Young people take over An Lanntair
AS PART of the Year of Young People, An Lanntair in Stornoway has received funding from EventScotland, part of VisitScotland, to hand over the venue to young people to deliver their own arts festival called Las!/Ignite!
The Las!/Ignite! festival takes place over a week during October. It promises to be an innovative event to celebrate and promote the creative talent of young people from the Outer Hebrides, leading to tangible outcomes for their careers and enterprise.
Young people 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 will be responsible for marketing, design and stewarding.
In addition, a creative industries symposium will be staged during the festival, supporting young people with learning how to access and grow careers in the arts and creative industries.
Central to the project is the An Lanntair youth board (Board not Bored). Board not Bored will be a group 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 researching and shaping the programme.
Board not Bored member Ella Macaulay said: ‘It is so exciting to have the opportunity to be part of and shape the arts programme at An Lanntair and create a week of diverse memorable events.’
An Lanntair CEO Elly Fletcher added: ‘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 takeover of everything at An Lanntair. This is a fabulous new festival that will celebrate the young creative talent we know is there across our islands.’
An Lanntair will also announce a call for applications for young students or postgraduates 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, while receiving a week of one-to-one tuition and advice in their chosen field of study. The products of this innovative exchange will be showcased during the festival week. The call for applications was launched on www.lanntair. com on Friday January 12. and