Project: Scene Bannockburn and East Stirling
Brief for Co-commissioning an artist/group of artists/creatives to design and run a pilot of community art projects in the communities of Bannockburn, Plean, Cowie, Fallin, Throsk, and neighbouring areas.
Timeline:
Application deadline 8th March 2021
Panel decisions 12th March 2021
Projects to be delivered in Spring 2021
Background to the project
Scene Stirling, Stirling’s Place Partnership, aims to stimulate an inclusive creative environment in the Stirling area. The focus of our work is to support creative communities that operate outside of the city centre, breaking down barriers to participation and development.
Bannockburn and the eastern villages - including Plean, Cowie, Fallin, Throsk - have been identified as key priority areas for Scene Stirling to promote opportunities and provide support to the art scene.
Goals of ‘Scene: Bannockburn and East Stirling’
1. To strengthen links and connections between artists, creatives and cultural organisations and the communities of Bannockburn, Plean, Cowie, Fallin and Throsk.
2. To provide professional support and invest in opportunities that promote creative partnership and energise the local arts and culture scene.
Scene Stirling launched the project in December 2020 and established a steering group composed of local artists/creatives, and cultural organisations operating in the areas, primarily Bannockburn House and Macrobert Arts Centre. The goal of the project is to commission art projects that are co-created and respond to the identified needs of local communities. As a preliminary stage, the steering group identified the need to pilot proposals at a smaller scale, hence the development of the mini commissions’ idea.
Details of the mini commissions
The purpose of the mini commissions is to work towards developing and shaping final proposals for arts projects in collaboration with the steering group and the resident community. Activities proposed will need to promote social engagement, collaboration, and connectivity. Proposals should be developed in response to one or more of the themes that the steering group has identified, and interpret them creatively to seek input from the wider community and explore reactions and expectations.
Identified themes were:
- Social history
- Natural landscape
- Making sense of the place (East Stirling villages as ‘in-between’ places, part of Stirling yet unique in their own character)
The idea is to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of these areas while promoting their interconnectedness. This should bring together the creative community, encourage effective collaboration, and reduce the perception of the artist as the ‘outsider’.
The projects proposed can be delivered in any art form if the interactive nature of the activity is at their core. The goal will be to translate these pilots – at a successive stage, not as part of this mini-commission - into larger projects to be delivered as a trail, or travelling programme, within the East Stirling area. For this reason, projects that are easily replicable and/or scalable should be preferred. Artists can work individually or collectively. The ideal candidates will be residents of the East Stirling villages or have a strong, demonstrable connection to the area.
Applications should include:
- A CV/bio
- A short proposal for the project, highlighting what theme/s it responds to, and clearly expressing an understanding of the strong community focus of the commission (no more than 500 words)
- Examples of previous relevant work
Applications will be assessed by a panel composed of representatives from Scene Stirling, Stirling Council, and Macrobert Arts Centre. Applicants should also be open to discussing their proposal with the Bannockburn and East Stirling Creative Network steering group, due to the strongly collaborative nature of the project and to ensure a transparent process.
Budget: up to 8 artists @ £370 for 2 days/artist (supported by Macrobert Arts Centre).
Please submit your application at hello@scenestirling.com
For questions/support with the application process, you can get in touch with Silvia Sinibaldi at silvia@artlinkcentral.org.