Shetland Museum & Archives and Shetland Arts Development Agency have been awarded £24,000 collectively to deliver a partnership learning project for 13-25 year olds, as part of the ARTIST ROOMS On Tour exhibition of work by internationally acclaimed photojournalist Don McCullin in Da Gadderie and Bonhoga Gallery from 29 November 2014 to 22 February 2015.
The funds, provided jointly through the ARTIST ROOMS Touring Group by The Art Fund and Creative Scotland, have been made available to enhance activities and engage new audiences with the ARTIST ROOMS exhibition. Shetland Arts and the Museum and Archives will now be able to run their proposed projects which include a Youth Ambassador scheme for 13-25 year olds, as well as a Saturday shuttle bus between the two venues for the duration of the show. The funding will also allow the organisations to invite Mr McCullin to visit Shetland during the exhibition of his work.
The Youth Ambassador scheme will offer invaluable experience for a panel of young people with interest in the arts. Shetland Arts will manage film-making and singer song-writer elements of the scheme, while the Museum will focus on documentary photography and reportage. Jane Matthews of Shetland Arts explained, “This funding will offer an incredible opportunity for a group of young people to work alongside the teams at Shetland Arts and the Museum, learning new skills and engaging with the project on many levels. We hope our ambassadors will help to inspire their peers and other young audiences to engage with the work in the shows.”
Ian Tait added, “This is a great chance for us to get more young folk in the doors at the Museum, and for them to get a rare chance to work with one of the most exceptional documentary photographers in modern times. The project we’re planning will leave a lasting legacy of photography that we’ll incorporate into our own photo archive for our own future generations. The grant funding has meant that we are able to offer folk much more of an opportunity to engage with this fantastic exhibition than if we were just to host the show in the two venues.
The ARTIST ROOMS tour programme, now in its sixth year, is showing at 18 museums and galleries across the UK in 2014. The tour is made possible thanks to the support of Arts Council England, the Art Fund, and in Scotland, Creative Scotland.
McCullin worked for over 20 years documenting conflict and social deprivation throughout the world including; Vietnam, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Beirut. For McCullin, the work wasn’t simply about the photographs, but about humanity.
To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS On Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms
