artists - studios - events - the steeple arts
April 2008 Newsletter
Building
Yes, we're in! The keys were finally handed over on 11th February and we had our first small celebration on the 13th. What a good feeling! Not unexpectedly there are still a few teething problems, but in general everything is beginning to come together.
Project Space
After five years of discussions and planning, the first Town Hall Management committee meeting in the new space was held on 13th February. Committee members who had watched the slow decline of the old Town Hall were especially delighted to see the results of the restoration and the room in use once more.
We have just managed to secure a substantial grant from the Social Economy Development Fund for kitting out the room with a state of the art exhibition system and projector - and blinds for those times when we need respite from the sunlight that normally floods into the room!
Studio Artists
Artists specialising in a variety of disciplines, from painting and ceramics to film making, are now occupying all six studios. The consensus is that they are warm, bright and attractive spaces, and that the benefits of being around other working artists are becoming apparent.
The Steeple - full of People!
On 15th March WASPS organised a Community Open Day to give the public an opportunity to visit The Steeple. Studio artists were available to chat to and to show their work, there was live jazz in the project space, and Bite 'n' Blether provided the food. There was a real buzz around the place and it felt good to see the building brought to life.
FAC Board Training with VONEF
The FAC board has done another day's training with VONEF. It's always helpful to get a different perspective on the organisation and the good folk at VONEF offer clear and sensible advice.
Classes
A series of FAC workshops in partnership with The University of St Andrews started as soon as the keys were handed over. Results have been mixed. Some classes have been very well received, but others have not run at all because of insufficient numbers. Uncertainty about the opening date of The Steeple and the resulting difficulties in planning ahead were a major factor in this, and hopefully lessons have been learned. The University is in the process of compiling a database with a view to re-advertising the classes in the autumn.
Plum Job Residency
The third residency showcase, On the Move, was on display in the Project Space from 16th - 29th February. A series of banners designed by Susan at FCAC, highlighting the projects resident artist Jeanette has carried out with the community partners, was hung around the room, and a short film, the outcome of Newburgh Primary School pupils' documentation of Weaving in Nature at Lindores Abbey, was shown. It was a good opportunity to see what problems there might be with using the old Town Hall as an exhibition space - and apart from the light streaming in and making projection impossible, and the fact that the walls cannot be screwed into, it worked out fine!! Thank goodness for the SEDF funding.
The final showcase, Tangles, which ran from 24th - 30th March, tested the setting as an installation space as members of FAC were invited by Jeanette to create magnificent giant weaves that intersected one another and spanned the whole room. Images will be on the website soon.
Documentary Film
Throughout the residency, four FAC members have been documenting Jeanette's progress in digital video and stills, with the help of Partners-funded training in filming and editing by video artist and FAC member Alison Philp. Film maker Holger Mohaupt was commissioned to pull the footage together into a short documentary piece that highlights the quality and range of work made, the reflections of some of the people involved, Jeanette's unique approach and the beauty of the Newburgh landscape. The film was premiered during the final showcase, and we are considering adding to it once Jeanette's final show is installed in July, with a view to giving a more complete picture of the residency. Thanks to the interviewees who have already contributed.
Monsieur Rameau's Great Great Great Great Great Great Grey Grandson meets Mr Mountain's Daughter
Fife Arts Cooperative is delighted to announce a fabulous benefit gig with "people's Poet Laureate" John Hegley and internationally acclaimed classical cellist, Jeanette Mountain.
NOT TO BE MISSED, BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!!
It's on Friday 13th June at 7.30 in Kirkcaldy's Adam Smith Theatre. Tickets cost £10 and are available at the theatre, from www.attfife.org.uk or by phone on 01592 583302. The box office receipts will be used to fund FAC activities and John and Jeanette are offering their services free of charge. Thanks to Alison Mountain for coming up with the idea and organising this unique and very special event.
Shows Coming Up
The next show in the Project Space is Sheila Watson's memorial exhibition A Life in Colour, from 14th - 23rd May. Sheila was a Director of FAC from the very early days until her untimely death in October last year. The exhibition will showcase examples of her prolific talent with displays of quilts, jewellery, garments, paintings and much more.
As The Rivers Run is a joint exhibition of the work of textile artists Rosemary Campbell and Alison King. Sponsored by Tay Salmon Fisheries, it will run from 7th - 22nd June.
Jeanette Sendler's Plum Job Residency Exhibition will follow on shortly thereafter.Goodbye Susie
Finally, Fife Arts Cooperative would like to extend a huge thank you to Susie Mitchinson, our administrator for the last year, who has now departed for pastures new. Susie took on a mammoth task and gave her all to help us through a difficult period.
If you have yet to visit the Steeple and would like to do so, get in touch and one of us will be happy to show you around. We look forward to seeing you at a class, exhibition or other event in the coming months.
