AmbITion Scotland Roadshow - Mareel, Shetland

Date: 18 October 2012 Location: Mareel, Lerwick, Shetland Time: 10am - 5pm Workshops: 10.30am – 1.00pm Live webcast seminar:  2.00pm - 3.45pm Cost:  Free Registration: http://ambition-roadshow-mareel.eventbrite.co.uk/

Gwilym Gibbons, Director of Shetland Arts is to headline Mareel’s first arts conference on 18 October.

Gwilym will offer insights into Shetland Arts’ pioneering collaboration developed with online radio/podcast producer 60° North to maximise the reach, scale and accessibility of events held live in Mareel's Main Auditorium.

The talk is part of a free one-day Roadshow hosted by AmbITion Scotland and which is open and relevant to people from all types of arts, cultural, heritage and tourism organisations.

Gwilym commented: "I cannot think of a more fitting first major conference to take place in Mareel than AmbITion Scotland. Mareel's connectivity and digital content generation capabilities along with live broadcast, recording facilities now place Shetland in a global market place.

“AmbITion Scotland has a strong track record of inspiring cultural bodies to think differently about how IT can enhance their offer both in terms of quality and reach. Their contribution over the years has been an inspiration to us and it is fantastic to welcome them to Shetland and into Mareel to see an idea realised."

Shetlanders from performing and visual arts organisations, cultural and heritage venues, cultural events, community arts groups and festivals will learn how some of Scotland’s most remote artistic projects and cultural organisations are using digital tools to create global reach, scale, and access to their local work – engaging and increasing their audiences both locally and globally.

Alongside Gwilym and Shetland Arts, featured workshops include:

  • Hannah Rudman of Rudman Consulting offering a practical guide to the Basics of Webcasting;
  • Lucy Conway, Director of Eigg Box (Eigg) & Stef Lewandowski Geek-In-Residence with insider tips to help you Choose and Use Free Online Tools;
  • Cape Farewell Sea Change Artist (Barra), Stephen Hurrel demonstrating  Environmental Sound Recording and Mixing using available/free media and tools;  
These workshops are available exclusively to delegates attending in person.  They draw on expertise developed by arts organisations on some of Scotland’s other island communities.

Since October 2011 Lucy Conway has been developing Eigg Box.  Planned to open in 2015, Eigg Box will act as a cultural enterprise hub, bringing together local creative businesses with artists from around the world.

Conway says: “Eigg Box turns on its head the notion that a centre of entrepreneurship and creativity needs to be at the centre of population.  Eigg Box makes the remote central.”

Established as a self-sustaining social enterprise, Eigg Box will be a powerhouse of creative activity, entrepreneurship, inspiration and collaboration.  However, unlike its urban counterparts, Eigg Box’s eco-built studios and creative workspace are on the Isle of Eigg; a community-owned, renewably-powered island, off the north-west coast of Scotland with a population of less than a hundred.”  http://www.eiggbox.com/

As part of Cape Farewell's Sea Change commissions, artist Stephen Hurrel - along with two social ecologists - has been collecting stories and gathering information from the older fishermen on Barra and capturing this process on film. In collaboration with Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay, Stephen has been awarded First in a Lifetime funding from Creative Scotland to develop the project within the community and to develop a digital prototype version with work beginning in October. http://www.capefarewell.com/seachange/barra-maps/

The morning workshops will be followed by a seminar, webcast live to online audiences featuring:

  • first hand case studies of projects from Shetland, Eigg and Barra that have implemented glo/cal principles through utilising digital tools;
  • practical advice on how digital tools can help cultural organisations to deepen participation and engagement with their global and local audiences;
  • information about how projects have created living archives and how they have also devolved programming into the hands of audiences, crowd sourcing curation and participation; and
  • a live and online Q & A session with in person and online delegates.
To learn more and register: ambition-roadshow-mareel.eventbrite.co.uk

AmbITion Scotland is a digital development programme specifically designed to support individuals and organisations working in the arts, culture and heritage sectors in Scotland. It helps organisations and individuals grow in their capability, capacity, creativity and confidence to make the most of the opportunities of digital technologies.  AmbITion helps organisations become digitally fitter so they can adapt to the social, cultural, and economic changes of the digital technology revolution.

Funded by The National Lottery via Creative Scotland (as part of Creative Scotland’s Cultural Economy programme), AmbITion is designed and project managed by Culture Sparks in partnership with Rudman Consulting.

www.getambition.com  / https://twitter.com/getambition / https://www.facebook.com/getambition