Stirling Photography Festival 2024: Roots & Rituals

Written By Kevin Harrison

Photograph by Alexander Bland

The Stirling Photography Festival has launched its 2024 Roots & Rituals programme with a fantastic exhibition at the Tolbooth, 'What Presence' & 'Keeping the Stories Alive'. Festival director Janie Meikle Bland tells us more.

The Tolbooth is the perfect home for this collection of iconic photographs by Scottish photographer Harry Papadopoulos and a celebration of local music, bands and venues inspired by local author and musician, David Meldrum Lowe. David’s book, Keeping the Stories Alive, is quite possibly the definitive Social History and Who’s Who of musicians, entertainers and venues in the Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire areas.

As the festival embraces Stirling’s 900th birthday year with a programme celebrating the people and the place, it was fitting the opening event brought together local photographers, musicians and enthusiasts to reconnect and to reminisce.

The exhibition has been curated again this year by Malcom Dickson of Street Level Photoworks of Glasgow, together with Ken McCluskey of The Bluebells, who jointly manage the collection on behalf of Harry. Malcolm and David also worked with local enthusiasts to gather a remarkable collection of memorabilia – together making a treasure trove of an exhibition that deserves to be visited again and again.

Malcolm Dickson and exhibition collaborators. Photo by Jade Scott.

On Saturday 17th August there was a panel session with journalist and broadcaster Nicola Meighan followed by an acoustic gig by The Bluebells in the Tolbooth

The Exhibition is open until 28th September, 202, with more information here

Now in its eighth year the photography festival will run throughout August and September. With a programme inspired by our theme of Roots & Rituals, we are holding events and exhibitions at venues across Stirlingshire, together with photographers, writers, musicians, story tellers, historians and artisans. 

The full programme of events and exhibitions is available to book view and here.

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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