A new round of funding by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland has awarded two Aberdeen-based creative projects with £23,632.
Aberdeenshire-based writer, John Bolland has created Pibroch which explores the connections between the climate crisis and the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea which resulted in 167 deaths.
Pibroch is a poetry collection and spoken word performance piece with music and visuals which Mr Bolland has been working on since 2019 due to his background in oil and gas since the 1980s.
Mr Bolland said: “The opportunity Creative Scotland has provided to engage local North East musicians, designers, producers and venues to develop this particular project in rural Aberdeenshire supports the local creative economy and affords the opportunity to share our voices and visions more widely within Scotland and the wider global community.”
Another project is the Jazz at the Blue Lamp which is an organisation of jazz musicians and volunteers that helps spread the awareness and power of jazz music to the public.
Shows are regularly put on at the Blue Lamp venue in Aberdeen’s historic Gallowgate and the funding will go towards staging a special Thursday night concert that will run till the end of 2021.
Jazz at the Blue Lamp previously received support from the Open Fund earlier in the year because of pressure due to Covid-19
‘These awards are creating many invaluable opportunities for people and communities across Scotland to engage with the arts.’
Marisha Addison, chairwoman of Jazz at the Blue Lamp said: “As one of the few promoters of regular jazz events in Scotland we are all delighted to be presenting top-class live music once more and welcoming back our loyal audience.
“The gigs so far have been enthusiastically received and we are looking forward to more great nights at one of the UK’s finest jazz venues.”
The Open Fund awards have awarded over 41 projects across Scotland with £1,019,613 collectively towards creative projects.
Iain Munro, CEO of Creative Scotland said: “It’s great to see so many projects continue to benefit from Open Fund awards.
“Thanks to the generosity of the National Lottery players, who raise £30 million for good causes across the UK every week, these awards are creating many invaluable opportunities for people and communities across Scotland to engage with the arts while enabling artists and creative organisations to develop and grow.”