Helmsdale, Peebles and Falkirk have been recognised by Creative Scotland under the Creative Places award scheme which focuses on creative programmes in areas outside main cities.
Creative Scotland writes:
Places under 2,500 residents (£50k), the winner is: HELMSDALE
Helmsdale is looking to run an additional programme alongside their planned Paradigm North project in 2014. This will be called Serendipitous North and will map the creative connections that exist within the remote community. Making visible the often unseen and unrecognised creativity of Helmsdale’s inhabitants while supporting the development of significant new work across multiple art forms by established creative practitioners, the project will celebrate and activate creativity within the community. Financial support and developmental assistance will be made available to participating community members and groups in order to harness the momentum it generates.
Anna Vermehren, Director at Timespan said: ‘We are delighted to receive Creative Scotland’s prestigious award, and deeply grateful to the panel for their support of Helmsdale as a Creative Place.
‘In Helmsdale people seek and find. They have come here for centuries in search of gold; today they are inspired and enthused by the gems of creativity hidden in the small fishing village; and in the future they will find an astonishingly vibrant place on the remote East coast of Sutherland, in one of Europe’s most remote areas that is deeply rooted in its Northern identity.
‘We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has contributed to today’s success.’
Places under 10,000 residents (£100k), the winner is: PEEBLES
Peebles community would use the Award to support an imaginative set of activities, events and installations featuring art and artists within the context of work, study, tourism, leisure and play; the enhancement and extension of the existing festival programme and the development of a marketing strategy in collaboration with tourism and business sectors.?Caroline Adam, General Manager at Eastgate Theatre & Arts Centre, said: ‘This is a wonderful recognition of the creative energies that make Peebles so special; and a great opportunity to make the town better, brighter and busier than ever.’
Places under 100,000 residents (£150k), the winner is: FALKIRK
Falkirk community will use the Award to support a project called Acts Of Discovery aimed at offering audiences a fresh look at the area and its cultural offering. Based on the themes of people, routes and pathways, Acts Of Discovery will build on and complement Falkirk’s cultural offering by enhancing existing 2014 cultural activity.??Councillor Adrian Mahoney, Falkirk Council’s spokesman for culture, leisure and tourism, said: ‘I’m delighted the local area has won a Creative Place Award. The award will provide additional cultural funding to enhance our creative programme for 2014. I’d like to congratulate the team at Falkirk Community Trust – who successfully led the bid – for all their hard work and bringing this accolade to the local area’.
Alan Bissett, author and project supporter, said: “I’m delighted to hear that Falkirk has been the recipient of the Creative Place award. This – like the recent completion of the magnificent Kelpies sculpture – should really help amplify focus on Falkirk as a cultural hotspot. I’m very proud of my hometown and look forward to helping bring to national attention the imaginative talents and energies of the people who live there.’
The Creative Place Awards celebrate and recognise the hard work and imagination that contributes to the rich cultural life of Scotland’s smaller communities, as well as their social and economic well-being. The initiative focuses on creative programmes in areas out with Scotland’s main cities
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