27th September 2019. A Culture Café was held this week in Roseisle to give people a chance to hear about the great work being done by artists who were awarded bursaries last year. During the Moray Artist Bursary Culture Café event, this year’s awards scheme was also launched for potential applicants.
This bursary was launched in July 2018 and last year provided £15,000 of small grants to support ten individuals working across the arts, screen and creative industries in Moray.
Emerging and established local artists are encouraged to apply for funding of between £500 and £1,500 by Friday 25th October 2019, to support activities including advancing skills and technical expertise, ideation, research, and presenting new and innovative work.
Last year’s bursary supported projects which were impressively diverse, such as Graeme Roger’s visits to historical sites of significance to create film work that explores recurring themes of eccentric and impromptu performance, to designer Jennifer Cantwell, who describes her practice as “an irreverence towards rules and a love of pushing materials and processes to the edges of what I can personally achieve”.
Heather Fulton, artistic director at theatre company Frozen Charlotte, organised the Culture Cafe using part of her 2018 bursary. She said “the bursary has been invaluable in terms of developing and maintaining sustainable relationships within Moray’s creative scene. It has enabled me to connect with local artists, and provided inspiration for future projects with Frozen Charlotte, whose mission is to ensure that the theatre is as accessible as possible to Scottish communities.”
The Moray Artists Bursary was established by We Make Moray, a place partnership project which supports arts and culture initiatives. The bursary is designed to enable the recipients to realise their own potential while helping to advance the wider Moray Cultural Strategy. This may involve evolving their skillsets, taking time to mentor up-and-coming local artists, travelling in order to conduct research or attend conferences, embarking on collaborative projects, or a combination of these activities.
Karen Dick, Interim Head of Place, Partnerships and Communities, Creative Scotland said “We are delighted to support this opportunity for artists living or working in Moray through the Place Partnership Programme. The recipients of the first round of awards have demonstrated the huge impact a small amount of support can have.”
Sandra Morrison, Place Partnership Co-ordinator commented, “The culmination of last year’s projects demonstrates how vital a role the creative industries play in Moray’s culture. Enabling artists to continue to develop their practice has provided inspiration to our creative community and I am eager to see how the second instalment of funding will continue to positively impact Moray’s communities.”
Application Forms and further guidance can be obtained by visiting www.wemakemoray.org/opportunities, emailing [email protected] or telephone 01343 205274. Large format materials are available on request.
The fund is open to applicants from today and will close midnight on Friday 25th October 2019.
Further information about the Moray artists bursary can be found at www.wemakemoray.org/opportunities