Not only is 2012 Scotland’s Year of Creative Scotland, but it will also be the first year of the United Nations/UNESCO endorsed International Week of Arts Education – the fourth week of May.
FCLN
The Band
The Band is a year-long project aimed at engaging the communities of central Fife in the Cowdenbeath/Lochgelly area and encouraging all ages and abilities to participate, play and ultimately perform music. The Band programme aims to establish community bands, to entertain, to educate, to inspire, and to leave a permanent legacy after 2012.
Inspiring and creative musicians and community arts experts are being engaged to create and lead community music groups which in the first instance will feature singing groups, a Samba drumming band, a Community Band, and a funky brass band. The project seeks to attract people from throughout the local community to join in, and will provide musical instruments and tuition at no cost. There will even be free transport to the regular sessions in Lochgelly from various points in the area. There is no cost to participants.
The project will be delivered and managed through a partnership of ON at Fife and Jazz Scotland, working closely with Fife Council. The launch of The Band will take place at the Lochgelly Centre on February 2 and there will be significant promotion of The Band’s programme as part of the 2012 Fife Jazz Festival (February 3-5) and in the re-launch of the Lochgelly Centre (Fall in Love with the Lochgelly Centre, February 13-17). Weekly class will begin towards the end of February.
Activity will run throughout the year. The weekly classes will take a summer break, during which The Band will present three intense summer residencies and courses in Singing, Brass, Jazz and Samba and will support its groups by helping to create opportunities to perform at Gala days and local festivals throughout Fife.
From the Autumn, with the return of the weekly sessions, the focus will shift to a period of rehearsal for a number of large-scale commissioned pieces to be presented in December of 2012 including Swing Dances, Concerts, A Carnival Night and a Community Music/Theatre show. We hope to present shows throughout the area, including events in Cowdenbeath and Kelty as well as Lochgelly.
The Band is supported by a grant from The Year of Creative Scotland Fund. The grant is from the “First In a Lifetime” fund, and our programme will have a specific target to attract people who have not participated in cultural activity before.
The Band will create an excellent new opportunity for the central Fife community to get involved in music of all kinds and at all levels. I’m sure this could be the start of a new era of creativity in the area, supported by the re-opening of the excellent facilities at the Lochgelly Centre. The Band promises a highly visible and intense period of local participation and promotion that can only be good for central Fife.
All enquiries can be directed to:
Hazel Wotherspoon, Head of Programming and Creative Development, ON At Fife: Hazel.Wotherspoon@onfife.com
Roger Spence, Director, Jazz Scotland: roger@adjazz.co.uk
Creativity
“Learning through the arts and culture and creativity enriches education, stimulates imagination and innovation, and provides children with exciting and fulfilling experiences that they build on throughout their lives. We want to see more of that kind of activity experienced by more and more children and young people in every part of Scotland.”
EDUCATION AND THE ARTS, CULTURE & CREATIVITY: AN ACTION PLAN
How can you contribute???
St Andrews Museum
Have a magical festive season from FCA&C
I thought I’d share this year’s FCA&C Xmas e-card as it has definitely come about as the result of some young people’s creative skills! During our recent ceramics exhibition at St Andrews Museum (‘Placement’), we invited young visitors to add to The Magic Forest, creating sculptural trees, toadstools, magical animals etc that might be found in such a place. Imagination ran riot, and this small detail is one of many great ‘tableau’ created with plasticine!
- FCA&C Xmas e-card 2011
Get Moving to Creative Learning Opportunities
Recognising that transport costs are a real barrier to schools and youth groups participating in cultural and creative opportunities we would like to announce the launch of the ‘Get Moving’ Fund.
The fund is open to schools and youth groups wishing to attend creative learning opportunities which they would not otherwise have the capacity to do. It is available to support activity taking place between Dec 2011 and April 2012. Applications should be made using the attached form and funding is available up to a maximum of £250.
Fife Council’s Cultural Partnerships Team are keen to support schools and groups who wish to provide exciting experiences, opportunities and activities that bring together creativity and learning to benefit the lives of children and young people.
To apply for a ‘Get Moving’ grant please complete the attached form and submit to the Cultural Partnerships Team.
For inspiring ideas please see the Creative Learning Opportunities here on the FCLN Glow Group.
For further information phone the team on 01592 583255 or email cultural.partnerships@fife.gov.uk
Ceramics on show!
Young artists’ ceramics’ work on display in St Andrews Town Hall
A colourful display of ceramic work is on display in cases in St Andrews Town Hall foyer until Friday 16 December. It is all the product of 2 workshops, held recently by FCA&C at St Andrews Museum to accompany their exhibition ‘Placement’.
The first workshop was led by ‘Placement’ artist and co-curator Lowri Davies who showed her young pupils how to incorporate on-glaze decoration and transfers (decals) into their plate designs. The resultant work is of a very high standard.
For the second workshop, participants worked on tiles and flat pieces of work mostly which were later fired by the workshop leader, Fife ceramicist Gavin Burnett. Again, a great array of work was produced showing how creative young people can be with clay. The display will be up until Friday 16 December (open usual working hours, Monday to Friday).
Young people’s ceramics on show
Creative Learning
What does creative learning mean to you? Give us your ideas about creative learning opportunities in Fife.
100 Buttercups education pack – Fife Contemporary Art & Craft
Fife Contemporary Art & Craft have just put the finishing touches to an education pack for secondary schools which relates to a project they’ve been involved with – ‘100 Buttercups‘. As the title suggests, this is an artist’s book containing 100 drawings of 100 buttercups, all done by East Neuk artist Laurie Clark.
The book and an education pack has already been distributed to all Fife primary schools, and the book alone to all Fife libraries. Now a specially written pack has been produced for secondary pupils – aimed at the Expressive Arts as well as cross-curricular themes – and is about to be sent out with a copy of the book to all 19 Fife secondaries. It’s hoped it will be an interesting and useful tool for teachers. For more info, contact FCA&C on 01334 474610.
Storytelling at St Andrews Museum – Fife Contemporary Art & Craft
Several weeks ago, FCA&C invited well known Scottish storyteller Judy Paterson to visit their exhibition ‘Placement’ at St Andrews Museum to tell tales inspired by the artworks on display. She quickly enthralled all ages of listeners with her stories which cleverly used the exhibits. One story, the tale of ‘Old Cruvie’ from Aberdeenshire, was filmed and you can listen to it now on FCA&C’s YouTube channel. Judy sat beside Claire Curneen’s wonderful terracotta and gold tree sculptures as she told it and the story fitted them so perfectly, it could’ve been written for them! Judy is pictured standing between two of Stephen Bird’s ceramic sculptures which featured in a song she sang at the end.
Watch out for Judy returning to St Andrews Museum during FCA&C’s next exhibition there early in 2012.
