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Exciting programme will mark 10 years of Haddo Arts Festival


By David Porter

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Seeing Haddo in a new Light
Seeing Haddo in a new Light

Working in partnership Haddo Arts, the National Trust for Scotland and Haddo Country Park Forum are hosting a programme of events from October 8 – 17, showcasing both local and international art in stunning Haddo House and Country Park to celebrate 10 years of Haddo Arts Festival.

Katy Neithercut, the National Trust for Scotland’s operations manager for Aberdeenshire North said: “The Trust is so pleased to be playing its part in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Haddo Arts Festival, especially as our charity is also celebrating a big birthday this year – our 90th.

"The house and the people who lived here have always had such a connection to art and music so it’s wonderful to be bringing that to life for our visitors and we hope to welcome the many people who love this place, for this special programme.”

The programme is:

Lights on Haddo: Friday, October 8, 7.30pm – no booking necessary

A unique spectacle in light and sound on Friday 8 kicks off the celebration of 10 years of Haddo Arts Festival, using images from Festivals past and present projected onto the exterior of Haddo House and accompanied by music and song.

This is a one-night unique experience that should not be missed!

Art in the Park: Saturday 9 - Saturday 16 – no booking necessary

Haddo Country Park are proud to again be part of this year's Haddo Arts Festival with 'Art in the Park'. Haddo Country Park, better known for its majestic, ancient forest and woodland, offers itself as a fabulous backdrop for art.

Following meandering pathways and lush green foliage, the artworks from Kimberley McPherson ‘Love with Light’ and Sarah Calder will become a seamless part of the visitor experience.

These art installations bring gentle reflections of the fascinating history of Haddo House and the Gordon family, still very much at the heart of Haddo. No booking is necessary.

Kim from ‘Love with Light’ explains: “A community is built on human connections which Haddo was and continues to be about.

"Art in the Park hopes to bring a little play to this subject using the photography of staff and those active in Haddo's current community to emulate the paintings and history of those from the past. "These will be displayed as portraits on a trail in the park linked to the art in Haddo House for everyone to enjoy for the duration of the Festival of Arts. Love with Light Portraits is located in Haddo House and is a social enterprise providing portraiture photography which in turn supports our work with adopted children.”

Sarah Calder, Aberdeenshire Painting student at Gray’s School of Art said: “By working with oil paint on canvas using classical still life painting techniques, I will be exploring aspects of Haddo that may go unseen or under-appreciated, bringing their focus to the foreground.

"This exhibition of paintings incorporates the use of light to accentuate objects and different surfaces allowing the light to bounce and reflect around the compositions, drawing focus to the significance of the objects themselves.

"By taking inspiration from Haddo House and the history of Haddo I hope to bring significance to the pieces of history within Haddo to beyond showing their beauty and bring history to the modern day.”

Haddo House – A Different Light – Friday 8, Saturday 9, Sunday 10, Monday 11, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 – book online at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/haddo-house-33796344905

Come along and view Haddo House in ‘a different light’. Designer James Johnson, as part of the National Trust for Scotland’s Experiencing Collections project in 2019, worked with the team at Haddo House to create new and enhanced atmospheres for the tour on the theme of Light & Dark, Heat & Cold. From “dark forgotten” and “dark utilitarian” spaces to “dramatic opulent” and “sumptuous warm with flickering gas light” join us as we tour this beautiful building and hear some of its fascinating stories and admire the art which inspired ‘Art in the Park’.

This year's outstanding programme of events by Haddo Arts features classical ensemble The Bach Players, international pianist Joanna MacGregor, Scottish traditional musicians The Whistlebinkies, and classical songs to the pianoforte from Steven Devine and Kate Semmens.

Together with Ten Feet Tall Theatre's production of "The Proposal" by Chekhov, all performances were recorded at Haddo and will be available to view online from 9 - 16 October.

Details from www.haddoarts.com


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