TOLBOOTH TAKEOVER

Ken Elliott’s stunning tree sculpture is one of five digital projects commissioned by Scene Stirling.

Scene Stirling’s first ever digital cohort will takeover the Tolbooth this September with an immersive audio-visual exhibition featuring dance, design, sculpture, drawings and stories. 

The exhibition is the culmination of a lockdown project, funded by Creative Scotland and Stirling Council, addressing the impact of Covid-19 on Stirling’s creative community. 

Kevin Harrison from Scene Stirling said: “When Covid-19 hit last year and galleries, shops and theatres had to close, many artists and creatives had to quickly adapt to working digitally.

“To help with that transition we awarded commissions to five local artists, including creative writer Izzy Brims, choreographer and dancer Malcolm Sutherland, illustrator David Galletly, sculptor Ken Elliott and multi-disciplinary artist Jules McAllister.”

Each creative was matched with a leading industry mentor to ensure the success of their project and received a £1,800 bursary, including professional training to help build their digital skills and knowledge with industry experts Laura Griffin and Ramy El-Bergamy.

MALCOLM SUTHERLAND

Malcolm Sutherland is a choreographer and dancer from Dunblane with thirteen years professional experience performing across the globe.

He has created a unique, audio-visual experience incorporating dance, visual imagery and sound which members of the public will be able to experience first-hand in the Tolbooth gallery. 

Malcolm said: “The commission has allowed me to develop a purely digital work for the first time in my career. It has also helped me to connect with my local arts scene in Stirling and have my work shown in a local context.”

 IZZY BRIMS

University of Stirling creative writing graduate Izzy Brims has written a series of stories showcasing five creative women living with disabilities from Stirlingshire.

‘Worthi’ magazine acts as a platform for fellow disabled creatives within the Stirling area to discuss their work and raise awareness of their disabilities, chronic health conditions and mental health.

Izzy said: “I wanted to create this magazine for fellow disabled creatives. We are a marginalised community that could really benefit from having our voice and our work pushed forward. Worthi will make sure we are not hidden in the shadows, that we are not overlooked.”

KEN ELLIOTT

Sculptor Ken Elliott, whose work has been displayed by the Engine Shed and Stirling University Art Collection, only discovered his talent two years ago.

His artistic practice quickly developed from pen and ink hand-coloured drawings to computer-controlled wood carving and metal sculpture. Ken has created a series of natural world-themed sculptures, which will be presented in 360-degree video.

Ken said: “The thing that has really been useful about the commissions is how it has helped build my profile in Stirling. I’ve been able to exhibit my tree sculpture in the Smith Art Gallery and Museum garden this summer, where it can still be viewed.”

DAVID GALLETLY

David Galletly is an artist, illustrator and graphic designer from Stirling.

He has curated, created and designed a new podcast series called ‘See Saw’ featuring local creative professionals – promoting his home city as a great place to live and work.

David said: “Throughout the series I’ll be speaking to different creatives about their process. I’m interested in getting into the specifics of how people make work, from the initial idea to the end result. Creating a podcast is something totally new for me and it’s been good to push myself out of my comfort zone.”

JULES MCALLISTER

Jules McAllister, or Rue Five, is a self-taught artist originally from Stirling, currently living in Glasgow. He has designed a virtual exhibition tour which includes multiple pieces of artwork, both drawn and photographed, alongside audio and interactive pieces.

Jules said: “Working digitally has changed how I create work. It has allowed me to work smaller and quicker. As it became more minimal, I also minimised the colours to basically black and white. I became interested in how you could create the aesthetic of old print digitally.”

DIGITAL EXHIBITION 

The Digital Commissions exhibition was launched on 3 September and runs at the Tolbooth until 18 September.

Here are some images from the launch, taken by Anne Sproul of Vantage Points creative network.

You can also find out more about our digital candidates on our Supported Creatives video showcase page.