matter of paying his visitor for the “social service” she has just provided

But there was one little detail that is not exclusive to Scottish Opera and has always puzzled me about this opera, ever since I saw Franco Zefferelli’s Covent Garden production nearly half a century ago with Maria Callas, Giuseppi di Stephano and Tito Gobbi. The action is specifically set in the middle of June in Rome, so why on earth does Scarpia have a blazing fire in his apartment? Perhaps it is symbolic of the even hotter place he is about to enter

This Tosca may have been a revival, but having taken it out of storage and blown off the cobwebs it has become yet another example of the world class productions that should make every one of us proud of our national opera company.

© James Munro, 2012

Links

• Scottish Opera

There will be a workshop led by Sanyogita on “North Indian classical Music and the  Raag system” in the Hall on Sat 26th May 10am to 12 noon cost £10 on the door. For more information and for advance booking phone 01309 691170

Sanyogita received vocal training from renowned teachers based in the Punjab before coming to England in 1983. She has performed throughout UK as a solo artist as well as accompanying established and world-renowned classical dancers. Her repertoire includes Khayal singing, Thumari, Ghazals, Bhajans, Punjabi, Dogri traditional folk and old classic film songs. In this concert she will concentrate on devotional Bhajan singing.

Suns of Arqa have been on the World Beat Music scene since 1979. They played at the very first Womad Music Festival in Shepton Mallet at the personal invitation of Peter Gabriel. Having performed over the years at many major European festivals such as Glastonbury, Big Chill, Telerama Dub festival to mention a few, this intriguing outfit  are best known for their fusion of Indian music and electro dub.

Fri 25th May, 8pm. £10/£8 concs/£6 U16’s. Tickets (excluding workhop) available at The Phoenix Stores 01309 690110 and online at www.wegottickets.com/UniversalHall.

Source: Universal Hall

Glenfiddich Global brand Ambassador Ian Miller will be hosting the evening and guests will enjoy a taste of two very special and exclusive expressions of the Glenfiddich Spirit.

The work will then be transported up the Glenfiddich Distillery for exhibition form 1st till 30th June 2012 at the Glenfiddich Gallery (open Thursdays to Sundays 12.30 till 5.30 pm) http://forwardthinking-exhibition.blogspot.co.uk/

Source: Glenfiddich Distillery

Human Race uses Scottish medical and sporting collections, newly commissioned artworks and rare film footage to highlight some of the pioneering and far reaching developments that have taken place in Sport and Exercise Medicine over the last 200 years.

The majority of the 100+ items, drawn from Scottish medical and national collections, will be on public display for the first time. Objects include Bronze Age wrist protectors and rarely seen film footage to early anatomical specimens and the latest body imaging techniques.A notable feature of this unique exhibition is the inclusion of contemporary art. Four Scottish artists were commissioned to introduce creative voices and a contemporary perspective to the rich material and themes of the exhibition.

An exciting and varied programme of associated events will run alongside the exhibition. Events include talks, exhibition tours, a schools programme, workshops and film screenings. These will bring together artists, practitioners, athletes and writers to explore, discuss and debate the core themes of the exhibition as well as some of the more complex and often hidden issues that surround the culture of sport.

Source: IMAG

Talking Art with Alex Frost will take place on Saturday 2 June 2012 (2.00 – 3.00 pm) at Tigh-na-Sgire, Park Lane, Portree, Isle of Skye.

Format Wars (Blu-Ray), 2007 - Alex Frost. The Tramway, Glasgow. (Photo: Alan Dimmick)

Alex Frost has recently created his first permanent public art work for Easterhouse and the John Wheatly College Campus, working with Platform in partnership with The Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art (GI). Reference points for the project revolve around the Easterhouse Mosaic, an important identifier within the area in the 1980’s that was created by the local community and located in Lochend.

Frost’s practice has explored mosaic, from a critically engaged perspective, examining and re-invigorating this process. Frost’s works are labour intensive, their motifs often bringing into question consumer culture.

‘This mural is intended as a visual interpretation of these diverse uses. I had originally thought of this as a mural on the theme of communication and the final design is an abstraction of this idea. This mural can be seen to be an updating of the idea of the ‘community mural’ which the original Easterhouse Mosaic exemplifies’. (Alex Frost 2011)

Emma Nicolson, ATLAS, director commented: ‘Alex Frost is one of Scotlands exciting young visual artists working across several art forms. His mosaics range from the miniature to the monumental, and are often deal directly with the fads of contemporary living. His blind drawings using pastels, wax crayons and enamel are extraordinary, beautiful and evocative’.

Emma went on to say… ‘We are also thrilled to announce our third artist in the series, Steve Dilworth the Harris based sculptor who will present his work at the July Talking Art event which will be held on a Thursday 12 at 7.00pm’.

ATLAS Arts is an organisation working ‘without walls’ we are keen to present new understandings for our audiences about the role of creative practitioners currently working in the public realm today. This is an exciting opportunity for the public to come along and hear about the many ways artworks come into being.

Everyone is welcome to this event, but spaces are limited.

Booking: Advisable, please book through admin@atlasarts.org.uk  Tel: 01463 720886.
Admission: Free
Duration: 60 minutes

Web: www.alexfrost.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alexpfrost (@AlexPFrost)
http://www.glasgowinternational.org/index.php/events/view/alex_frost_at_platform/

About the artist:
Alex Frost was born in London; he lives and works in Glasgow. He studied at Glasgow School of Art and Staffordshire University. Recent projects include solo shows at Dundee Contemporary Arts; Milton Keynes Gallery; Artsway; Sorcha Dallas and Tramway, Glasgow. He recently completed a permanent new commission at ‘Platform for the Arts’ in Easterhouse, Glasgow that launched during Glasgow International 2012.

ATLAS, Talking Art Series: Future Events:

• Thursday 12 July 2012 (19.00-20.00)
  Steve Dilworth, Harris based sculptor presents his latest work (NB this is not a Saturday talk).
• Saturday 4 August 2012 (14.00-15.00)
  TBC
• Saturday 1 September 2012 (14.00-15.00)
  Chris Dooks discusses his current artwork and recent residencies.
• Saturday 6 October 2012 (14.00-15.00)
  Graham Fagan internationally acclaimed artist presents his work.
• Saturday 10 November 2012 (14.00-15.00)
  Nicky Bird talks about her work in photography and new media.

About ATLAS
ATLAS is a platform for the creation of projects, which are not fixed by, or to, a permanent gallery space. It is based in the island of Skye in the north west of Scotland. We aim to commission works with a focus on breaking new ground and developing new understandings about the role of creative practitioners working in remote rural communities. The emphasis is on high quality, contemporary art projects, incorporating educational work and involvement from the community in variety of forms, placing work within a local, national and international context.

ATLAS Arts Skye & Lochalsh is funded by Creative Scotland, with support from HI-Arts and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

ATLAS website: www.atlasarts.org.uk

Bob Pegg Said: “It’s just getting into the bookshops at £9.99, and is also available online (there’s a Kindle edition, too). Here’s a link to the relevant page on the publisher’s site – www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/Highland-Folk-Tales.aspx

“Though many of the stories in Highland Folk Tales are ancient, I have told them, or have heard them told, in the Highlands over the past fifteen years, so they are still very much alive and kicking. I wanted the book to be an entertainment that was also true to the spirit of the stories, so, along with my own versions, there are tellings from folk who imbibed them with their mothers’ milk – in particular the Highland Travellers – together with some biographical information about the storytellers themselves. And, as it seemed important to link story to place, the book is structured through a series of journeys – along the Great Glen, heading north up the A9 and so on – in the hope of encouraging readers to follow the trails of the tales, either in their mind’s eye or through the physical landscape.

“The illustrations for Highland Folk Tales, some forty bold and brassy pictures, are by my friend and long-time collaborator, RCA graduate John Hodkinson. I think they are exceptional, and have attached a handful to whet your visual appetite. The book’s gorgeous cover, also attached, features a painting by Katherine Soutar. Katherine is married to a friend from the old folk club days, the exceptionally fine songwriter Bill Caddick. She has chosen as her theme The Seal Killer of Duncansby Head, a Caithness story which is told in the book.

“I’m becoming more and more interested in the ways these old, tough, uncompromising stories can spark a narrative flame in other art and performance forms. Later in 2012, thanks to an investment from the EMS Traditional Arts Small Grants Fund, I’ll be mounting a three-day exhibition/installation/mini-festival; it will feature the Hodkinson pictures and storytelling on demand, and a storytelling and music ceilidh, as well as sound and video elements and artworks relating specifically to the way of life of the old style Traveller storytellers. I’ll send out more information when dates and venue are firmed up, but it should take place during the autumn.

“Lastly, if you happen to be on the Island of Skye this coming Saturday evening, 19th May, I’ll be performing my show The People of the Sea at The Museum of the Isles. More information on www.culture24.org.uk/sc000169?id=EVENT376980.

Source: Bob Pegg

Of course we still rely on and serve our local communities and again we use the web and online technologies to connect with our communities. But how many people are online in Scotland and who are the groups we are not reaching with our online promotion?

What is Digital Participation? It basically describes people’s ability to gain access to digital technology and understand how to use it creatively. The Scottish Government’s Social Research arm published a report on Digital Participation in Scotland this month, which gives a summary of the various data available to us around the topic of internet usage.

Across the UK 74% of people have a broadband connection at home, this is compared to 61% in Scotland – so why the difference?

The report suggests that to a certain extent the figures are skewed by the large number of people online based in the South of England, and that Scotland’s digital participation rate is not actually that different from communities across the rest of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However it does ask the question – who is not online?

Based on a review of four different research studies conducted by Ipsos Mori, Ofcom, the Scottish Household Survey and the Oxford Internet Survey, the Scottish Governments report found that the demographic make-up for non-internet users appears to be mainly older people, who have low household incomes and are not working.

Unsurprisingly the report found that people of an older age, or on lower incomes, with fewer educational qualifications, who are not working, that have a disability or long-term illness, or are from areas of deprivation are much less likely to be digitally engaged. There are some pretty obvious reasons why some of the people in these groups might be digitally marginalised, and, again, unsurprisingly the biggest barriers to getting online were associated with cost and infrastructure (in some areas of Scotland we know it is virtually impossible to get a reliable internet connection).

What was interesting were the levels, from the non-user groups, of disinterest in the web. The Scottish Household Survey found that of the individuals who do not use the internet 62% said they were unlikely to ever use it. The report suggests that a possible explanation for this is a lack of knowledge about computers and the internet and therefore people are unable to recognise the benefits being online can have for them directly. It was also interesting to learn that there is ever so slightly more people accessing the internet from home in rural areas than urban areas in Scotland – but we are talking 1 or 2% here.

So what relevance does this have for us and audience development? It lets you know which groups will not respond to an online campaign for a start. If you are looking to engage with people identified in the non-users groups then you can’t rely on your online marketing to reach them alone. 

The other advice that the report gives, which is of use for us when thinking about targeting audiences through the internet, is the recommendations on how to encourage people to get online. It is suggested that by communicating the relevant and specific benefits to a non-engaged group is one way of breaking down any barriers. Second is to provide reassurance that the internet is for them. It is a commonly held belief that the internet is time-consuming and detracts from daily life, to break this perception down we could emphasise how much fun the internet is, that it helps to keep the mind active and can save you money.

The Scottish Government set out its Digital Ambitions for Scotland in October 2011, which stated that ‘the rate of broadband uptake by people in Scotland should be at or above the UK average by 2013, and should be the highest among the UK nations by 2015′. If Scotland can achieve this target our job of promoting online should be made easier, but we will need to wait till next year to see if this ambition has been achievable.

Digital participation in Scotlandor you can visit the Scottish Government website.

If you are planning a digital marketing campaign or would like to explore the options available to you through the web then do get in touch to arrange a meeting with me. You can also check out our Tip Sheets for Digital Marketing.

The forty-strong choir, aged between 9 and 13, will take to the stage to perform Scots favourite Mairi’s Wedding as well as pieces from NYCoS’ topical sports themed commission Going for Gold: a sports cantata.

Music for Youth is running two National Festivals this summer in Perth and in Birmingham, each showcasing dynamic performances of jazz, orchestral, rock, folk, world, urban, wind, brass, pop, choral and chamber music.

Margaret Rae, NYCoS Inverness Choir Director, said:

“This performance follows a superb day at the Music for Youth Regional Festival in March of this year. For many choir members, having the opportunity to perform in such a great venue and to be exposed to a wide range of genres is an invaluable experience. I’m looking forward to the day immensely.”

In addition to the main stage performances the festival will feature a lunchtime procession led by folk musician Joe Broughton, the premiere of a new fanfare composed by Stephen Deazley, plus there will be a number of workshops taking place in the Festival Tent throughout the day.

The National Festival Scotland takes place three weeks before the English equivalent which will take place in Birmingham from 2-7 July. Across the two festivals a total of 12,500 young musicians will perform, showcasing the fantastic music education work taking place across the UK.

Tickets are just £2 or free for concessions (including 21s & under).

Box office 01738 621 031

Online www.horsecross.co.uk

Visit www.mfy.org.uk/national or http://issuu.com/musicforyouth/docs/scotlandbooklet for further information.

NYCoS Inverness also perform in Culduthel Christian Centre, Inverness, on Thursday 7th June at 7pm.

Source: NYCOS Inverness

The money comes from the PRS for Music Foundation, the UK’s leading independent funder of new music across all genres. During a very competitive process, HebCelt was one of just 30 applications approved from the 400 received by the foundation for the latest round of awards.

The festival, now in its 17th year, boasts a unique location and an international reputation for quality and cutting-edge programming.

Last year it established a second stage within its main site in the grounds of Lews Castle in Stornoway in the isle of Lewis. This initiative, supported by the Scotland’s Islands project, hosted performances from artists from other Scottish islands alongside established acts and this year the main site’s operating hours will be extended to provide more performing slots.

The Islands Stage will see a range of artists who are creating new work across the contemporary traditional, bluegrass and indie genres, including Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble, Washington Irving, Sketch and The Sea Atlas.

The stage will also host Glasgow-based three-piece Muran who earlier this month earned a slot in the bill by winning the festival’s One Step Further initiative to find new talent.
 
James Hannam, Applications Manager for the PRS for Music Foundation, said: “HebCelt was selected partly due to its strong Gaelic roots and also its ability to attract new audiences and the wide range of folk artists being programmed.”

This year’s festival, which runs from 11-14 July, will be headlined by The Waterboys, The Proclaimers and Kassidy. Last year it attracted an audience of 14,500, 46 per cent of whom were visitors to the area, including festivalgoers from across Europe, the USA and Canada.

Festival Director Caroline MacLennan said: “We are delighted to receive this financial assistance from such a prestigious organisation as the PRS for Music Foundation.
 
 Supporting and encouraging new talent is one of the key aims of the festival.  The second stage programme is primarily aimed at promoting emerging artists, both local and visiting.

“This policy provides opportunities for performers to appear alongside many of their peers, assisting their ongoing artistic development.  Equally our distinctive location has the potential to offer new markets to all artists appearing at the festival.”

The PRS for Music Foundation (PRSF) is widely respected as an adventurous and proactive funding body, supporting a wide range of new music activity – from unsigned band showcases to composer residencies, from commissions for new music to experimental live electronica.
 
Since March 2000 PRSF has given more than £16 million to over 4,500 new music initiatives. 
 
For more information on the PRS for Music Foundation go to www.prsformusicfoundation.com

Source: Hebridean Celtic Festival

Portree (in the Old Wool Mill, above The Isle of Skye Baking Company.)

We invite everyone to pop in and say hello, join a workshop, take a

class, or just pass this info on to anyone you know who may be

interested. Some sessions are FREE!

Skyeworks Gallery – Workshops

Thursday 24 May

Sew Social

10.30am – 12.30pm / 1.00pm – 3.30pm

FREE ! – ONLY 8 PLACES AVAILABLE per session – booking now.

A relaxed, fun morning of sewing and stitch craft. Come along and try

out our (very easy to use) sewing machines and embellisher – bring

your own fabric or choose some from our lovely selection of fabrics

and craft materials, including buttons & ribbons. Lynn Pryde will be

on hand for all the advice and guidance you need! This is a fantastic

opportunity to get to know our great Janome machines. A little bit of

time out with friends to make lovely gifts and projects for you or

your home!

Friday 25 May

‘Pocket Pinny’

10.00am – 3.00pm

£40.00 – Includes all the fabric, materials, use of machines and

tuition.

A fabulously fun way to begin machine sewing. Workshop covers

learning to use the sewing machines, basic stitches, pattern cutting &

working with contrasting fabrics.

Monday 28 May

Jewellery Making for absolute beginners!

6.00pm – 8.30pm

£18.00 – Includes use of tools, materials and tuition. 10 places

Learn the basic techniques required to make beaded costume jewellery.

The workshop covers using pliers and other tools, assembling

jewellery, fitting clasps and tips for designing and creating your own

pieces. A basic kit of wire, pins beads, thread and findings is

included, and a selection of beautiful beads is available to purchase.

Tuesday 29 May

Knitting experience

10.30am – 1.30pm

FREE ! – ONLY 8 PLACES AVAILABLE – booking preferable.

Bring all the wool you can or buy some Scottish pure wool at

Skyeworks. Come along and try out our huge knitting needles! This fun

morning offers you a chance to play with knitting on a different

scale! Chat to us at Skyeworks for more info.

Wednesday 30 May

Drawing & painting with Marion & Alistair Boddy -Evans

10.30am – 12.30pm

Tutored session £15.00. 8 places available

Aimed at beginners but anyone over 18 is welcome.

Book ahead from week to week to guarantee a spot, otherwise first-come

basis.

2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Drop-in Drawing and Painting £6.00 a session (£5.00 if booked with

morning session) 8 places available.

Informal, drop-in sessions for personal projects or working from the

clothed model if there is one, with advice on hand as needed. No need

to book except to guarantee a spot.

Thursday 31 May

Sew Social

10.30am – 12.30pm / 1.00pm – 3.30pm

FREE ! – ONLY 8 PLACES AVAILABLE per session – booking now.

A relaxed, fun morning of sewing and stitch craft. Come along and

try out our (very easy to use) sewing machines and embellisher –

bring your own fabric or choose some from our lovely selection of

fabrics and craft materials, including buttons & ribbons. Lynn Pryde

will be on hand for all the advice and guidance you need! This is a

fantastic opportunity to get to know our great Janome machines. A

little bit of time out with friends to make lovely gifts and projects

for yourself or for home.

Friday 1 June

‘Made to match’ – a gorgeous 100% cotton handbag, purse and

headband

10.00am – 4.00pm

£40.00 – Includes all the fabric, materials, use of machines and

tuition.

A great workshop for anyone wanting to learn the basics – the

workshop covers learning to use the sewing machines, pattern cutting,

fitting a zipper, lining & working with contrasting fabrics. Your

choice of fabric from the range of contemporary 100% cottons available

from Skyeworks included.

To book your place, please pop in at Skyeworks or give us a call on

01478 612669

Skyeworks Gallery

Above the Isle of Skye Baking Company

Off Dunvegan Road

Portree

http://skyeworksgallery.wordpress.com/

Source: Skyeworks

THIS year’s Ullapool Book Festival featured an impressive list of Scotland’s best writers: John Burnside, Louise Welsh, Aonghas MacNeacail, Mairi Hedderwick, Roger Hutchison, Alan Spence, Robin Robertston, Rodge Glass, Malcolm Macintyre and Kevin MacNeil, along with newer names like Sue Peebles and Alison Napier.

THROUGHOUT, the festival has the feel of a Highland ceilidh. It’s a three-day long conversation, with no parallel sessions, plenty of talent taking turns with stories, music, poetry and polemic, no shying from the most heartfelt sorrows or fears, laughter never far away, and regular pauses for hospitality to be enjoyed. It is always, as James Robertson said at the start, our favourite weekend of the year, and this time it was particularly joyful, with Aonghas MacNeacail’s 70th birthday celebration built into the heart of the programme on Saturday night.

Louise Welsh (photo Steve Lindbridge)

Although it can be interesting to hear a writer talk about their work, listening to an author reading from their work is even better. It satisfies a childlike urge for a bedtime story. Sitting in a lap (or a chair) being read to, we can abandon ourselves to the flow of words, with their ability to carry us off, out of self-consciousness, and immerse us in somewhere new. Good chairing is so important in events like this and the Ullapool festival seems to get the balance of readings and debate right, giving writers the lion’s share of time to read and allowing the audience to listen and the magic of immersion to happen.

Some poets, in particular, have the ability to spellbind an audience, and the master of them all is Robin Robertson. His mesmeric voice, hypnotic word patterning and tales steeped in myth and legend, left us feeling, as James Robertson put it, ‘as if when we step outside, seven years may have passed without our knowing it.’

Robin Robertson

After several writers have read, themes begin to emerge and metaphors reoccur. We were in deep, turbulent waters a lot this year: Swedish novelist Karin Altenberg drowned someone off St Kilda, and a freak wave carried off a one of the characters of Canadian short story writer Alexander MacLeod. John Burnside read from his latest novel, A Summer of Drowning, and Robin Robertson rowed across the Corrievrecken. Alan Spence took us to hell and hilarity, then let it all go. Always, within the stories and images conjured by the writers, there are deeper meanings flowing, which converge into the perfect maelstrom. Fear and innocence. Doom and wonder. Death and sex.

Every year at the Ullapool Book Festival I discover a writer new to me, who makes an immediate impact, and this year it was Sue Peebles, author of The Death of Lomond Friel. She has an extraordinary ability to write about darkness while finding humour in the cracks. She made the audience laugh whilst simultaneously showing us the bleak holes that can inhabit families, how sometimes it’s the people who are absent who fill our lives, and how we can live with people and love them, yet not really know them. Readings like this send me back into my own life with fresh eyes and renewed compassion, a feeling that it’s really possible to become a better person.

David Robinson, who reviews books for the Scotsman and is an excellent chair of literary events, said at one point that for a week after the festival he always feels as if he is more intelligent than he was before. I recognise that sense of having learned a lot in a condensed period, often because of the intellectual debates sparked by non-fiction writers.

This year, Andy Wightman got everyone talking about land reform and the need for the Scottish government to maintain the progress of the early years of the Parliament. Roger Hutchinson gave an enthralling account of the healing power of art, in the story of Angus MacPhee, weaver of grass, and Mairi Hedderwick, delightfully thrilled to be talking about her ‘grown-up’ writing, wove a tapestry of history, art and travel.

There were ghosts in the room. Giants of Scotland’s 20th century writing scene seem to have a tendency to reappear at Ullapool, not only as literary influences but as larger-than-life characters. Norman MacCaig and Sorley Maclean, whose centenaries have been celebrated in recent years, always seem to make their presence felt through anecdotes and reminiscences, and this year George Mackay Brown took a pew, thanks to Ron Ferguson’s exploration of the Orkney bard’s spiritual life. As the weekend progressed, others, like Edwin Muir, Iain Crichton Smith, Hugh MacDiarmid, even Robert Louis Stevenson, seemed to stroll in and take their place at the ceilidh.

Aonghas MacNeacail

As ever, Gaelic language featured generously, through poems from An Leabhar Mor na Gaidhlig, Aonghas MacNeacail and Kevin Macneil, stories from Martin Macintyre and a novel from Tormod Caimbeul. For the latter, in a first for a literary festival in Scotland, simultaneous translation allowed non-Gaelic speaking members of the audience to experience total immersion in the story.

And there was, of course, music. Kevin MacNeil gave an unofficial launch of a new album he has made with multi-talented guitarist and singer Willie Campbell, the result of a collaboration he nicely describes as ‘working together in a non-right-wing way’. To my amazement, as an opera-atheist, I was moved to tears by the ‘little bit of Tosca’, brought along from Scottish Opera in a cardboard box with a cello and a harp, a single soprano and a brilliant narrator. What a story! And there were plenty of songs, bawdy, irreverent and love-filled, for Aonghas MacNeacail on Saturday night.

As well as the stories and wordplay, it’s the people who make the Ullapool Book Festival so special, and two deserve special mention: Joan Michael, who chairs the committee of volunteers, a reader unrivalled in her enthusiasm for great writing, and James Robertson, the honorary president of the event, who acts as master of ceremonies throughout this weekend-long ceilidh of writing. Long may they continue working together in their non-right-wing way, bringing us the best literary festival in the world.

© Mandy Haggith, 2012

Links

• Ullapool Book Festival
• Mandy Haggith
• Mandy Haggith’s Blog

Youth dance residency

Friday 27 – Sunday 29 July 10am-3pm each day
Young people will have the chance to develop their contemporary dance technique, learn Rambert repertoire and create a short piece of choreography which will be shared with family and friends on the final day. Open to young people aged 11-17 years with an interest in dance.

Beginners’ contemporary dance classes for adults

Friday 27 July Session 1: 6.30 – 7.30pm / Session 2: 7.30 – 8.30pm
Brand new to dance? Do you want to learn something new with others who have never taken a dance class? These fun classes are aimed at newcomers to dance and all you need is enthusiasm! Suitable for adults (18+)

Family contemporary dance workshop

Saturday 28 July 3.30-5.30pm
A chance for families to discover contemporary dance together, the class will include warm-up games as well as the chance to learn a short piece of fun Rambert repertoire. Suitable for families with children aged 5 and over. No previous experience required.

Please email if you would like to register for places on any one of these three exciting activities and we will forward a registration form: jennydunoonarts@gmail.com

Source: J Saich

The Strathpeffer Pavilion Association AGM is on Wednesday 23 May at 7 pm. Members of the Association should have received official notification but anyone interested in the Pavilion is welcome to attend.

Saturday 26 May at 8 pm, Showaddywaddy – one of the top groups of the 70s and still going strong – they sold out last time and it really was a fun night, you can’t help singing along (and dancing) to their songs! There is likely to be only limited seating at this event. Tickets £17.50 / £16.50 / £6 (school pupils), from all the usual outlets

“Usual outlets” are: online from WeGotTickets.com and TicketWeb.co.uk, TicketWeb’s 24-hour hotline 08444 771000, June’s Card Shop in Dingwall High Street and of course the Pavilion office in person or by ringing 01997 420124 (9 to 6 Monday to Friday).

Friday 1 June at 8 pm, Scottish folk rock band Cal, whose lead singer Michael Callaghan was at one stage shortlisted to replace Donnie Munro with Runrig. This is a standing event and all tickets are £12 from usual outlets

Sunday 3 June from noon to 4 pm, Strathpeffer community Diamond Jubilee Picnic and related events in the Pavilion Gardens (indoors if wet) – bring your own picnic, hot and cold drinks on sale. We’re told that more details of this will be posted on notices around the village nearer the time.

On Friday 8 June at 8 pm, they are delighted to welcome back the brilliant Scottish Ensemble, with a programme of French and Scottish music to celebrate the Auld Alliance – and with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch continuing the Celtic connection! Tickets £10 for all adults, £5 for school pupils, from usual outlets.

Saturday 9 June will be Strathpeffer’s famous Victorian Market from 12 noon to 4 pm, with stalls in the Square and events throughout the village (watch for the official programme, due out soon). Friends of the Pavilion, in conjunction with the Church of Scotland, will be selling teas in the main hall of the Pavilion and are arranging an exhibition of historic photos in the veranda (for which there will be a small charge, payable on the door).

That night, Saturday 9 June, from 8.30 till midnight, the Victorian Strathpeffer Committee are holding a ceilidh in the Pavilion, with local band Highland Ceilidh – talented young musicians, including our good friend Fiona Dalgety of Feis Rois on fiddle and calling the dances. All tickets for this are £8 – there aren’t yet have tickets at the Pavilion but they are available from online ticket sellers WeGotTickets.com and TicketWeb.co.uk. Victorian Strathpeffer plan to put them on sale at various Strathpeffer outlets and the Sports & Model Shop in Dingwall.

They have just been given tickets to sell at the Pavilion for Strathpeffer Golf Club’s fundraising dance  from 8.30 pm to midnight on Saturday 16 June, with Inverness cover band Rant. Tickets are £10 and they are also available from the Golf Club, who are arranging a return bus service on the night from Conon Bridge via Dingwall and Maryburgh at a cost of £3.

Full details of the above and other events are on thewebsite page www.strathpefferpavilion.org/whats-on.asp, including the following new events for which tickets have just gone on sale:

Thursday 21 June at 8 pm concert by students of the Plockton Music School

Friday 20 July at 8 pm – the wonderful Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Wednesday 25 July at 8 pm – the Tannahill Weavers

Thursday 2 August at 8 pm – Strangebird Zirkus in “Ornithology”

Saturday 29 September at 8 pm – top rhythm & blues band Dr. Feelgood

Source: Strathpeffer Pavillion

Hazel studied painting and calligraphy at Newport College of Art, Monmouthshire, before obtaining her Art Teachers Certificate from Leeds University Institute of Education. She taught from 1964 until 1996.

For a good number of years however she has pursued her interest in textiles and has developed a variety of techniques which she uses to create images. The changing colours, shapes, patterns and textures within the landscape and seascape are what attract her, and the abstract qualities within these elements have become dominant in her work.

When producing work Hazel relies mainly on memory, only occasionally referring to sketches or photographic references.

Cyril studied at Sunderland College of Art in the early sixties where he specialised in painting. Having also gained his Art Teachers Certificate from Leeds he taught art and design in secondary schools until he took early retirement in 1993.

The emphasis placed on observational skills during his time at Sunderland has remained important to him and he draws and sketches as a matter of habit. Cyril’s sketchbook studies are the first connection to subjects he may choose to paint and more often than not employ a descriptive approach.

The Northern Highlands, whose moods are so influenced by the changing weather and light which in turn reveal and obscure features, provide a wealth of ideas for work. Although Cyril’s paintings are produced back in the studio where time and thought can be given as to how they may be developed, he prefers it when they exhibit the kind of directness which suggest that they could have been done on location.

2nd June – Hazel Reed will be teaching two workshop classes on Saturday the 2nd of June at an talla solais. Looking at her own work in the exhibition, students will be introduced to working with textiles to produce landscape images. In the morning she will lead a children’s workshop from 10 – 12.30pm and in the afternoon an adults workshop from 1.30 – 4 pm places are given on a first come first served basis, please call an talla solais on 01854 612310 to book a place

6th June – Cyril Reed will give a painting demonstration in the Gallery on Wednesday the 6th of June from 2 – 5 pm, this will be a drop in session, it is free of charge, Cyril will be happy to answer questions on his work and discuss his working process.

Source: an talla solais

IMPRESSIONS, Landscape: painting and textile by  Hazel and Cyril Reed and REACH, new installation by Gill Russell will open on the Friday night from 7 – 9 pm and then open daily 10-4pm and will run until 17 June.

Some related events include:

2nd June – 2 half day textile work shops with Hazel Reed. Childrens’ and adults’ £3 / £5 call to book 01854 612310

6th June – Painting demonstration in gallery with Cyril Reed 2 – 5 pm

16th June – Artist’s Talk – Gill Russell – sugested donation £2.50

Source: an talla solais

The session will feature Findlay Napier (of the Bar Room Mountaineers), Louis Abbott (of Admiral Fallow) and Kim Edgar (Burns Unit), highly regarded as three of Scotland’s finest songwriters who will play through their songs and break them open in unique and inspiring ways that will show their songwriting processes. There will also be informal Q&A at the session to give you a chance to ask the things you would like to ask established songwriters.

INVERNESS, Eden Court – Friday 25th MAY – 7pm – 9pm

All tickets for these events are FREE but you must reserve them at www.musicplus.org.uk/songwriting

Source: Robotone

The money comes from the PRS for Music Foundation, the UK’s leading independent funder of new music across all genres. During a very competitive process, HebCelt was one of just 30 applications approved from the 400 received by the foundation for the latest round of awards.

The festival, now in its 17th year, boasts a unique location and an international reputation for quality and cutting-edge programming.

Last year it established a second stage within its main site in the grounds of Lews Castle in Stornoway in the isle of Lewis. This initiative, supported by the Scotland’s Islands project, hosted performances from artists from other Scottish islands alongside established acts and this year the main site’s operating hours will be extended to provide more performing slots.

The Islands Stage will see a range of artists who are creating new work across the contemporary traditional, bluegrass and indie genres, including Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble, Washington Irving, Sketch and The Sea Atlas.

The stage will also host Glasgow-based three-piece Muran who earlier this month earned a slot in the bill by winning the festival’s One Step Further initiative to find new talent.

James Hannam, Applications Manager for the PRS for Music Foundation, said: “HebCelt was selected partly due to its strong Gaelic roots and also its ability to attract new audiences and the wide range of folk artists being programmed.”

This year’s festival, which runs from 11-14 July, will be headlined by The Waterboys, The Proclaimers and Kassidy. Last year it attracted an audience of 14,500, 46 per cent of whom were visitors to the area, including festivalgoers from across Europe, the USA and Canada.

Festival Director Caroline MacLennan said: “We are delighted to receive this financial assistance from such a prestigious organisation as the PRS for Music Foundation.

“Supporting and encouraging new talent is one of the key aims of the festival. The second stage programme is primarily aimed at promoting emerging artists, both local and visiting.

“This policy provides opportunities for performers to appear alongside many of their peers, assisting their ongoing artistic development. Equally our distinctive location has the potential to offer new markets to all artists appearing at the festival.”

The PRS for Music Foundation (PRSF) is widely respected as an adventurous and proactive funding body, supporting a wide range of new music activity – from unsigned band showcases to composer residencies, from commissions for new music to experimental live electronica.

Since March 2000 PRSF has given more than £16 million to over 4,500 new music initiatives.

For more information on the PRS for Music Foundation go to www.prsformusicfoundation.com

Source: Hebridean Celtic Festival

First to arrive at the end of this month is Daniel Zalkus, a life drawer from Chicago. www.zalkus.com

He will be closely followed by the winner of The Glenfiddich/Bestcollegeart Emerging Artist of the Year Award, Juhikadevi Bhanjdeo, a young textile artist from India.

July will see the arrival of two painters, Wu Tung-lung from, Taiwan and Jack Newling from London.
www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/194676-wu-tung-lung
www.foldgallery.com/index.php?title=Jack_Newling

They will be joined by another young London artist who continues the programmes relationship with the Royal Academy, Carly Bateup who will be exploring ideas of exchange through Dufftown’s twinned relationship with Mortlach In Canada.

Arriving at the same time will be our first fully fledged Korea artist, Dongwan Kook www.kookdongwan.com/index.html

In mid July Canadian film maker Jillian McDonald takes up her place in Dufftown and will be on the lookout for local extras to play a role in her proposed horror film entitled ‘ The Valley of the Deer’ www.jillianmcdonald.net

 Last to join will be Yuan Yuan, a painter from China www.artnet.com/artists/yuan%20yuan

Residency exhibition schedule will be announced shortly, but in June the gallery will host >> FORWARDTHINKING a group show with 16 young London based artists including former residents Tim Ellis and Blue Firth. Work will also be included by Jack Newling.

William Grant & Sons Ltd
The Glenfiddich Distillery
Dufftown, Banffshire, AB55 4DH

RENOWNED ensemble Mr McFall’s Chamber are well-known for taking their audience on far-reaching  journeys, and their current tour is no exception.

THIS month, four of Scotland’s most prominent traditional composers join them in a showcase of four new commissions celebrating their country’s diversity (more dates will follow later in the year). Hailing from Aberdeenshire, the Black Isle, Caithness and the Argyll coast, the composers have created four very different pieces to honour their respective home grounds, in a performance that melds traditional, jazz and classical influences.

The Four Corners ensemble

The nine musicians work beautifully together, and it is almost surprising that the composers are only guests, and not permanent members of the Chamber. Their contrasting backgrounds complement each other, and attract a variety of audience members who might have been drawn in by the prospect of seeing either Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Su-a Lee or Lau’s Aidan O’Rourke.

For those who have visited the places portrayed in the performance, the music performs an instant teleportation to the expansive skies and striking landscapes of the piece’s titles. And for those of us who haven’t, the pieces are still equally emotive. Corrina Hewat’s interpretation of the Black Isle effortlessly takes the listener on a trip through her childhood haunts of Cullicudden, Fortrose and Jemimaville, conjuring images of sunny stretches of farmland and coast. James Ross’s composition Flow Country, the endless expanse of peat bog between Caithness and Sutherland, is comparatively dark and ominous.

Four Corners displays just how diverse and pliable traditional Scottish music can be, and the way it can blend readily with a multitude of other sounds and genres. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of Scottish music that most people will have the chance to hear, and most visitors to the country will leave with a fairly narrow idea of what ‘real’ Scottish music ought to sound like. These four compositions are testament to the kind of potential that the genre carries, and the different directions that it can be taken in.

© Rowan Macfie, 2012

Links

• Mr McFall’s Chamber

On Wednesday 15th February this Residency ranged a fair distance from the Western Isles. From a waypoint at the School of Scottish Studies, George Square, Edinburgh, I rode shotgun on a road movie to the outskirts of Swansea. We were on the edge of a Celtic sea-route where stories were traded along with produce. This was a family visit and we arrived to news of a sudden death. The sad news led in turn, a few days later, to an inland setting.

Storytellers at Calanais

The Thomas Helwys Baptist Church in Lenton, Nottingham is a strong example of 1960s architecture – exposed brickwork is set with great curving laminated timber beams. There is a feeling of space and calm inside. Across the road are contrasting icons of centuries. There is cluster of high-rise flats, of the same period as the church but now due for demolition. A much older fine brick warehouse with arching windows has been converted to student flats and looks set to be fit for a further century.

The death we had come to mark occurred in one of the bleak towers. The minister knew the man who died and had been a main link to tight circles of a limited world outside. We dealt with the necessary business together and, in the course of our exchange Jenny (the Baptist minister) asked me about my own work. I told her I was now a Reader in Residence in the Hebrides. She told me the church had its own reading group and it met the next day. Could I come and tell a story?

So that is how the stories gleaned from Western Isles Libraries and the School of Scottish Studies archives were told in a district of Nottingham.

Two research students began the discussion. They are writing a joint dissertation, comparing different reading groups. One read a descriptive poem but omitted the title. So it was a riddle. This suggested the story of the wise grieve at Calanais farm (collected and transcribed by Donald Morrison, cooper, Stornoway) . As readers of this blog, listeners to Isles FM and members of a reading group in Stornoway and another in Lenton know, this is one of many stories with a pattern of three. Each element is really a sort of riddle. Now those who have heard it can share that story further.

But I’m going to continue the journey with one more story suggested by the last. Angus Cameron, recorded in Skye in 1958, provided a fine version of another witty tale included in the Morrison manuscript but he also offered another group of three riddles.

George Buchanan was a historical figure but his name has become a timeless byname for the one who wins by wit. But he outstretched himself at least once. He was in the jail, in England and things were not looking great. His reputation was to be tested by the king who made him an offer. Answer three questions correctly and be granted freedom.

But Buchanan did a bit of fancy footwork first. His own brother, known to be a simple fellow, was smuggled in to take the learned man’s place.
So the brother heard the questions and provided his own answers.

How many ladders do you need, to reach the moon?


One – if it’s long enough.

How long will it take a man to go round the world?


Twenty-four hours, if he goes in step with the sun.

The King’s examiner must have been getting anxious then but his last card would have been the ace.
What am I thinking?

I know what you’re thinking all right. You’re thinking I’m George Buchanan. But you’re wrong – I’m his brother, the fool.

For more information about Ian visit his website at www.ianstephen.co.uk

© Ian Stephen, 2012

Come to Moray Art Centre to learn all about seasonal cooking, including:

• Workshops from Community Food Moray
• Making your own healthy pizza in a clay oven
• Tasting local produce
• Learning creative ways to reduce your food waste from Zero Waste Scotland

Earthtime will also be providing lots of fun for the kids, including seasonal seed planting!

For more information – 01309 692426 info@morayartcentre.org  www.morayartcentre.org

Source: Moray Art Centre

This new six-week residency at Orkney’s Pier Arts Centre aims to support and develop the skills of an emerging Scottish or Scotland-based artist working within film and moving image. The residency was developed for artists early in their career who will benefit from a focussed period of development in a stimulating environment outwith their typical studio base.

Twenty-one artists applied for the residency; the panel selected Sarah Forrest. Glasgow School of Art MFA graduate Forrest has exhibited work at Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow; Supplement, London; Glasgow Sculpture Studios; SWG3, Glasgow; Dundee Contemporary Arts and Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam.

On receiving the residency, Sarah commented, ‘to be awarded the Margaret Tait Residency is such an exciting opportunity for me at this point in my practice. It will be a pleasure and privilege to spend six weeks in Orkney, where I will have the time, space and support to focus exclusively on creating new work. The work I have proposed to make will be filmed and set in Orkney, taking as its point of departure an individual’s search for a mythical object. This object, however, is stubbornly elusive: it will not be found. The pursuit of this fictitious object will structure my time and approach to the residency, with the resulting work being a new video that documents, however abstractly, the ongoing search.’

The panel praised Forrest’s thoughtful and subtle proposal. Andrew Parkinson, Curator at Pier Arts Centre and member of the selection panel commented, ‘Sarah’s work is quiet, well crafted and beautifully shot and I look forward very much to seeing her work made in Orkney.’

Corinne Orton of Glasgow Film Festival added ‘We are really excited to be launching this new residency with the help of our partners and were very impressed by the quality of applications we received. The panel felt strongly that Sarah’s application shone through and we are thrilled to be able to assist her in developing her craft. We hope her summer in Orkney will be inspiring and insightful.’

The resulting work from the residency will have exhibition opportunities with Glasgow Film Festival and Pier Arts Centre, and will be additionally supported by LUX, the London–based UK agency for the support and promotion of artists working with the moving image.

Source: Glasgow Film Festival

The latest theatre production from Right Lines will be a fast moving four-hander comedy that examines the issue of migration to and from the Highlands on local, national and intergalactic levels! We ask the questions – why do people come, why do people stay and why do they go? Furthermore, what exactly does it mean to be a local?

Following a one-off UFO experience, Jack has been pursuing his passion for all things extraterrestrial for years. He has joined an online community of fellow enthusiasts and they have given him the task of building an Intergalactic Communicator to establish Contact. Only his day job as a garage mechanic in a remote Highland village and the influence of his level-headed daughter Mhairi have prevented him from spending all his time reaching out to commune with life beyond the stars.

Mhairi has kept the business going, just, but now the planets are perfectly aligned and the day of the Big Test is approaching…

Into Jack’s world happens Felicity, moving to the area to escape a marriage and establish a Healing Centre. Her city-slicker son Darren plans to stay only long enough to drop his mother off before racing back to the South in his extremely expensive sports car.

However, the car breaks down outside the garage at exactly the same time as Jack realises the long-awaited final component for his Communicator device doesn’t fit. He needs to find a replacement part quickly to finish his machine… and where on earth can he find it?

As the lives of these four individuals collide, is this a calamity or good fortune for all concerned. Or both? And what are those strange lights in the night sky…?

From These Parts will feature a very strong cast: Ron Emslie, Vari Sylvester, Helen Mackay and Ewan Donald. The Director is Ian Grieve, Set Design by Mike Taylor and Michael Start and the Writers are Euan Martin and Dave Smith.

“We are very fortunate to have the services of Ron Emslie once again. He has worked with Right Lines on several shows including Who Bares Wins, Watching Bluebottles and Whisky Kisses. In fact, it was through Whisky Kisses that Director Ian Grieve met Ron and promptly cast him in the lead role of Willy Loman in the highly-acclaimed Perth Theatre production of Death of a Salesman in 2011. Coincidentally, Vari and Ewan were also in Death of a Salesman and From These Parts is the first time they have all been reunited with Ian Grieve since then.”

Helen Mackay from Caithness makes up the acting contingent. Helen has also worked with Right Lines previously in The Accidental Death of an Accordionist and alongside Ron Emslie in the online radio comedy Morrison’s Van which is still available to download on the Northings website.

From These Parts is funded by the Northern Scottish Touring Fund and will tour to venues across the Highlands & Islands and North-East of Scotland in June 2012.

For this production, we are collaborating with two new artists on Set Design. We enlisted Tain artist Mike Taylor whose work ranges from the most detailed trompe l’oeil to full-scale murals on the side of the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior. Through connections in the Moray Arts community, Euan met up with Michael Start from The House of Automata in Kinloss. Michael is a world expert on horology and Automata and he was the expert advisor to Martin Scorsese on the recent Oscar-winning Hollywood movie “Hugo”.

“As the main character in our play is building an Intergalactic Communicator, I thought Michael would be the ideal person to help us design and build this essential centre-piece to our production. Despite a very busy schedule, including a major contribution to the Daniel Radcliffe film “The Woman in Black” and appearances at the Brit Awards and on Britain’s Got Talent with his Flea Circus, Michael agreed to work with us. Having an advisor to an Oscar-winning movie is a fantastic addition to our Creative Team, as well as a great career move for Michael, obviously!”

Right Lines Productions will tour From These Parts in the Highlands, North-East and Western Isles between 16th – 30th June 2012.

For further information, please contact Euan Martin at euan@rightlines.net  or visit the following websites:

Right Lines – www.rightlines.net

NSTF – www.nxne.info

Northings – www.northings.com

House of Automata – www.automatomania.co.uk

Euan Martin, Right Lines Productions www.rightlines.net 07540 049865.

Source: Right Lines Productions

As the project nears completion, 16 pupils from the local Primary School will be taking a walk up the hill to the Stables tomorrow (Wednesday 16 May 2012) at 9.30 for a workshop with the leading Stone Letter Carver in the UK – Richard Kindersley. In recent years Richard has undertaken many of the principal commissions for letter carving in the UK – to name but three, the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, the new Supreme Court and the Battle of Britain Memorial which was unveiled in Green Park, London last year.

The aim of the project was to increase the skill set of Scottish craftsmen, be they existing stone masons or those who are considering embarking on this career, with a view to increasing the pool of talent that is available in the Highlands.

Richard has been working for 2 weeks with his 9 apprentices who come from all over Scotland to learn the traditional craft of stone letter carving. One of the apprentices said ‘This is such a terrific opportunity. Richard is a wonderful teacher and I’ve learned so much over the last 2 weeks which I’ll be able to use in my career.’

This newly created path will also greatly improve access to the building to those with limited mobility and the Cromarty Arts Trust is grateful to the Highland Council, Awards for All, Black Isle Development Fund, Clan Urquhart and the Cromarty Common Good Fund for supporting this project.

The project runs all this week until 5pm on Friday 18 May with a school visit from 9.30-10.30 on Wednesday morning.

Source: Cromarty Arts Trust