As of this weekend anyone with an interest in Shetland’s largest public art project will be able to keep up with its progress on a new web site, www.mirriedancers.com
Mirrie Dancers, commissioned by Shetland Arts, invites the public to join with artists Nayan Kulkarni and Roxane Permar in creating a series of lightworks that will be on view across Shetland in a Festival of Light during the winter, before transferring to Mareel, Shetland Arts’ new cinema, music and education venue, early in 2011. There, they will literally light up the building in a way that has never been seen in Shetland before. This is your opportunity to be part of this exciting new project and ultimately have your personal input on Mareel.
The website was created by Sarah Backhouse Design Studio with the design and colours reflecting the aurora borealis’ own unique colour scheme. The site is simple to navigate and encourages participation. Find out what the project is all about and who is involved; see a photographic record as Mirrie Dancers progresses. There is a blog for those wanting to keep a closer track of the project, and to contribute their thoughts and ideas.
Most importantly, according to Project Co-ordinator Kathy Hubbard, the web site presents another opportunity to get involved in Mirrie Dancers. “The more folk who join in, the better the project will be,” she said. “The success of Mirrie Dancers relies as much on the community at large as it does on the artists who are working on it. I hope people will take the opportunity to look at the web site and think how they can get involved. And there are significant opportunities for doing just that with Light Labs taking place all over Shetland in the next ten days. Come and join us - it will be interesting, and fun too.”
Anyone, whatever their age or ability, can take part. By the end of your session you will have used a simple digital movie camera, been shown how to transfer it onto a computer using specific software to create a colour ‘light score’ that will be seen as part of the public illuminations over the winter. Eventually, your work will light up the exterior of Mareel. You can come to any number of Light Labs, and use the skills learned to carry on creating different light scores in your own time, using your own video camera or mobile phone with the free software used in the Labs.
The schedule is in the local press, and of course, on the new web site, and anyone interested can e-mail the project at [email protected] or phone Roxane Permar on 01595 859202, or Kathy Hubbard on 01595 743843.
