Communities across Scotland will be supported to explore and share their creativity through a diverse range of arts activities thanks to Awards for All funding.
217 community groups and projects across Scotland will share over £1,551,849 of National Lottery Community Funding under the Awards for All scheme, over £120,000 of which is awarded through Creative Scotland.
Awards for All is a joint awards programme from the National Lottery Community Fund, Creative Scotland and sportscotland.
Projects ranging from community cinema to a book festival have been supported in this latest round of funding including: Crofting Environment Improvement Association, Intercultural Youth Scotland, Birnam Book Festival, Shire Housing Association and Kelty Community Cinema.
Creative Scotland’s Graham Reid said: “From celebrations of traditional Scottish culture to a community cinema, these projects demonstrate the diverse creativity of communities across the breadth of Scotland, from Fife to Uist. These awards are testament to the fantastic work that National Lottery funding makes possible.”
Birnam Book Festival will be supported to run community engagement activities to complement its core Festival programme. Activities will include public readings and creative writing workshops and will aim to provide people living in rural areas the opportunity to engage with literary arts, and to create a sense of community ownership in the Festival.
Tabitha Hilliard, Chair, Birnam Book Festival said: “The funding from Awards for All will enable us to appoint a writer in residence who will work with the community before, during and after the festival, delivering sessions to rural and isolated communities in their own settings and helping to draw in a more diverse range of people into reading and to participate in the events.”
Kelty Community Cinema has been awarded funding to continue running their community organised cinema, and its associated programme. The Cinema aims to offer a creative leisure activity that is affordable and accessible for the community.
Wayne Hayles, Chairman, Kelty Community Cinema said: “The funding will make such a difference to the experience at our cinema for the people of Kelty. The support that our visitors have shown us already has been phenomenal, and our visitors will now enjoy a higher quality of picture and sound.”
The Crofting Environment Improvement Association has been awarded funding towards The Land Sings, a project which will celebrate the crofting and fishing histories of the Uists through music, story and traditional skills. Its programme will include three mini-festivals throughout the year: the first around the opening of the new Grimsay Boat Haven in April, an August event for local people and visitors, and a week of activity in October aimed at local primary schools.
Intercultural Youth Scotland have received funding to provide opportunities for black and minority ethnic young people to come together through music production. As well as collective practice, participants will perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2020.
Shire Housing Association has been awarded funding towards a roving arts project to take place in and around East Ayrshire’s Netherthird Community. In partnership with Netherthird Community Council, Impact Arts and other local groups, a bespoke mobile mosaic plaque will be created to celebrate the 70th birthday of the Netherthird Community. The project aims to encourage creativity in residents, as well as to strengthen community cohesion.
Photograph courtesy of Birnam Book Festival 2019.
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