Kirkcudbright Fringe opened this evening Thursday (5 September) for its second year – now expanded to four days (Thursday to Sunday) with 50 plus events taking place across 20 venues in the town.
To mark the opening day, the first ever Pauline Saul Artistic Residency with award-winning young photographer Dylan Lombard opened at Kirkcudbright Galleries with a reception for Dylan this evening, followed by his exhibition entitled A Photographic History of Kirkcudbright opening to the public on Friday 6th then running until 13 October.
The Pauline Saul Artistic Residency has given 21-year-old photographer Dylan Lombard the opportunity to undertake a week-long residency in the town taking photos, meeting groups, visiting locations and speaking to people.
Dylan did a talk and interactive workshop at the Academy, spoke to the local youth group, visited numerous local businesses such as West Coast Sea Products and the Selkirk Arms and many of the local shops, while meeting Kirkcudbright artists and town people. ‘All of this gave me a flavour of the town’, reflected Dylan, ‘it’s atmosphere, from the quiet of the evening to friendliness and buzz in shops during the day.’
A selection of Dylan’s photographs are being shown in the Galleries. Another Fringe first sees the launch of the first ever Kirkcudbright Fringe calendar containing twelve of Dylan’s iconic photographs of the town, places and people. It is priced at £8.99 and available from Kirkcudbright Galleries, Samphire Gallery in Castle Douglas, and online from the Fringe shop.
Fringe co-founder Gerry Hassan said:
The idea of having Dylan’s residency was to encourage and support a young artist and make a new connection with Kirkcudbright. It was to facilitate a very different set of images and perspectives of the town to what we are used to. It offers a slightly altered reality to the tourist image we are usually presented with.
Dylan Lombard commented:
This opportunity has allowed me to think differently about people, places, photographs and images. It has given me a different experience and allowed me to explore how I take images – and I thank the Kirkcudbright Fringe, Galleries and Artistic Residency for that.
Fringe co-director Rosie Ilett said:
The Fringe aims to build on Kirkcudbright’s reputation as an artist’s town. That is one reason for the first ever Artistic Residency with Dylan Lombard. We are sure that this exhibition and the Fringe calendar with Dylan’s stunning photographs will be a hit and a great talking point for locals and visitors.
As well as the above, this year’s Fringe will showcase National Theatre of Scotland’s one-woman tour de force on June Carter Cash (which just won an Edinburgh Fringe First), the Scottish Ensemble, John Curtice and John Crace, and includes the serious as well as fun and frivolous (such as comedy and even the history of comedy on TV and radio). Many of the events are now sold out, but there are still tickets available for a wide range of attractions, as well as there being free events like music in Harbour Square on Saturday and Sunday.
This year’s Fringe has received generous support from Dumfries and Galloway Council, DG Unlimited, Galloway Association of Glasgow, Dark Art Distillery, Kirkcudbright Common Good Fund, RSK and many others.
A Photographic History of Kirkcudbright runs at Kirkcudbright Galleries from 6 September until 13 October. Gallery opening hours are Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm; Sunday 11.30am-5pm.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit the Kirkcudbright Fringe website
www.kbtfringe.co.uk. Physical tickets are available from Kirkcudbright Galleries and Samphire Gallery, King Street, Castle Douglas.
