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“We aim to encourage participation in and enjoyment of the arts by the people of Moray regardless of age or ability.”
We are a company limited by guarantee, with charitable status. We
formed in 2005 as a direct response to a real need for a dedicated arts
centre in Elgin. Elgin is the county capitol of Moray, yet has no
central facility to act as a focus or meeting place for people involved
and interested in the arts. A place which can act as a catalyst,
encouraging, supporting and promoting the arts across Moray.
After some time looking for a suitable building in Elgin, we became
involved in the proposed plans to turn Grant Lodge into an arts centre.
Grant Lodge is a Robert Adams category B listed building in the centre
of the city. It sits in the middle of its grounds, now Cooper Park,
next to the cathedral. At the moment it is boarded up and unused, and
has been like this since a fire destroyed part of the interior several
years ago.
Grant Lodge was gifted to the Council in the early 20th century and is to be used for the benefit of the inhabitants of Elgin. The council has recently commissioned a feasibility study into the possible future of Grant Lodge. Apart from mothballing any plans or demolition, the options for the future use of the building are limited and of those proposed, the preferred option is to develop it as an art centre, with artist’s studios, workshops, classes, rented space, concerts, exhibition space and a café. To take this project forward now depends on fund raising and a lot of hard work, but it would be wonderful to see Grant Lodge returned to its former glory and become a building used and enjoyed by everyone. It would raise Elgin’s cultural profile and provide a community facility that is desperately needed in Elgin.
Until we find a base (Grant Lodge or another) we are continuing to run workshops and classes in the community. These have included craft workshops in schools and film workshops for different groups.
One of the workshops we ran took place over the summer school holidays. This was for a group of young people moving from primary school up to high school. These young people had worries about the step up from primary to high school. Their main concern was around bullying; but also making or loosing friends and not knowing what to do when they got to the ’ big school’. The workshops ran over a week and were devised to help the children confront their worries, meet and make new friends and have fun. They filmed and interviewed each other, they wrote and performed short plays about high school and together they produced a large artwork, which is to hang in their new high school. At the end of the week each child was given a copy of the film produced from the week’s recordings. These workshops were a great success; of the 26 young people invited, 24 came regularly throughout the week, not a bad turn out for activities run over the summer holidays!
Our future plans include an art competition and exhibition for primary schools in Moray, drama classes leading to a Christmas show, more film workshops and a film club. The art competition will be held early in 2007 and if it proves popular we hope to run a series of exhibitions throughout the year.
With all these activities we are attempting to bring experience and enjoyment of the different arts to as wide an audience as possible. Our company policy is to be inclusive and to work with different groups of all ages and abilities, and particularly those who may have little contact with the arts in their day-to-day lives. We have lots of other ideas and events in the pipeline and these will be placed on our web site in due course ---- so watch this space!
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Upcoming Events
Film Club ScreeningMay 15, 2008 (19:15) Film Club Screening at The Music Centre, Francis Place, Elgin.
Cost £5 full, £2.50 concess... Children's WorkshopsMay 24, 2008 (10:00) Special Effects Makeup Ages 10 to 15years
Learn to use stage makeup to create a
l... Recent Events Film WorkshopFebruary 26, 2008 (18:00) A series of 6 workshops covering every aspect of film production.You will cover writing, filming ... Film WorkshopFebruary 19, 2008 (18:00) A series of 6 workshops covering every aspect of film production.You will cover writing, filming ... View Full Calendar
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