Artist appointed to work with Aberdeenshire farmers to cultivate creativity and tackle mental health issues
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An award-winning artist has been appointed to take forward an innovative public art programme which seeks to tackle mental health issues in the agricultural community.
“The Art of Farming” is a project developed by Live Life Aberdeenshire’s Cultural Engagement team in partnership with Aberdeenshire’s farming community, National Farmers Union of Scotland and Robert Gordon University.
It has grown out of an increasing awareness of issues around poor mental health within the agricultural sector, and a desire to explore innovative and positive ways to improve farmers’ health and work-life balance.
Glasgow-based artist Nic Green will develop the project over the next nine months, bringing together what is anticipated to be a fertile mix of art and farming, where artist and farmers will share and exchange skills, knowledge, experiences and stories, and develop creative responses together.
Engagement in the arts is well documented in its ability to improve overall wellbeing for individuals and its power to build meaningful social connection.
Nic Green is a socially-engaged performance maker working across theatre, dance and site specific/outdoor performance, live art and ceramics.
Her past work has received several accolades.
She carries an interest and experience in working with clay into the process and is hopeful that a hands-on investigation of the land upon which these farmers live and work, might yield interesting findings and processes.
“I’m really thrilled to be working with members of the Aberdeenshire farming community to create a collaborative artwork, starting from the ground up,” she said.
“The openness of the project and the willingness of all the partners to enter into the unknown together feels really exciting and unique. I am really looking forward to slowly uncovering what we will make over the next nine months.”
Live Life Aberdeenshire Cultural Development Officer, Sheila Waterhouse, secured funding from Creative Scotland, National Lottery Community Fund and
Aberdeenshire Council’s Developer Obligations for this important and innovative project.
She said: “It has been such a pleasure working with all the partners involved in the development, including farmers.
"The commitment to address the seriousnessof the issues and stories around life/work challenges that have come to light along the way, has been nothing short of uplifting.”
Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s communities committee, councillor Anne Stirling, said: “We want to support communities to be stronger and more connected, and in this case, we are pleased to focus attention on our farming community, which we know is experiencing high levels of stress and pressure in increasingly challenging times for the agricultural industry.
“Health and Wellbeing is a top priority for our Council, and there are countless ways in which our services and our partners are working to promote this. We are continuing to raise awareness and are committed to do everything possible to provide support to diverse communities across Aberdeenshire.”
Nic’s past performance work has received several awards, commissions and recognitions including A Herald Angel, ‘Best Production’ at Dublin Fringe, The Adrian Howells Award
for Intimate Performance, and a Total Theatre Award for Best Physical/Visual Theatre Edinburgh Fringe. She is the recipient of the Inaugural Forced Entertainment Award, in memory of Huw Chadbourn, and was an Associate Artist at National Theatre Scotland between 2017 and 2020.
