14 Art projects from right across Dumfries and Galloway will share the £70,000 2019 funding pot from the Regional Arts Fund, which will support the delivery of a range of exciting arts programmes taking place across the region this year. The Regional Arts Fund is administered by Dumfries and Galloway Council with support from DG Unlimited and has awarded a total of £422,473 in the six years it’s been running.
A project by Absolute Classics will provide free access to music-making activities throughout Dumfries and Galloway and is among the latest recipients to benefit from the most recent round of funding from the Regional Arts fund.
Narelle Freeman of Absolute Classics said;
“RAF support means we are able to provide opportunities for young people throughout the region that get them enthusiastic and involved in group work and individual learning through their passion for music. The funding has enabled young people of all ages and musical ability to take part in a range of skills building activities that are important for any career, not just a musical one.”
Other projects receiving funding awards include: Kirkcudbright Development Trust’s Get Your Arts Here, which will train young people to coordinate, produce and deliver this year’s Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail; Moniaive Folk Festival will provide free family orientated performances and workshops where participants can learn from nationally acclaimed folk musicians; and Stransform Arts by Stranraer Development Trust will link local community groups with artists to reinvigorate neglected and disused spaces to bring Stranraer to life.
Competition was strong with the request for funding totalling £108,000. Commenting on the successful awards Councillor Andy Ferguson, Chairman of the Council’s Communities Committee said;
“It’s great to see such a wide range of projects connecting artists with their local communities. When people get involved in the arts at any age it can make a big difference to their confidence and self-esteem, and it’s good to see that happening through these projects.”
Councillor John Martin, Vice Chair of the Council’s Communities Committee added;
“I am really pleased to see such a wide range of excellent arts project coming forward from across the region. These projects will help raise the profile of Dumfries and Galloway as a great place to live, work and visit.”
Cathy Agnew, Chair of DG Unlimited, the independent charity that champions the region’s arts, said;
“DG Unlimited is delighted to be involved once again in Dumfries and Galloway’s Regional Arts Fund. It’s fantastic to see such a wide range of creative talent and potential recognised right across our region. The projects receiving funds this year represent diverse art forms, and stand to make a valuable contribution to new arts opportunities for communities in Dumfries and Galloway”.
Full list of 2019/20 Regional Arts Fund awards:
LGBT Youth Scotland: £3,566 for “LifeStories”
LGBT young people will work with an artist to devise characters and illustrate stories in a graphic novel format. Encouraged to take expressive risks, they’ll experiment with visual art materials, techniques, words and ideas in a safe, non-judgmental atmosphere accessible to all abilities, culminating in a publication and exhibition.
A’ the Airts: £5,000 for “Summer Arts Projects”
The project will engage young people in Upper Nithsdale in a Summer programme of activities with professionals with an opportunity to showcase their work.
Absolute Classics: £5,000 for “Absolutely My Music”
Providing access to music-making activities for young people living throughout Dumfries and Galloway. In particular, the funding will enable Absolute Classics to deliver new activities within their programme that they have developed specifically to include young people who do not have the opportunity to access any music-making activities otherwise.
Glenkens and Community Arts Trust: £10,000 for “Back to the Future”
This project will bring together local organisations and individual practitioners from the arts, heritage, youthwork, education and heritage sectors to strengthen partnerships and to collectively engage young people from the Glenkens in a range of arts, crafts and traditional skills building activities relating to the heritage of their local area.
Cample Line: £2,898 for the “Running Catalogue” and “Reading Grierson’s Library”
As part of their public programme for 2019, Cample Line will explore the formation of Grierson’s Museum in Thornhill and its legacies from contemporary perspectives.
Bunbury Banter Theatre Company: £2,592 for “Words Live”
Performed at The Stove, on the High Street of Dumfries, and at CatStrand, New Galloway. Words Live brings people together, to enjoy the counsel left behind by some of Dumfries and Galloway’s most interesting minds, Word Live is an exciting evening of entertainment produced by The Bunbury Banter Theatre Company.
Guild of Players (Theatre Royal, Dumfries): £5,000 for “The Village and The Road”
An important new work of theatre by The Galloway Agreement and Tom Pow, developed in D&G, The Village and the Road tells a personal and a collective story about rural depopulation. A full theatrical production will be developed and tour within D&G and across Scotland.
The Stove Network Ltd: £9,400 for “The LOWLAND Performance Project”
A new piece of promenade theatre for and about Dumfries. Co-created with the local community and performed free of charge in a series of locations around the town, the project is a co-production between The Stove Network and National Theatre of Scotland.
Moniaive Folk Festival: £2,551 for the “Folk Festival Fringe Programme”
As part of the highly acclaimed Moniaive Folk Festival, family orientated Fringe performances and workshops are offered free of charge, to provide the opportunity to learn and perform traditional folk instruments with nationally acclaimed folk musicians.
Knockengorroch CIC: £1,720 for “Oran Bagraidh”
Oran Bagraidh is a live music show and short film inspired by Galloway Gaelic. During a music residency at Barscobe House, Balmaclellan in September 2018, ten artists with knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Welsh and Scots collaborated to produce work inspired by the mysterious Galloway Gaelic poem Oran Bagraidh.
Kirkcudbright Development Trust: £4,853 for “Get Your Arts Here”
Kirkcudbright Development Trust are developing the community impact, succession and sustainability of the Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail (EPIC! Award 2016 and Thistle Award ‘Best Visitor Attraction Award’ 2017). They are bringing a team together to train and support young people to coordinate, produce and deliver the Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail 2019 (KACT). This will include young apprentices working alongside professionals and volunteers to support the development of the KACT event, a public-art centre piece, additional top quality street theatre and live music over three days in August.
Stranraer Development Trust: £4,820 for “Stransform Arts”
The project will bring Stranraer to life through commissioning local artists to paint areas of the town that are neglected and disused. Stransform Arts aims to engage the community by encouraging exploration of public spaces, highlighting the importance of reclaiming ownership and provoking questions on how these spaces are used.
The Bakehouse (Galloway): £2,600 for “Big Lit the Stewartry Book Festival 2019”
Support for the annual four-day Stewartry Book Festival, based in the Fleet Valley, but with activities being expanded to other locations in the Stewartry Area.
Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival: £10,000 for “Arts Live”
Support for the delivery of Arts Live. Arts Live is a performing arts touring programme and a promoters network for Dumfries & Galloway. It is made up of a network of large and small venues and community groups who work together to host events across the region to create a diverse, year-round, region-wide performance programme.
