Across Scotland, 54 culture projects have received £1,245,021 from The National Lottery in the latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund awards.
This round of awards spans a wide range of exciting projects from all genres, including a selection of musical projects taking direct inspiration from Scotland’s unique culture and landscapes.
Video game director Kyle Banks has received funding for the composition of two modern renditions of Robert Burns’ song, My Heart’s in the Highlands, composed by Jon Konsolakis and with vocals performed by four-time BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards’ Scots Singer of the Year award winner, Siobhan Miller.
The tracks will be released worldwide on all streaming platforms and featured on the soundtrack of Farewell North, a new Edinburgh-produced video game exploring the Orkney islands, available on 15 August. The game, named after the song, draws focus on Scotland’s rich culture and landscapes as your character embarks on a mental and physical journey to restore colour to the islands and her world.
Director Kyle Banks commented: “With the support of the Open Fund we have the opportunity to take a beloved song segment from our game, Farewell North, and compose a pair of full-length singles for our audience to enjoy as a standalone piece of art.
“As a small team this is something that would not have been a viable option for us without this funding and it’s allowed us to share our love of Scotland worldwide.”
Composer Ruta Vitkauskaite is collaborating with Founder and Director of the Illuminate Women’s Music Project Angela Slater to bring the project series to Scotland. Founded in 2017, Illuminate is a commissioning and touring series celebrating the creativity of women both as composers and performers.
Illuminate will tour newly commissioned works by diverse Scottish composers with each piece inspired by Scottish folklore reimagined through a contemporary music lens.
Ruta Vitkauskaite says: “We are absolutely delighted to receive funding from Creative Scotland’s Open Fund. The support will allow us to introduce the Illuminate Women’s Music concert series to Scotland for the very first time, bringing some of the most vibrant female musical talents to audiences across Scotland.”
The series will see concerts, workshops and talks taking place in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Linlithgow, Kinlochard and onwards to Vilnius, Lithuania, providing creators with international exposure.
The first public in-person concert be held on Thursday 12 December at The Old Hairdresser’s in Glasgow and tickets will be available on the Illuminate Women’s Music website.
Musician and composer Kate Young will release her second studio album, Umbelliferæ: A Musical Journey Through Plantlore in September 2024, accompanied by UK-wide album launch tour.
Originally commissioned by Celtic Connections, the album features a repertoire of songs inspired by Scotland’s natural heritage, with special focus on plant lore and traditional remedies made from native plants. The music is arranged for string quintet, double bass, harp and percussion.
Kate Young commented: “This is the release project of an album inspired by the world of traditional plant lore and medicinal uses from around the UK, which looks to spread awareness about such dying traditions through music.
“We look forward to taking this string quintet performance to a number of venues this Autumn.”
For full tour details please visit Kate Young’s website.
Further awards in this round of the Open Fund include:
- The third year of OH!CON 2024: The Outer Hebrides’ Comic Con celebrating sci-fi, comics, games and more.
- Roots Theatre Festival 2024, 16-19 October 2024 – a 4-day programme of digital and in-person events to celebrate and support local theatre-makers in the Highlands.
- US tour from 9 September–20 October for Glasgow alternative band Walt Disco who will be supporting Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark.
- The publication of three issues of Gutter (30–32), the award-winning magazine of new Scottish and international writing.
The full list of awards in this round of the Open Fund can be found on our website.
Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotland commented: “Exploring the rich landscapes and vibrant cultural heritage of Scotland provides immense value to our communities.
“The latest initiatives supported by our Open Fund will offer invaluable opportunities for people across the country to engage with Scotland’s unique culture, made possible with the support of the National Lottery.”
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