Northern Futures projects to support artists in post-Covid landscape
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A VISUAL arts magazine has launched a broad range of initiatives to support local artists working in a cultural landscape redrawn by the pandemic.
Following on from its involvement in the lockdown project, Moray: Wonderful Things, currently under way with Moray Arts Development Engagement (M:ADE), Art North magazine has launched Northern Futures to assist, promote and connect Moray and Highland artists.
The strands of support being developed include paid freelance graduate opportunities, a critical writing mentoring scheme, collaboration on community projects, an annual open exhibition starting next year, and a scheme called FutureNorthFocus aimed at widening exposure for talented pre-university art students who might well require more guidance than pre-Covid generations.
Ian McKay, Art North editor, said: "The intention of our Northern Futures initiative is to offer a range of support projects that address many of the challenges that will be faced by artists in a complex cultural environment following the Covid-19 pandemic.
"As the Scottish Artists Union has highlighted, visual artists in the Far North of Scotland are predicted to be the slowest to see economic recovery, with Moray the area most exposed to job losses, according to analysis from the Scottish Government's chief economic adviser.
"Northern Futures is currently in development, but we are devising a range of ways in which we can offer specific support to artists and their communities."
The planned Northern Futures Annual Open Exhibition will be an extension of an online gallery launched in April, called Projectroom2020, set up to fill the gap in exhibition opportunities during the pandemic. Work is under way to establish a selection committee and curatorial agenda for the inaugural open next year. Anyone interested in playing an organisational role should contact Art North Projects.
Art North has also pledged to help promote small business arts venues as many now face an uncertain future. The pandemic has already forced closure for some venues, while others are re-evaluating the way they will deliver their programmes in future.
A new North Network email bulletin is also being created as a mutual support network and information exchange. To sign up for emails, get more information on Northern Futures, or learn about upcoming workshops, visit https://artnorth-magazine.com/northern-futures and https://artnorth-magazine.com/workshops-events.
Meanwhile, submissions are still being sought for Moray: Wonderful Things, an online exhibition of photograph contributions from Moray residents planned for August. People are being asked to submit photographs of everyday objects that have come to represent their isolation experience during the pandemic, which will go to form a visual memento of the region in lockdown. Visit https://www.morayartsdevelopmentengagement.org/get-involved for more information. The closing date for entries is Friday, July 24.
