Five are chosen for Caithness artists-in-residence initiative
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Five local artists have been selected for a six-month project in which they will work with different communities across Caithness.
It is hoped that CAIR: Caithness Artists in Residence, led by Lyth Arts Centre (LAC), will play an important part in the county's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Five professional artists, all based in Caithness, will work with their matched communities on a programme of work that will explore local themes and issues and seek "creative responses".
LAC says the five chosen artists have a range of backgrounds, skills, experiences and interests, and will be aiming to work with a broad cross-section of the public.
Donna Swanson, an actor and experienced drama facilitator and educator, will be the Thurso artist. She will explore issues raised in the Thurso Locality Plan, a report published in 2019 by Caithness Voluntary Group to identify inequalities in the community.
Donna will be collaborating with young people in and around Thurso, using theatre and film techniques to explore mental health and other issues.
Jeweller and painter Kelly Munro will be the Wick artist. She will be looking at points raised in the Wick Locality Plan, and is particularly interested in working with local young people to explore their maritime heritage and identity through metalwork and design.
Karlyn Sutherland will be the artist for the Lybster area. She will be working specifically with Caithness Community Connections, responding to the Rural Caithness Locality Plan.
Karlyn is an artist and designer working mainly in glass. She originally trained as an architect.
Two of those appointed will be operating across the county.
Joanne B Kaar will be working in collaboration with older people and those who care for the elderly, including professional care providers, volunteers and relatives, to develop an intergenerational project that reconnects the elderly and isolated with the wider community.
Dunnet-based Joanne is an experienced research-based visual artist who often uses traditional craft techniques.
Thurso-based poet and playwright George Gunn will take on the title of Caithness Makar. He will be working across the county with several community partners, delivering writing workshops and developing a community poem called Words on the Wind – exploring what it means to live in Caithness today.
Two new music partnership community residences will be announced later in the year.
Each artist is employed to work approximately 1.5 days a week for seven months, and will receive support from the LAC team.
LAC co-director Charlotte Mountford said that despite the latest restrictions all the artists are forging ahead, adapting their plans and working closely with community partners and the team at Lyth to develop the programme.
“A big aim of the project is to support local artists and creatives in this difficult period for the creative industries, while simultaneously supporting the Caithness community to collectively process our present and imagine the future,” Ms Mountford said.
“We had more than 20 eligible applications, and it was a difficult decision as all the ideas and projects were brilliant, but the group we have assembled here – plus the two further musicians we will announce shortly – represents a cross-section of experiences, locations and skills and will be a really important task force as we consider a cultural and community-focused coronavirus recovery in Caithness.”
The project is funded by the Inspiring Scotland Creative Communities Programme 2020-2021 and the Scottish Government Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund.
