Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival are delighted to announce that they have commissioned nine inspiring pieces of performance art from emerging and established artists from the region and across Scotland for their 5th year-round Arts Live performing arts programme.
The 5th annual Arts Live programme is shaping up to be an exciting spectacle for the region of Dumfries & Galloway with a feast of both digital and socially distanced work from artists in Dumfries & Galloway and national artists from across Scotland, providing a voice for the communities throughout the region.
The team are working to provide support to artists, venues and promoters over the next year to support the future of performing arts across the region.
The initial support to artists took the form of a commission invitation sent out in June, centred on the theme of Love, to develop a piece of work that would be performed later this year either digitally or in a socially distanced format.
The team were inundated with applications, receiving 47 proposals from emerging and established artists in Dumfries & Galloway and across Scotland. The calibre of work received was exceptional and the Arts Live Network Panel had the tough task choosing the final commissions to be awarded.
There were two commission funds available, one was an open fund for artists across Scotland and the other was a fund through the Stage iT scheme funded by the Holywood Trust that supports young people between the ages of 18 – 25 years old.
Both micro-commission overall budgets were increased in light of the strength of the proposals received and demand for the larger amounts. The amounts that were awarded were:
Stage it – Total 4 instead of 5
2 x £1000 instead of 1 x £1000
1 x £500 instead of 2 x £500
1 x £300 instead of 2 x £300
Open – Total 5 instead of 6
2 x £1000 instead of 1 x £1000
2 x £500 as planned
1 x £300 instead of 3 x £300
Out of the commissions awarded, four out of the nine were awarded to local Dumfries & Galloway based artists who live or have strong ties to the region, supporting a future for performing arts for our next generation.
The young artists that were chosen within the Stage iT fund, made possible by the Holywood Trust were Annaliese Broughton with her film Me/Mia about the bond that she has with her 1-year-old niece who is deaf, exploring their relationship and her hopes for change through poetry, spoken word and exploring the creativity of British Sign Language.
Ellie Stevens, How can you not see? a digital spoken word, puppetry project which explores a loving family who have different political opinions and how ultimately how love prevails.
Grant Grear, Unashamed, which is a digital performance poem exploring what it is like to be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in rural Scotland, delving into the hope for change that we should be unashamed to be open about our love for someone.
Lesley Howard, It’s Contagious is based on her lived experiences as an autistic girl, exploring the love of friendship and her love and passion of dance.
Within the open commissions, the shows chosen were Sliding Doors Collective with their show Penthouse Hickies which follows two best friends in a “cheeky, honest and confrontational romp” through the rollercoaster of their early twenties.
Grant Dinwoodie, a local Man and well-known singer who will be travelling the region to perform socially distanced garden gigs, spreading joy and creating a music video of his travels to share with his audiences.
Maria McDonnell, Miss Lindsay’s Love in Lockdown, a short film inspired by her theatre piece about love and the extraordinary intimate tale of a Scottish seamstress, never before told, with music, narrative, drama and authentic historic material from the Glenesk Museum, it is a story told through the hearts of two young people.
Sasha Saben, The Catalogue of Imaginary Beings, an accessible short film made with spoken word and original illustrated artwork in celebration of disabled bodies; imperfectly beautiful, disturbing and worthy of love.
And lastly, Two Destination Language whose show On Love at D&G, is a visually stunning film which will showcase two older members of the Lammermuir Hills community who have been doing lots in lockdown for their local community, from delivering food to having conversations across fences.
Ken Gouge, Chair of the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival stated:
“The extraordinary amount of responses that we received made the panels job very difficult indeed, the calibre of work on offer was generally very high. All pieces of work that we chose were unique, and it was felt that all of the projects excelled in examining topics that are relevant to communities across our region.
We are grateful to all the artists that shared their ideas with us and recognise the work and care that went into these proposals. The commission will be to develop the performance, marketing support and performing the show either digitally or in a socially distanced format.
Although our 5th annual Arts Live programme is going to look different this year due to the current situation and guidelines, it is important to us to ensure that we were still able to provide performing arts events for communities across the region”
Although the current situation has meant that many ways of working have had to be changed, the team have relished the idea of being able to create a positive change for the future and it is hoped that these commissioned works are the start of a very exciting period for the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival and that many of the contacts made through this process will become lifelong friends of the festival.
All of the commissioned works are currently being programmed before Christmas 2020 with the addition of the 2 live pieces of work commissioned earlier in the year by the Galloway Agreement and Performance Collective that have yet to take place due the restrictions however will take place as soon as live tours are able to travel the region.
The programme for the 5th annual Arts Live is shaping up to be an exciting spectacle for the region of Dumfries & Galloway that is sure to delight audiences from the region and beyond; supporting the region, artists, venues and promoters through this tough time and securing a future for performing arts within the region.
