Independent charity Arts & Business Scotland will visit Orkney later this month as part of a series of special events across the Highlands and Islands to promote greater collaboration between local cultural organisations and the local business community.
The free events are part of Arts & Business Scotland’s Highlands and Islands roadshow which follows the launch of the organisation’s Culture & Business Fund Scotland last year. Funded by the Scottish Government via Creative Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland, the Fund is designed to promote collaboration between the cultural and business sectors by matching business sponsorship of cultural activities pound for pound.
A free training workshop for local cultural organisations will be held from 1pm – 4pm at Kirkwall & St Ola Community Centre in Kirkwall on Thursday 29th March. Lunch will be provided at the session which will give attendees insights on how to initiate and develop lasting cultural and business partnerships and will offer information and advice on applying for match funding via the Culture & Business Fund Scotland.
The workshop will be followed by a special evening reception entitled ‘The Power of Business and Cultural Partnerships’. Providing an ideal opportunity for local cultural organisations to network with members of the local business community, the reception will feature contributions from Shetland Isles native Brian Inkster, Managing Partner at Inksters Solicitors, who has real life experience of using the Culture & Business Fund Scotland to develop community relationships and commercial opportunities.
This will be complemented by case studies of successful local partnerships between business and the cultural sector. One such local example is a project spearheaded by Shetland Arts to commission and fund “Da Lightsome Buoy”, a sculpture installed on Lerwick’s waterfront that celebrates the role of the Pelagic fishing industry in Shetland’s life, economy and culture. Alongside match funding from the Culture & Business Fund Scotland’s predecessor the New Arts Sponsorship Grants programme, this project attracted local business sponsorship from the Shetland Fish Producers’ Organisation, the Lerwick Port Authority, Shetland Catch Ltd and marine supplies company LHD Ltd.
Another local example of successful collaboration between business and the cultural sector is Inksters Solicitors’ creative partnership with the Scottish Ensemble which began in 2013 with a sponsored visit to Shetland to perform the folk-inspired double concerto Seavaigers and a number of other works in a series of concerts as part of a special residency. The partnership has continued in subsequent years, enabling repeat visits to Shetland by the Scottish Ensemble for additional musical performances.
Commenting on the forthcoming workshops, Arts & Business Scotland Head of Programmes Carl Watt said: “The Culture & Business Fund Scotland exists to promote fruitful partnerships between cultural organisations and local businesses throughout Scotland. Since launching last year, we’ve met organisations throughout Scotland to highlight the huge opportunities the Fund can offer in terms of making a wide variety of cultural projects happen. We are excited to be bringing our free workshops to Shetland and Orkney. Both are regions which have produced many amazing arts and heritage projects and we are keen to encourage further collaboration between local business and the local cultural sector with a view to creating many more in the future.
“We are very grateful to Brian Inkster and Inksters Solicitors for their generous support in helping to make these events happen and in sharing his own fascinating experience of cultural collaboration with the Scottish Ensemble that has now brought repeat performances to Shetland over a number of years. I think those attending will be equally inspired by the partnership between local business and Shetland Arts which culminated in the creation of the striking Da Lightsome Buoy sculpture on Lerwick’s waterfront.”
Brian Inkster commented:"I am really pleased to be able to share my experience of partnering with the Scottish Ensemble and the benefits my business has derived from the partnership – as well as the wider cultural benefits it has brought to Shetland. As a native of Shetland, I had an immediate affinity with this project. But I am also a long-time supporter of the Scottish Ensemble and was delighted to sponsor this project to enable them to visit Shetland and perform there. Our involvement was hugely beneficial in raising awareness of Inksters in Shetland and the range of legal services we offer. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend other businesses to get involved in partnering with the cultural sector. The Culture & Business Fund Scotland is obviously a great way of enabling more of these partnerships to happen in the future across the Northern Isles."
Full details and free tickets for each of the forthcoming Arts & Business Scotland workshops are available at this link.
To confirm your attendance at the evening reception, please email Adam Castle, Events Co-ordinator, Arts & Business Scotland stating your name, job title and organisation.
Arts & Business Scotland is an independent Scottish charity. We act as a conduit between the cultural and business sectors, helping to nurture the creative, social and commercial relationships that will enrich creativity and cultural engagement across Scotland.
More information, including links to fund application forms, can be found at the Arts and Business Scotland website.
Funded by the Scottish Government via Creative Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland and managed by Arts & Business Scotland, the Culture & Business Fund Scotland aims to:
- encourage businesses to sponsor arts and heritage activity within Scotland for the first time;
- entice back businesses that have not sponsored the arts or heritage in Scotland within the previous two years.
- support arts and heritage organisations in building new business sector partnerships;
- attract non-Scottish based companies to sponsor arts and heritage activities in Scotland; and
- encourage businesses to sponsor arts and heritage activity within Scotland with a two and three year commitment.
