Call to develop creative potential
Applications are invited from emergent artists of all kinds; visual artists, musicians, writers, dancers, performers, filmmakers & arts professionals.
The aim of the awards is to offer artistic and professional development opportunities that respond to, and support, the needs of artists as they change throughout their career from those of recent graduates and emerging artists to those who have developed their practice over many years who may be looking at new directions.
In 2014 the initiative provided eight emerging artists from Skye & Lochalsh with awards ranging between eight hundred and three thousand pounds to develop their skills or to produce new work. As part of their awards artist’s were asked to work with the initiative’s partners to find ways to share their projects with local communities.
Two of these artists collaborated, Kate Macmorrine and Hector MacInnes, presented their finished piece during the summer of 2014. The Replica Hearth was an installation sited in a ‘container’ in the Aros car park in Portree and then in Armadale as part of Fèis an Eilein. The Replica Hearth was a reconstruction of the living room of Skye man Eoghann “The Yeti” who went missing from his home on Skye in the spring of 1984. Housing a miscellany of reproduced and authentic items from his home, this artists’ impression included his annotated books along with the research materials he was working on at the time, a radio curiously left tuned to an unknown frequency, and a collection of personal artifacts. The fictional Eoghann was later thought to have become the yeti living in a nearby forest and the displays in the Aros foyer presented further memorabilia such as a Yeti footprint found in the forest.
This is but one example of the varied proposals that have already been completed, and the support given by two of the initiative partners to enable the artists to exhibit their work.
Leighton Jones and Emma Noble are examples of artists who received awards to take up career development opportunities. Emma is a printmaker and she undertook a five-day textile workshop in screen-printing in order to take her work in new directions. Leighton Jones a pianist and composer undertook a six-day course in conducting in Romania. Leighton said, ”…Being able to study in Romania gave me the personal confidence to lead an ensemble, no matter what shape or size. It has been particularly relevant to my latest show, a single release at Sloans in Glasgow with members of the Cairn String Quartet and Scottish Opera soprano Marie Claire Breen. It has been a very important personal development for me as an artist and is one which I will continue to build upon in future projects”.
Funded by Creative Scotland this initiative is offering artists bursaries between two and three thousand pounds and a smaller award for mentoring and skills development of up to one thousand pounds each. These awards focus on the more emergent artists from this area.
The partners; Seall, Aros, Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Feisean nan Gaidheal and ATLAS Arts are there to support the scheme and the successful applicants.
Rosie Somerville project coordinator for ATLAS Arts said, ” It has been very exciting seeing the work that has been produced by the artists that have already completed their projects. This second round of funding is another great opportunity for the wealth of emerging talent from this area. Applications are welcomed from; either residents of Skye and Lochalsh or those born here that also completed their secondary education in the area. The panel will also consider new proposals from artists who were successful in the first round but we recommend that they make contact to discuss their ideas first”.
The closing date for the 2015 round is Friday 20 February. Applications and guidelines can be downloaded from www.atlasarts.org.uk or contact rosie@atlasarts.org.uk or call 7787551847 for more information.