Two communities up for national art award

Dec 6 2012 by Patricia Lewis, Galloway News

Two Stewartry communities are in the running for a national arts prize.

Gatehouse and The Glenkens have been selected as finalists for the Creative Place Awards.

And they are in with the chance of winning £50,000. The communities will be competing for the prize in the under 2,500 residents category.

They face stiff competition from the other finalists, which include, Pathhead in Midlothian, Rosneath Peninsula in Argyll and Bute and Unst in Shetland.

The awards, run by Creative Scotland, were set-up to recognise the cultural offerings of communities north of the border.

Ken Smyth, of the Gatehouse Development Initiative (GDI), said: “It is very exciting to be nominated. We have never entered before and decided to give it a go this year.

“Gatehouse has a vibrant arts community that already provides a rich programme of arts events for the local community and visitors, ranging across music, literature, drama and storytelling and visual arts.

“Whilst well supported by the local community the viability of this programme depends on increasing visitors to Gatehouse from elsewhere in the region and from further afield.”

The Gatehouse bid was submitted by the GDI, The Mill on the Fleet, The Bakehouse, Gatehouse Festival Music and the Gatehouse Artists Co-op. The prize, if won, would be spent on developing the art events in Gatehouse through better programming, marketing and the creation of a business-arts partnership.

The Glenkens plans to use the money to create new art works, including 3D images being projected onto the area’s six hydro plants and dams. The winners will be announced on January 23.