workshops for local artists and arts groups to get involved in UK city of Culture 2025 bid

Written By Kevin Harrison

Online engagement sessions are being held to give the local creative scene in Stirling the chance to shape the area’s UK City of Culture 2025 bid, through the Scene Stirling pathways online programme.

Official UK City of Culture 2025 Bidding graphic

Since early 2020, the pathways programme has explored creative opportunities for the area, supporting artists with workshops, talks and training on a wide range of subjects from presenting your business online to addressing climate change and equalities.

Now we are calling on the local arts community across Stirlingshire to come forward and share their views as to why Stirling area should be the next UK City of Culture.

Join us to find out more about what the bidding process is and to share your perspectives on what culture and the arts can contribute to Stirling’s future.

Whether you run a festival, make or sell art or run music classes, please come join us on this platform to share what culture means to you, the kind of arts and cultural activity you want to see grown and drawn to Stirling, and tell us your aspirations for the year of culture.

The sessions will be held on zoom, with booking via Eventbrite.

Artists and the wider Stirling community are also encouraged to fill out the City of Culture survey. This closes on the 19th December and is a quickfire way to get your views across.

The questionnaire should only take 5-10 to complete and is open to everyone who lives, works or studies in the Stirling Council area, from Fallin to Crianlarich.

The survey can be accessed on the Engage Stirling website, while paper copies can be filled in at libraries across the region, including the Council’s mobile service – ensuring everyone has an opportunity to have their say.

Kevin Harrison
Kevin Harrison is the Director of Artlink Central, a charity and social enterprise designing creative experiences in conjunction with artists, public bodies and led by disadvantaged or marginalised people particularly in health, social care or criminal justice contexts. . Kevin joined the organisation five years ago and was previously Arts and Wellbeing Manager with Sense Scotland since 2006, supporting a Scotland-wide participation in the arts for disabled people with communication needs. Kevin managed the development of a range of arts projects including Threads and Found in Translation, projects exploring cultural diversity and disability, and Leaving New Craigs, a life history project in Inverness for people leaving the last long stay hospital in Scotland. He managed a national arts and wellbeing team and supported the establishment of a strong creative programme in the TouchBase, a new inclusive base for people and communities supported by Sense Scotland in the south side of Glasgow. Kevin who has a degree in theatre and film from Roehampton University and who undertook postgraduate studies in Arts Management and Policy at Birkbeck University of London is also a trustee for Scottish Prison Arts Network, chair of Dementia Friendly Forth Valley as part of a Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) programme. Previous posts include freelance editor and administration roles with key national disability arts organisation, Shape Arts and public sector roles in Arts Development and as Business Manager, Creative Academy, Slough Borough Council, supporting a multi-million pound EQUAL creative industries inclusion programme . He also has experience of managing Music 4 Slough, a Youth Music Action Zone.
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