MEDIA RELEASE – 12TH JANUARY 2018
An Lanntair Ignites Young Creative Talent in a new Festival for The Year of Young People 2018.
As part of the Year of Young People, An Lanntair has received funding from EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate , to hand over the venue to young people to deliver their very own arts festival called Las! / Ignite!
The Las! / Ignite! Festival will take place over a week during October Half Term 2018. It promises to be a truly innovative event to celebrate and promote the creative talent of young people from the Outer Hebrides, leading to real and tangible outcomes for their future careers and enterprise.
Over the course of the festival, young people will be given the ‘reins’ of An Lanntair and will have complete control over the programming of the organisation.
Young people themselves will programme An Lanntair’s auditorium with gigs, films, theatre and cabaret events. They will curate exhibitions for the main gallery, bar and mezzanine exhibition spaces, and they will be responsible for everything else, from marketing, to design, promotion and stewarding. In addition, a Creative Industries Symposium will be staged during the festival, supporting young people with learning how to access and grow successful careers in the arts and creative industries, including the film industry, music, theatre, digital media, visual arts and more.
Central to the project is the An Lanntair youth board (Board not Bored). Board not Bored will be a group made up of young people under 26 who will steer the direction of the project. They will be responsible for interviewing and appointing a young person as Festival Coordinator (also under 26) and actively researching and shaping the programme. Through the Festival Coordinator and the new board, An Lanntair will support local young people to come together in a project team to deliver the festival, taking on real-time roles such as director, curator, marketing coordinator and fundraiser.
Ella Macaulay Board not Bored member said, “It is so exciting to be part of Board not Bored and to have the opportunity to be part of and shape the arts programme at An Lanntair and create a week of diverse and memorable events.”
An Lanntair CEO Elly Fletcher said: “I can’t wait to see young people come into our space and tell us what they want to see. This will be a genuine ‘take over’ of everything here at An Lanntair, all our facilities, from our galleries to our auditorium and our education spaces. This is a fabulous new festival that will really celebrate the young creative talent that we know is out there across our islands.”
Alan MacKenzie, VisitScotland Islands Manager, said: “Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 is shining a spotlight on young people’s talents and contributions, giving them the opportunity to show the world what they are made of.”
“The plans for Las! / Ignite! Festival fully support the ethos of the year which is about giving young people the opportunity to shine within their own community as well as across Scotland and beyond. The takeover approach will not only enable the contribution of local young people to be recognised and celebrated but it will ensure they are in the driving seat right from the very start of the project.”
As part of this project, An Lanntair will also be announcing a call for applications for young students or post graduates from the Outer Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney to a newly created inter-island arts placement, giving them the chance to learn in a different – but not unfamiliar – environment, whilst receiving a week of one-to-one tuition and advice in their chosen field of study . Partners will include Mareel arts centre in Shetland and a network of arts contacts in Orkney including textile producers, photographers, and jewellers. The products of this innovative exchange will be showcased during during the festival week. The call for applications will be launched on www.lanntair.com on Friday 12th January.
Notes to Editor:
- Follow us on Twitter: @anlanntair
- An Lanntair is a multi-disciplinary Arts Centre in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in The Outer Hebrides.
- An Lanntair welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year to celebrate the unique Gaelic culture of the Outer Hebrides.
- An Lanntair is supported by Creative Scotland, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Point and Sandwick Trust and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
- For more information email Head of Marketing Kathryn Lamont Smith at Kathryn@lanntair.com or visit www.lanntair.com
- Year of Young People 2018 (YoYP 2018) is the next of the Scottish Government’s series of themed years, following the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017.
- YoYP 2018 puts Scotland’s young people aged 8 to 26 in the spotlight, celebrating their talents and contributions to our nation.
- Young people have been at the heart of designing the Year, but is it for all ages to enjoy. To celebrate, EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate has developed a nation-wide programme which will see a range of events and activity taking place across the whole of Scotland, which will kick off at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay’s #ScotWord project.
- This event is supported by the Year of Young People 2018 Event Fund, managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate. EventScotland is working with the events and festivals sector to develop an exciting portfolio of Year of Young People 2018 public-facing events which provide opportunities for young people to express themselves through a wide range of activity
- Alongside events, a key part of the Year will focus on strengthening young people’s voice and give them more of a say on issues which affect their lives, across education, mental health services and children’s rights.
- The Year is delivered in partnership between the Scottish Government, EventScotland, Young Scot, Scottish Youth Parliament, Children in Scotland, YouthLink Scotland and Creative Scotland.
- Young people decided upon six themes which all activity for the Year is focused around: Culture, Education, Health and Wellbeing, Enterprise and Regeneration, Equality and Diversity and Participation.
- There are more than 500 Year of Young People 2018 Ambassadors. Their role is to promote local events and activities and create opportunities in their local community to challenge negative stereotypes of young people.
- More information on what’s happening can be found at www.yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.