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NEWS
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ANNOUNCEMENTS, LINEUPS AND OPINION
MERCURY PRIZE WIN FOR YOUNG FATHERS FIRST BOOK AWARD FOR MAI AL-NAKIB
Scotland-based hip-hop trio Young Fathers were the surprise winners of the 2014 Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize, beating 11 other nominees including Damon Albarn, Kate Tempest and favourite, FKA Twigs. Their winning album, Dead, had sold less than 3000 copies prior to the win, but jumped to number seven in Apple’s iTunes chart the following day.
WELLCOME TRUST GRANT FOR NMS
A £1.3m grant from the Wellcome Trust will help create six new galleries at the National Museum it’s been of Scotland, to announced. Due open the new galleries will form part of a new Scottish Centre for Scientii c Engagement, with a particular focus on biomedical science, as well as scientists, technologists in 2016,
and engineers with Scottish connections.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival’s 2014 i rst book award has gone to Kuwaiti author Mai Al-Nakib for her debut collection of short stories, The Hidden Light of Objects. The collection was voted for by readers and Book Festival audiences from 47 eligible debut books in events during August’s festival. featured
CROWDFUNDING FOR EDINBURGH THRILLER
to his Film director Magnus Wake has launched an crowdfunding online part- campaign i nance new Edinburgh-based thriller First and Only. Based on Peter Flannery’s best-selling ebook which blends psychic powers with worldwide conspiracies, the i lm will use Scotland’s capital as a backdrop, and online funders are promised the chance of playing a part in its creation. More info at i rstandonlymovie.com
EDINBURGH’S HOGMANAY LINEUP ANNOUNCED LIST WRITER HONOURED WITH NEW AWARD
Those Mercury winners Young Fathers, as well as the Twilight Sad and Twin Atlantic are among the Scottish artists announced in the full lineup for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2014, alongside Eddi Reader and Breabach. They join Concert in the Gardens headliner Lily Allen, plus R&B superstars Soul II Soul and Australian Abba tribute act Björn Again. More at edinburghshogmanay.com Jan Fairley, for many years The List’s world music reviewer who died in 2012, is being honoured with a new award for arts journalism by upcoming writers. The Jan Fairley Memorial Award will recognise arts writing in a wider social or international context, and the closing date is Sun 30 Nov. More at janfairleyaward.net
WINNERS AND LOSERS
Mixed news in Creative Scotland’s funding decisions
The announcement of Creative Scotland’s regular funding decisions for 2015–18 has brought varied tidings for arts organisations. Support for three-year funding has increased from £90m to £100m, and 57 organisations have moved from shorter-term arrangements to longer funding.
Organisations receiving regular funding for the i rst time include Barrowland Ballet, Curious Seed, Dovecot Studios, Dunedin Consort, Glasgow’s Women’s Library and the Wigtown Festival. On the downside, several
organisations have had their funding reduced or removed entirely, with Edinburgh’s Traverse and Lyceum theatres both suffering budget cuts. Two organisations facing complete removal of their Creative Scotland funding are Aberdeen’s sound festival of contemporary music, and Glasgow- based Scottish Youth Theatre. Sound festival chair Pete Stollery said: ‘This has come as a huge blow to us all.’
John Scott Moncrieff, chair of
Scottish Youth Theatre, whose alumni include Gerard Butler, Karen Gillan and Iain de Caestecker, said the organisation was looking forward to working with Creative Scotland chief executive Janet Archer to identify the best approach to long-term funding. Live Music Now Scotland, which
takes live music by Scottish musicians into the community, was also turned down for regular funding, but has been encouraged to apply for Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund for specii c projects.
The decisions come almost two years after the resignation of previous Creative Scotland chief executive Andrew Dixon, following months of criticism from Scotland’s arts community. A major shake-up in the organisation’s structures and funding arrangements has been spearheaded by Archer.
13 Nov–11 Dec 2014 THE LIST 9
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