Orkney Voices and Wirdsmit new writing projects:

Across the year these projects delivered: 8 performances, 26 participants & c250 attendances. 3 public events, 22 participants, c300 attendances. 24 training sessions, c27 participants. 2 new book titles, c400 sales, c55backlist sales. c1,500 unique visits to website.

Mini Festival

6 performances, 20 participants, 240 attendances. Exhibitions 1. 5 participants, 40 attendances. Public Events 9, 43 participants, 37 attendances. Outreach 24 sessions to 343 5-17yrs and 42 adults.

The Orkney Japan Mini Festival, was planned as an immersion in Japanese culture and had two anchor events: 1000 Cranes project and Taiko drumming and included the following:

"My award was used primarily to cover the cost of the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) fee to allow me to use a drone at Brodgar, and also the cost of the drone hire itself. There were some initial discussions with HES to ask for a reduction in the charge due to the nature of my activity. Thankfully this was agreed, or I would not have been able to afford to do it."

"The VACMA has enabled me to successfully install a support system that can be use for creating suspended art works within my studio at WASPS in Stromness. This has allowed me to realised a large work that is suspended, using a variety of textiles techniques. I have been able to take my time applying, and consider different variations without being in the freezing cold, which was a major issue for me when finishing off previous works."

"I spent quite a bit of time at the beginning of the project researching and approaching galleries within Scotland. I sent work to Gallery Heinzel in Aberdeen, The Castle gallery in Inverness and The Torrance gallery in Edinburgh. I also applied to exhibit at the annual RWS Exhibition and Aberdeen Arts society annual exhibition, the latter of which I am a member. I also became a member of the Moray Arts Centre...