c.o Ostaig House . Sleat . Isle of Skye . IV44 8RQ
01471 844207
The Skye Festival ~ Fèis an Eilein
Winner of the Highland Community Project Awards 2014
HIGHLAND CULTURE
TAKE PRIDE, TAKE PART INVESTMENT PROGRAMME
A Proposal
The Background
SEALL ~ Skye events for All ~ wishes to submit this proposal for a development project under the ‘Take Pride, Take Art’ Investment Programme
SEALL works in the south end of Skye but has a reputation for invigorating the cultural life of visitors and residents over a much larger area. It is the liveliest rural touring promoting organisation in the UK and sells approximately 4,000 tickets a year.SEALL can demonstrate a long history of cultural development, festivals and partnerships, laid out below.
This proposal is focused on a small, but very lively, Highland community. However with SEALL’s experience this local strategic intervention will have lasting legacy outcomes, and be a microcosm of such a breadth and scale, to be a community-led role-model for wider strategic change across the Highlands.
1.The lead organisation
SEALL ~ Skye Events for All
Ostaig House, Sleat, Isle of Skye IV44 8RQ
01471 844207
A Company Limited by Guarantee 165147
recognised as a Charity in Scotland SC 024859
2.Other partners who would be involved in delivering the proposal
Given the limited timescale between receiving information about this programme and the deadline, none of the following have been formally approached and no agreements have been established.However, many of them were partners in SEALL’s Cultural Tourism Project, so that we have a positive historic relationship to build on.
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig – Short Courses, Gaelic Visual Arts Officer, Marketing,Development departments
Visit Sleat, the area tourism initiative, part of Sleat Community Trust
Sleat Community Council
Clan Donald Skye Visitor Centre
Skye Triathlon Project
Tormore Forest Children’s Woodland Project
Sleat Medical Centre
Skye Swing Jazz Festival
FOTS records
Lorayne McLucas Performing Arts
Skye Festival ~ Fèis an Eilein
Sleat Arts and Crafts Collective
Bun-sgoil Shlèite ~ Sleat Primary School
Atlas Arts
Lochalsh Arts Network
Comunn Eachdraidh Shlèite ~ Sleat Local History Society
Camuscross and Duisdale Initiative Community Hub
Sleat Wednesday Lunch club
Suitable partners from a similar rural areas within the Highlands.
3.Summary of proposal
The link between arts, culture and health is well documented - only recently did an article in The Herald lead on this paradigm.SEALL hasa history of bringing community partners together. We also aim to work with other Highland communities who may be expressing a similar desire for development in their area.
Financial strength
SEALL is about to launch a two-year Cultural Economy Development project, again funded by Creative Scotland. It is intended that SEALL can align some of this organisational budget. We also aim to attract or securing partnership funding.
SEALL is currently run on a volunteer basis, with the lead Director offering three days a week and a contracted administrator for two days a week. This project will therefore enhance SEALL’s development as a sustainable arts organisation and in no way contribute to any ongoing administration costs.
SEALL’s main programming is largely funded by Creative Scotland, currently on a year-to year basis. It has, in the past, accessed other funds for special projects.
Collaboration, partnerships and networking
SEALL has just completed a Cultural Tourism Project, funded by Creative Scotland, the only rural arts organisation in Scotland to undertake such a project.In this we demonstrated the promotion of purposeful collaborations between SEALL’s events, local artists, creative practitioners and cultural organisations sharing ideas, experience, spaces and services, joint promotions, and publications.
The Cultural Tourism project also created partnerships with the areas cultural and other sectors, notably in tourism and the business community:
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Short Courses programme and the Marketing Department
Visit Sleat, the tourism department of Sleat Community Trust
Clan Donald Skye, the south Skye Visitor Centre
We also linked in with various community cultural groups such as Sleat Local History Society and local community halls.
A report of the Cultural Tourism Project is available.
The Vision
SEALL, with various partners in the area, will undertake a programme of development work which addresses issues raised in our work over the last two years, and responds to the opportunities that have been identified. The programme will encourage partnership working between the Local Authority, the local cultural sector and Creative Scotland and a wide range of local community and health organisations.
SEALL will contribute significantly towards the achievement of the outcomes:-
- The size and diversity of our audiences for cultural experiences and products - generated from within the Highland area and externally - will grow and expand.
- Access to cultural experiences (as audiences and participants) will increase across all sectors of the community by targeting in particular new, disadvantaged, excluded and other priority groups.
- The infrastructure of our cultural capital assets is sustained
- External audiences for artists, producers and products have grown
Areas of Development
Education
This will be through greater engagement with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig as an academic asset. SEALL already works with the traditional Music Department and there is the opportunity to develop this, and work with other parts of the College.
SEALL also has a good relationship with the Gaelic-medium school of Bun-sgoil Shlèite.
Through these links our project will widen access to indigenous and contemporary Highland cultural experiences, both for performers and audiences.
Health
SEALL knows that there is a desire from within the practitioners of Sleat Medical Centre for opportunities to develop health-related cultural activities. Even our GP has been known to take to the stage!
Social services
There is a great opportunity to create partnerships with both the NHS Social Services and community-led initiatives to widen access to arts and culture. Through this SEALL has the potential to reach people who are not currently engaged with SEALL and other local cultural providers or who have very limited engagement. We can address inequalities and lack of opportunity.
Cultural Tourism
As a direct result of the Cultural Tourism project there has been a substantial increase in audience interest from outwith the area.Through the ‘Take Pride, Take Art’ Investment Programme SEALL will grow audiences from within and outwith the Highland area, and increase access and participation.
Marketing
SEALL already manages a highly professional marketing strategy, limited only by the amount of administrative time available for its management. This serves all events in south Skye. Full development will allow an increase in exposure to visiting companies and enhance the marketing of artist studios and more ephemeral art exhibitions and collections
A strong sense of place and community
SEALL will develop the already strong sense of place.
Actively engage local communities and community organisations in planning and delivery
The project will create a sound and sustainable administration to enable local community organisations to work in partnership for planning and delivery. The re-emergence of the community-led Fèis an Eilein / Skye Festival in 2014 is a fine example of this.
Particular projects
The purpose is not necessarily to create more events but to build on what SEALL and other’s offer. A range of opportunities offer themselves:
- Develop the area’s Cultural Tourism with the main partners
- Develop dance workshops as part of the Skye Swing Jazz Festival
- Enable easier access to events through local transport initiatives
- Develop grater attendance at family events through the Primary school
- Offer better access and information to the older population through lunch clubs
- Develop outdoor cultural links through Sleat Community Trust’s Tormore Forest and the outdoor club for young people.
- Develop an arts and craft circuit with local arts businesses
- Integrate the music and Gaelic arts output of Sabhal Mòr with community aspirations
- Offer opportunities for young aspiring musicians and performers as opening acts for events
- Offer training in lighting, sound and arts administration for school leavers
- Develop ways to reduce the carbon footprint of events and workshops
- Develop global access to events through internet streaming in sound and vision
4.Explanation of how the proposal contributes to the Growing Audiences and the cross-cutting themes
AudiencesSEALL will demonstrate methods for increasing the size and diversity of audiences and share these with similar communities and for the benefit of the wider Highlands
Access
SEALL will create and develop methodologies to increase access to cultural experiences (as audiences and participants across all sectors of the community. This experience of targeting in particular new, disadvantaged, excluded and other priority groups will be shared across the Highlands
Capital assets
The local infrastructure of Highland’s cultural will be strengthened and sustained and our ability to do that become a people model of other areas.
External audiences
The ground-work developed through the Cultural Tourism project will be developed and again become a role-model across the Highlandsfor the benefit of artists, producers and products.
5.Evidence of need/ opportunity
The wider evidence of need is shown in a plethora of national cultural writings. Within this project we have no time for pre-submission specific research. However the recommendations within SEALL’s Cultural Tourism Report clearly indicate the strength of purpose within the tourism sector.There is clear evidence of need from current audiences, from the high level of tickets sales (as we write, SEALL is about to promote its 5th sell-out concert/theatre within 3 weeks). There is clear evidence of need for performances through the large number of potential events SEALL has to turn down.
An early part of SEALL’s Cultural Economy Project currently about to start will also provide further evidence of need.
6.Anticipated main outcomes and strategic/ long term impacts
- SEALL will become a sustainable, leading community-led arts development organisation
- SEALL will become a role-model for other community development
- SEALL will demonstrated the strength of community-led cultural development
- The wider Highlands will have a good example of locally-led strategic work
- Partnerships will be created across the Highlands between similar cultural communities.
- The links between arts, cultural, health, education, community well-being and cultural tourism will the strengthened.
7.Organisation/individual’s service delivery track record
SEALL has been a leader in rural arts events promoting since 1991 and is recognised as the liveliest volunteer run such organisation in the UK.SEALL organise a full programme of over 50 events through the year.
This includes the two-month long Fèis an Eilein or Skye Festival. The Festival was named as Winner of the Highland Community Project Awards 2014 by the Highland Third Sector. It has previously won the Talisker Award and other nominations.SEALL is also co-organiser of the very successful four-day Skye Swing Jazz Festival.
In 2014 and 2015, SEALL supported the development of the community-led ‘Cèol on the Croft’ festival in Kilmuir, north Skye.
SEALL has just completed a two year Cultural Tourism Project, funded by Creative Scotland, the only rural arts organisation in Scotland to undertake such a project.SEALL is about to launch a two-year Cultural Economy Development project, again funded by Creative Scotland.
SEALL has a small but well established administration which will be developed through this application. This consists of 4 Directors, one 3-day a week volunteer Executive Director and 2-days a week administration.
The project will be led by Duncan MacInnes, who established SEALL in 1991. Duncan has been involved in rural arts development across the Highlands and Scotland, through his work with the Promoters Arts Network and through sitting on two of the Scottish Arts Council’s funding committee. He wrote the ‘Don’t Panic’ guide book for Promoters for the National Rural Touring Forum and for the Scottish Arts Council. He is a board member of Comar on Mull.
8. Address equalities and inclusion
SEALL has a ‘Statement of Intent ~ Ensurance of Equalities available on request’
9.Indicative income and expenditure
Income
Highland Council Take Part, Take Pride Project 44,000
Own resources, through Cultural Economy Project 4,000
Other sources 4,000
Total £ 52,000
Expenditure
1 year part-time contract local and Highland partnership manager 15,000
1 year part-time contract new-audience manager 15,000
1 year part-time contractinformation research 12,000
Office space, travel, marketing and other administration costs 10,000
Total £ 52,000