Nuts and bolts of the arts bolstered by £160,000 grants

The Scottish Arts Council has given a series of awards to projects featuring flexible staging, ticketing systems, research and a permanent link between an island theatre and its café/bar.

Kilmaronock Millennium Association in Gartocharn received £33,000 towards the cost of new staging, which will allow producers to rearrange the seating to suit each performance. A further boost to the Association’s facilities includes new lighting, curtains and improved disabled access through the installation of a lift.

The Gable End Theatre Company in Hoy, Orkney, received £19,000 to build an extension to link the theatre with the company’s café/bar. Gable End has played host to numerous blues, folk and local musicians from across Scotland including Harem Scarem.

Cumbernauld Theatre will begin a major overhaul of its IT system with a grant of £60,000. They will install a new ticketing and flexible box-office system to improve its service to audiences as well as develop a better marketing system for its productions.

The Crawford Arts Centre in St Andrews will review its marketing plans as well as introduce new promotional plans with an award of £15,000.

The final grant has been made to the Deveron Festival, which received £29,000 towards the cost of a three-year programme. Based in Aberdeenshire, the Festival began as a small series of annual concerts. This award will allow the Festival to increase its concert programme and expand its education strategy. The Deveron Festival actively seeks community involvement and, having secured three-year funding, it hopes to build new partnerships across the local area.

Graham Berry, Director of the Scottish Arts Council, welcomed the new funding and added: ‘Innovative projects like these help to fulfil our aim of bringing the pleasures of the arts to the whole of Scotland. By reinforcing the network of community activity, making sure that the facilities are of good standard and that the nuts and bolts of marketing are in place, we hope to build a strong foundation that will shape our ambitions for the years to come. Quality and accessibility remain key priorities for the Scottish Arts Council.’

Notes to editors

1. The Scottish Arts Council champions and sustains the arts for Scotland, investing £56 million from Scottish Executive and National Lottery funding to support and develop artistic excellence and creativity throughout Scotland.

2. Kilmaronock Millennium Association was set up in 1998 to build and operate the new community hall in Gartocharn, on the shores of Loch Lomond.

3. Gable End Theatre Company was established in September 2001. The theatre buildings were converted from a group of disused school buildings and the venue serves an adult population of 760.

4. Cumbernauld Theatre delivers performing arts programmes as well as producing national and international touring shows.

5.Crawford Arts Centre serves the resident, tourist and university population of East Fife.

6. The Deveron Festival was established in 1996 and is a volunteer organisation of professional musicians based in Banff.

Contact email(s)

media.office@scottisharts.org.uk

Issued by: Scottish Arts Council