11th February 1943 - 7th December 2011

Artlink Central were touched and honoured to be the recipients of a retiring collection at a Service of Thanksgiving held for Di Grant from Dunblane at Dunblane Cathedral on 13th December 201.

Di was beloved wife of Hugh, kind and loving mum of Maggie and Katie, enthusiastic, artistic, hospitable friend of many in Scotland and beyond. We are truly grateful for the contributions we have continued to receive not only from the service collection but also from across the world. The funds gifted will be a huge to support to the organisation in delivering our work, particularly supporting our ongoing commitment to providing high quality artistic services for young people and adults with learning disabilities in the Stirling area, giving the participants, numbers of whom come from the Dunblane area, the potential to realise their talents and share them to wider audiences.

We were particulary priviledged to spend some time with Di’s close family to talk about the work we do and would like to thank family, friends and colleagues of Di Grant for their generosity and thought.

As funds still arrive, we have raised over £1,500 in memory of Di. Thank you for your contributions.

The Council is working with Clackmannanshire and Falkirk Councils and Forth Valley College to conduct a survey of businesses and people involved in creative industries, including advertising, architecture; antiques; crafts; design; designer fashion; film; interactive leisure software; music; performing arts; publishing; software and computer services; TV and radio and visual arts.

The results of the study will be used to help inform future support schemes and provide evidence for organisations applying for funding.

Anyone with a creative enterprise or a desire to establish one is encouraged to participate in the study by completing a short survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/creativeindustriessurvey The survey will close on December 31, 2011.

 Councillor Scott Farmer, Depute Leader of Stirling Council and Portfolio Holder for Economy, Tourism and Finance, said: “We are keen to support and grow Stirling’s creative sector and to do this, we need to know more about the support requirements of businesses, enterprises and people involved in the sector.  Supporting growth of the sector will not just provide economic gain and new employment opportunities, but will help to improve the cultural experience of visiting the area and provide more community access to creative activities.”

For more information about the study, please contact Joelle Russell (Stirling Council) on 01786 442778, or email russelljl@stirling.gov.uk



Artspace mental health recovery group, ‘Closer to the Edge’ are heading towards completion of their first CD at the Tolbooth, Stirling under the direction of their tutor, Mick Slaven.

The group are delighted to get the opportunity thanks to joint funding from Stirling Council, Greggs Foundation, the Central Scotland Police Ball and a former volunteer of Artlink Central. They are hoping to complete the 6 songs and have the CD ready to sell in time for the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival in October. They will be performing on Sunday, 23rd October at The Junk Rooms, in Stirling.

Hi I am Sylvia Woodford, for those of you who don’t know I am an Artistic Programmer, with Artlink Central, and I’m also sad ‘Munro Bagger’ in denial!

For the uninitiated, a Munro is a hill/mountain in Scotland with a height over 3000ft. They are named after Sir Hugh Munro who produced the first list of such hills. As of 2009 The Scottish Mountaineering Club recognized 283 such hills. ‘Munro Bagging’ is the practice of climbing every single one. On the 4^th June 2011, successfully completed the climb of my last ‘Munro’, Ben More, on the Isle of Mull along with my family and likeminded friends.

I would also like to make my last ‘Munro’ a sponsored event with proceeds going to the charity Artlink Central Limited (Registered Scottish Charity No.SC0 08158) and would be very grateful for any donations however large or small. If you are a UK taxpayer it would be kind if you could giftaid your donation to enable Artlink Central to reclaim the tax. 

Artlink Central brings wonderful art projects to vulnerable adults and children within the community and institutional care across the Forth Valley.

To make a donation please contact us by email on info@artlinkcentral.org or by phone 01786450971.

 12 March – 2 May 2011

Click on the banner to visit the Illustrators minisiteJulia Donaldson is the author of over 150 books for children and besides writing well – known books with Axel Scheffler including The Gruffalo, The Snail and the Whale and most recently Zog, she has collaborated with many other illustrators. Julia is also Patron of Artlink Central, a charity which puts artists, musicians and storytellers into schools, hospitals, prisons and community spaces to work with children and adults and help them develop their talent and creativity.

 Gillian Smith, Arts Development Officer, the Park Gallery said “As interest in the art of illustration for children has grown considerably in recent years the Park Gallery is delighted to collaborate with Artlink Central and invite Julia Donaldson to curate ‘The Illustrators’ – a unique and intimate exhibition of work by artists who have illustrated Julia’s  books.

Lydia Monks - from ‘What the Ladybird Heard’The exhibition aims to highlight the diverse range of approaches to illustration and focuses on a number of artists who have worked with Julia over the years. Featuring original works (by, Axel Scheffler, amongst others) visitors will see examples of preparatory work - sketches, ideas and a unique display envelopes.

 “I think my postman has a more interesting life than most, because every time Axel writes to me he decorates the envelope, often involving the stamp in a witty way, like turning Prince William into a giant. Sometimes the postman has to search for my name and address, as when Axel wrote them on various bricks being played with by the Gruffalo’s Child,” said Julia Donaldson

Envelope by Axel Scheffler (adapted for the Illustrators) Kevin Harrison , Director of Artlink Central said

“This exhibition offers not only a diverse and rich spread of some of the most exciting children’s art in the country, but also a personal insight into the processes and collaborations behind the work. We are hugely grateful to Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler and other contributors, their agents and publishers who have all generously supported the ambitions of this project.”

The exhibition includes exclusive material, including work that is not yet published including images from forthcoming books illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Sam McCullen, Pam Smy and even sketches and drawings for a new book by Julia Donaldson with illustrator Charlotte Voake exploring the further adventures of Edward Lear’s creations, the Owl and the Pussycat. Visitors will have access to work at all stages of development and Julia Donaldson has loaned work from her own personal collection of illustrations from her books.

Rebecca McEwen (Tartan Heart), Sarah Thomson (Jewellery), Becky Walker (Green Gallery), Kevin Harrison, Jane Lindsey (Snapdragon), Lynne Seaton (My Baboo) and Carol Seymour (Artlink Central).

The cheque for a fantastic £2556.65 is presented by Becky Walker of the Green Gallery to Kevin Harrison, Director of Artlink Central.

This event was an amazing success.  People made their way and enjoyed a lovely setting.  Initial reports are that it was a great success.  Thank you so much to everyone who contributed. 

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Please come along to a fantastic event which supports Artlink Central.  A beautiful setting and amazing ambiance, with a chance to buy that special something.

http://www.greengallery.com/index.html

More regarding this event:

http://www.stirlingobserver.co.uk/stirling-news/local-news-stirling/news-stirling/2010/11/12/festive-fun-will-help-aid-charity-51226-27642658/

Today Julie was interviewed by Kaye Adams regarding why people give to charities.  This was prompted by the fact that it is Children In Need day and we are currently running a Children in Need funded project called ‘So You Think We Can’t Dance?’  at Carrongrange School.  This project culminates on Thursday, 25th November, at the school. 

The performance will be attended by family members of the girls participating, fellow pupils, Falkirk Provost, Pat Reid and other Education Department officals. 

The project has been supported by a Glasgow based company called Indepen-Dance who work with adults and children with additional support needs.

To listen to this interview click on the link below and go to 4:30mins on the clip.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00w19j6/Call_Kaye_19_11_2010/

 This presentation was made to a large group of Artlink Central’s contracted artists. It outlines some of the significant changes that Artlink Central has made over 2009-10 and what the future looks like for our work with artists in years to come. It also outlines how we position ourself and some of the major influences over our work such as the social model of disability and maps out the areas in which we practice. For artists who were unable to join us on this day, please contact the Director, Kevin Harrison to get an overview of the Artist Development Day which took place on the 1st March 2010. Decisions taken on the day included the overall structure for an artist reference group for all contracted artists.