The Wicker Tree will be screened at The Garrison Theatre on Wednesday night at 7:30pm. Although tickets are free you are advised to book a place through the Shetland Box Office.

Join us at Mareel
Further opportunities to join an innovative and entrepreneurial creative organisation at a point of transformation as Shetland Arts prepares to open the doors of Mareel, a new £12.2m Music, Cinema and Creative Industries Centre on Lerwick’s waterfront. We are now recruiting for the following 3 posts:

Bars & Catering Manager
Senior Technician (Sound)
Customer Services & Box Office Manager

Click on the links above for further information on these posts, and to download application files. Please return completed application forms by email to jobs@shetlandarts.org, no later than 5pm, Monday 5 December.

Today is Mary Smith’s last day with Shetland Arts, exactly 18 years to the day she started. Mary started with one of our predecessor organisations, Shetland Arts Trust at the beginning of October 1993 as the Visual Arts Coordinator.

Mary’s contribution to the arts in Shetland has been huge and far reaching, but her focus and most significant contribution has been with out a doubt the setting up and subsequent operation of Bonhoga Gallery on the Westside. Mary arrived at Bonhoga in the October prior to its opening in April 1994. She saw the gallery through to its teenage years and led its establishment as the gallery you see today which enjoys an international reputation.

In recent years Mary has focused on the development of exciting plans for the next phase of Bonhoga, namely the Hatchery an ambitious plan to expand and develop current visual arts activity on the Westside in a sustainable way.

Shetland Arts will be a very different place without Mary. Staff gathered this afternoon to say goodbye and wish her well in her retirement, a larger thank you celebration is planned for November.

B4films announced today their delight that Shetlander George Stroud, CEO of Marin Subsea has injected a six-figure sum of money into the Shetland based feature film, Between Weathers.

The Ellon based entrepreneur was captivated by the story, written by Jim Brown and Marc Pye and was really excited about a movie being shot in the beautiful Shetland Isles.

George Stroud, “I have always had strong links with Shetland.  I heard about Between Weathers and having pondered the question for some time about how I could put something back into the community, I got in touch with B4 Films and Jim Brown.  I invited Jim and his team to my offices and we started to explore the possibilities of working together.  I think this is a brilliant way to invest in Shetland and Scottish business.   I couldn’t think of a better way to give something back to Shetland, a place I regard as home.   I have been looking for local community based projects to invest in and this one stood out above the rest.   I believe that Jim, his team at B4films and their special partnership with Shetland Arts have the right formula, a formula that will help bring a bright creative future to the Shetland Isles and leave a brilliant legacy”.

George Stroud (left) and Jim Brown. Image © B4FILMS

Between Weathers Writer and director Jim Brown said that he went to meet George because he sounded so enthused about the idea. “Money was never mentioned at our first meeting, we had a great lunch and George spoke passionately about Shetland and how it held such a special place in his heart.  His love for the place was infectious.  It was only after another couple of meetings that George said that he would like to invest in the film.  This social investment mirrors the narrative of the film perfectly.  It’s about putting something back into the North of Scotland and Shetland.  We thank George very much for this investment, an investment that will be instrumental in putting Shetland on the Global map”.

Shetland Arts has been working closely with B4Films for over 2 years to develop the films relationship with Shetland and the legacy the film will create. Shetland Arts with B4Films secured an initial £50,000 investment from Creative Scotland to develop a new social investment model to fund the film. The model is the first of its kind in the world and is set to dramatically change how major feature films could be financed in the future.

Gwilym Gibbons Director of Shetland Arts and Executive Producer, Between Weathers said: “The model was inspired both by the narrative of the film and Shetland’s proud track record of securing community benefit from those using Shetland as a location for big business, not least the deals made in the 70′s around the oil industry. The obvious difference being that Jim Brown and his team at B4Films were immediately receptive to the idea of building on the very essence of movie, by funding as much of the film as possible through social investors who wanted to leave a lasting benefit for the Shetland community”.

Gwilym Gibbons added, “Between Weathers is not just about making a great film, it’s about changing lives and transforming the economic future of a small island community.  This first significant sum of ‘social investment’ will generate a number of advantages, not least that the approach ensures the film’s underlying social purpose is protected by ‘asset locking’ a percentage of IP and profits for re-investment into Shetland’s creative community. On behalf of the Shetland community and the generations to come who will benefit from the legacy for Shetland, Between Weathers will create; I wish to thank George for his generous support. I have never met someone before with such passion, vision and desire to put something back into their community and home”.

Between Weathers

Between Weathers on FaceBook

Shetland Arts is pleased to publish today a major new study into the need for and provision of small-scale finance for creative practitioners and the creative sector. The study commissioned by Shetland Arts and carried out by the BoP Consulting through 2010 provides a key insight into the finance needs and habits of creative people in Scotland.

The cultural and creative industries are currently navigating a difficult period with reducing availability of public and private sector funding both in the UK and internationally. As a consequence there is an increasing interest in identifying additional means of supporting creative businesses amongst creative sector funders and practitioners.

Through their work with local artists, Shetland Arts had long been aware of the need for a mechanism, additional to existing grant financing, through which to fund small scale creative activity. Shetland Arts discussed the idea with other arts organisations who agreed the idea was worthy of further investigation. This feasibility study builds on an earlier briefing paper by Mission Models Money (MMM) for Shetland Arts. It has been undertaken with the support of time and funds from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Creative Scotland (CS then the Scottish Arts Council) and MMM who were commissioned to oversee the study on behalf of Shetland Arts. A steering group was formed to provide additional support and guidance.

There are plans to explore the implications of this new study alongside other related work that has been recently published or is in the final stages of research at a national event later in year.

Creative Financing: feasibility study into financial mechanisms for supporting small-scale creative activity

For more information on the study and background to its commisioning contact Gwilym Gibbons 0n (01595) 743843

As the saying goes, ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ so we have been round the venue this morning to capture the scene inside to help give you all a sense of progress.

As you can see the building is, with the exception of a few areas, wind and watertight: second fix of electrical works is ongoing; plasterboard is going on the walls and ceilings and specialist Audio Visual cabling is in the process of being installed. For example: all the speaker cables for Cinema 1 and Cinema 2 are now in place.

You may have heard that the opening date has been pushed back to the New Year – at this point we have no firm new completion date, given an outstanding issue with the glazing subcontractor. What we do know is that DITT are making plans just in case the subcontractor can’t return to site and all being well, progress on the glazing will be underway again soon. Meanwhile, as you can see from the pictures great progress is being made inside the building.

Shetland Arts is taking bookings for Mareel from March 2012 onwards and will fill dates prior to then when a firm opening date is known. The venue already has a number of high profile events booked, so if you want to use the venue do get in touch on (01595) 743843 for an informal chat and a site visit.

For more information, video and images regards Mareel go to the Shetland Arts Mareel page.

Thursday 1– Monday 5 March

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) will be resident in the Shetland for its eighth annual Out and About, a week where the RSNO host, contribute to and participate in dozens of musical events with the local communities. In partnership with Shetland Arts, the RSNO will take its music-making to the mainland, as well as Unst, the Out Skerries, Fair Isle and Foula. These visits will involve a range of activities, from concerts and participative performances to community events and coaching opportunities. The week will enable the Shetland islanders to experience and interact with Scotland’s national symphony orchestra in their own community and will include the Orchestra’s northernmost UK performances of its 120-year history.

Gwilym Gibbons, Director of Shetland Arts said: “This is a hugely ambitious and exciting project and one that has been a long term ambition of Shetland Arts and the RSNO. It was always about picking the right time and for us the combination of this visit taking place as part of Music Nation, in the Year of Creative Scotland and in the opening season of Mareel, Shetland’s new £12.2m waterfront music, cinema and creative industries centre makes this absolutely the right time. I am delighted that Shetland Arts and RSNO are working in partnership to bring their orchestra to Shetland. It is very rare for a full symphony orchestra to commit to overcoming the enormous logistical challenge of getting to a island location like ours, let alone head out to the outer isles of Fair Isle, Out Skerries, Foula and Unst”.

Gwilym added: “The RSNO’s visit as part of Music Nation will coincide with the opening season of Mareel. The week of events will include collaborations and performances in venues including village halls, care homes, schools, Mareel and a full orchestral performance in the Clickimin Leisure Centre. Drawing upon our rich cultural heritage and our unique locations the week will bring together world class musicians from Shetland and the RSNO to develop and perform an original work”.

From Cornwall to the Shetland Isles, Belfast to Birmingham, Music Nation is an unprecedented collaboration of the UK’s orchestral and music making communities. Orchestras and choirs, large, small, professional and amateur, have formed partnerships with other musical organisations and venues in their area to create and host performances and workshops in 45 locations across the UK with more than 25,000 participants under the Music Nation banner.

The weekend is one of a select group of `countdown’ events for the London 2012 Festival, the finale of the Cultural Olympiad, and is a key part of the BBC’s Cultural Olympiad programming. Built primarily around classical music, but taking in jazz, folk and world music, Music Nation aims to engage as many people as possible; whether it be attending world-class performances or taking part in community projects and workshops in venues and public places up and down the country.

Devised and led by the BBC, Music Nation is a partnership with Arts Council England, the Association of British Orchestras (ABO), British Association of Concert Halls (BACH), Orchestras Live, Making Music, Conservatoires UK and LOCOG to celebrate the richness, diversity and excellence of Britain’s musical life. BBC Radio 3, Music Nation’s principal media partner, will broadcast live content throughout the weekend, with additional programming on Radio 2, BBC Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and BBC local radio.

The award was set up to support the creation of a new and spectacular production which will genuinely engage with local people. Worth £175,000, the annual award – devised and funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation – supports the development of a new performance piece in which leading professionals will work with communities. The aim of the award is to pioneer new ways of working through the arts using uncompromisingly high artistic standards.

The shortlisted National Theatre of Scotland proposal, Ignition, is one of only six ideas to have been shortlisted for the prestigious award, chosen from 62 bids submitted by producing companies across the UK.

The idea, conceived by Shetland Arts and developed with the National Theatre of Scotland, is to create a new, large-scale, participatory theatre production made by and for the island community of Shetland.

Ignition will explore our often complex relationship with the car in modern life – in particular, our love affair with, and dependence upon, the vehicle. Conceived as a thrilling and innovative piece of outdoor, site-specific theatre, contributors, participants and audience members will take part in an emotional and physical journey across the island by car. Ignition is inspired by the death of Stuart Henderson – a promising young member of Shetland Youth Theatre who died in a road accident in 2007 at the age of 18.

Created in partnership with Shetland Arts, the project aims to impact on all 23,000 island residents as they will be invited to contribute creatively, volunteer and experience the production as audience members. With this project, the National Theatre of Scotland hopes to develop its creation of new models for hosting and engaging rural communities in major arts and cultural events.

The other five shortlisted proposals include an interactive virtual version of a Brecht/Weill opera (Birmingham Opera Company); a Bonfire night spectacle involving homeless and disenfranchised men (Duckie, London); a dynamic poetry-based theatre production led by young British Somalis in Butetown, Cardiff (National Theatre Wales); the creation of a surreal world in Cornwall and London where the relationship between humans and animals will be explored (Wildworks); a London production inspired by the film Beijing Bicycle with indoor and outdoor performances on bikes (Young Vic, London).

The winner will be announced in late June and work will start immediately to develop the production with a £75,000 grant. The final production in 2013 will be awarded a further £100,000.

His visit started with a walk around Mareel, here are Andrew’s first impressions of the venue.

Andrew was last in Shetland 34 years ago when he spent 2 weeks on Foula mapping fishing noosts. He plans to return much sooner for the opening of Mareel – which will be much less than 34 years away!

The scaffolding has been removed from around the building in readiness for the final glazing which should commence over the next few weeks.

Discussions are still ongoing regards the time impact of delays so we are unable to state a firm date at this time, however Shetland Arts hopes to be able to announce an opening date at the end of May / early June. If we can give news earlier to this date we will.

If you are looking for more info please post you questions here or give us a call on (01595) 743843. We are currently taking provisional bookings so please get in touch if you would like to book the venue, play in the venue or have a site visit to see for yourself the new opportunities Mareel will provide.