Time running out to join in creative hub
ARTISTS and crafters hoping to be among the first studio holders at a major new creative hub have little time left to apply.
The Inverness Creative Academy has been described as a "game changer" for the region, providing a focus for creative people of all kinds.
The first phase of the project will see the £1.2 million development of workspaces for 39 artists and makers at the Midmills buildings, which were once part of the Inverness Royal Academy and later Inverness College but are now empty.
There has been strong interest in the project from the creative community since it got fully underway last year.
But the deadline for applications is this Friday and Wasps (Workshop and Artists’ Studio Provision Scotland), which is leading the initiative, has urged those interested to get their application in before it’s too late..
Audrey Carlin, Wasps’ chief executive officer, said: "Inverness Creative Academy has been described as a "game changer" by artists from the region because it will provide good quality studios and a focussed centre for creative practice for the Highlands.
"We have seen the transformational impact that hubs like these have had in other parts of Scotland, offering affordable space and superb facilities. This is a chance to be in at the very beginning of something that we hope will bring great benefits to the Highlands."
Once the applications have been sorted it is hoped that studio viewings can take place in September.
It is part of a wider £5.7 million scheme that involves the transformation of two B-listed buildings. The second phase will provide exhibition, performance and events space, a public café, workshop areas and offices for business working in the creative industries.
Even while the work has been underway there have been a series of Heritage Lottery Fund supported projects taking place to record the buildings, their architecture and history as well as the personal stories of people who studied and worked there.
Historic research has been carried out by Kerry Duncan, who’s uncovered some fantastic stories, objects and architectural details from local historians, Inverness Royal Academy’s own archive and past pupils and staff.
During this development phase Higher Photography students from Inverness College UHI also spent time creating a visual record of the architecture and documented the changes on site.
Kirsten Body, a member of the local Arts Steering Group, said: "These buildings have played an important part in the life of Inverness, the Highlands and their people, so we are really pleased to have been able to research and record their past.
"Together they will form a valuable archive for the future."
To apply for space see https://invernesscreativeacademy.org.uk/apply
