COMMUNITY BANNERS FOR STIRLING 900: RURAL YOUNG PEOPLE GET CREATIVE

Written By Kevin Harrison

When Stirling’s GOSSIP Collective began a partnership project with Artlink Central and Stirling Council to create unique banners for Stirling 900’s finale event at Stirling Castle, it was exciting to see how quickly the project captured the imagination of local groups and creatives. One such artist, Jodie Fowler March who has an education background and has recently established a new initiative, Create Club, based in rural Stirlingshire came to an initial workshop and has run with the inspiration of Stirling 900 reaching young people from across the Carse of Stirling.

Over February, Jodie set up hands-on sessions with Callander Connect, Kippen and Port of Menteith Village Halls to explore how to craft unique printed textiles using recycled materials, capturing the spirit & creativity of our rural communities. The artwork will be featured on banners celebrating Stirling’s 900th anniversary at the Castle.

Here are a gallery of some of the results:

Create Club Programme for Stirling 900 in February 2025

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.
Previous

STIRLING 900 CELEBRATIONS TO CLIMAX WITH SPECTACULAR PIPE BAND PARADE
Next

OPPORTUNITY TO DESIGN BANNERS FOR STIRLING’S 900TH BIG BIRTHDAY BASH