Emma Ainsley, artist, and John Phillips, musician, will be exploring the Physicality of Creativity with people living in care homes and in the community of Orkney, thanks to £18,871 of National Lottery funding.  With over 20-years’ experience working in front line roles in care environments and nine years of collaborative arts and music practice, they’re delivering 30 sessions into care homes and 18 sessions into community spaces over 18 months.

These sessions will focus on improvisatory audio-visual laid-back ‘jamming’, as well as a drawing-focused element from guest artist Diana Leslie, creating a unique shared creative experience.  They’ll be working alongside service users, staff and two disabled consultants to support them in developing the tools and approaches used. 

Emma said:

“This way of working offers rich opportunities for us to develop our practice and for folk who often don’t get opportunities to be involved in professional creative activity, to have agency and meaningful involvement in the exploration and creation of working together.” 

£902,216 of National Lottery funding has been shared to Scotland’s local communities from care homes to creative centres in the latest round of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund awards. 

The Scottish Crannog Centre is currently building a new sustainable museum and bringing artists to work with the build team to investigate new ways of using natural resources and collaborative creating.  Their work will produce a new permanent piece at the museum heralded by a public performance on the grand reopening on 31 March.  

With £14,580 of National Lottery funding for their project called Creating Together – Now and Forever, artists, musicians, the Maryhill Integration Network choir, singers, storytellers and composers will explore themes of home, togetherness, safety, community and connecting to the landscape with sustainability.  This opportunity will allow connection and skill sharing between art forms and specialisms to develop their personal practice while providing a key local cultural moment for the area.  

 Ceòl is Craic, secured £86,019 of National Lottery funding to boost the profile of Gaelic arts and culture by launching a new programme of seven Gaelic-language-based music events featuring an eclectic mix of genres and diverse mix of established and emerging artists.  

In collaboration with Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, National Youth Orchestras of Scotland, Ando Glaso, The Gaelic Books Council, Celtic Connections and The Bothy Society, the programme will explore various themes around Gaelic culture, reinforcing that Gaelic is a relevant medium of expression in all areas of arts and culture.

 Paul Burns, Interim Director of Arts at Creative Scotland, said:

“The whole community benefits when people have access to arts and creativity and it’s more important than ever that there are accessible creative endeavours to people across Scotland. 

“Thanks to National Lottery funding, these highlighted projects reach out to people who otherwise might not have opportunities to engage with creativity, improving their wellbeing and belonging.  This local-level investment is exactly the type of engagement that the Open Fund supports throughout the year.”