Democracy Spraffa

CHARTS Update

Argyll and Bute Council · 13 December 2023
Back to Oban Lorn & The Isles Area Committee — 13 December 2023 and its agenda

Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.

Original council PDF · Download plain text

Page 1

SUMMARY REPORT
CULTURE, HERITAGE AND ARTS ASSEMBLY,
ARGYLL AND ISLES (CHARTS)
OBAN, LORN AND THE ISLES
•‘To raise our profile as a centre for
cultural activity and vibrant and sustainable
creative sector’
•Argyll & Bute Council Economic Strategy
2019-2023

Page 2

CHARTS – PARTNERSHIP WORKING
& REGIONAL IMPACT
• We support Argyll and Bute’s culture, heritage and arts sector
under 4 strategic areas, Achieve, Connect, Promote, Sustain:
• Key project supporters are the National Lottery Heritage Fund,
Creative Scotland, the Art Fund, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Museums and
Galleries Scotland and the Scottish Government (islands)
• National collaborators are the School of Innovation and
Technology at the Glasgow School of Art, St Andrews University,
University of Glasgow
• Key regional partners include Live Argyll, the Argyll and Bute
Tourism Cooperative and the Argyll and Bute Museum and
Heritage Forum
• We support 700+ professional members, including individuals,
cultural organisations and venues (see map)

Page 3

CHARTS -
LOCAL
IMPACT
HIGHLIGHTS
Oban, Lorn
& Isles
22/23
Dunollie Museum - Apprenticeship in Museums and Galleries Studies– Implemented as part of the CHARTS heritage
training project for young people, Argyll Aspires. Paid apprenticeship with qualifications for employment in the museums and heritage
sector, including peer-learning and additional career development opportunities.
Funders: Skills Development Scotland and the National Lottery Heritage Fund
Assessors - Museums Galleries Scotland
Partners: Dunollie Museum
Coastal Cultures, Islands, is a programme designed to reinvigorate local economies through community engagement.
Participants  to date - 344
Funded by Creative Scotland (£97k) this currently includes:
Luing and Slate Islands - Expressing an Island, the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics, led by Norman Bissell includes
monthly workshops in creative writing, arts, crafts and geology culminating in exhibitions and events. Events have taken place to date
on Luing, Seil, Easdale and Oban and participants are travelling between islands to events and workshops.
Tiree - Between the Tides, is led by commissioned artists Jack Lockhart and Screen Argyll. Working with the focus of climate
change, this project creates tidal time-lapse films and family learning opportunities based on tidal themes. Until December 2023, this
project includes a range of creative opportunities for the local community. Activities happen in and around a dedicated space at the
Hynish Centre for workshops, film screenings and events and drop in opportunities.
2 themed films were screened during the weekend: The Silence of the Tides ‘a cinematic tribute to the Wadden Sea, the world’s
largest, and most varied, uninterrupted intertidal area, extending along the coasts of The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.The
project also hosted a Gaelic Film Screening of Òran na Mara (Song of The Sea), an animated film drawing on Irish folklore and
heritage.
Mull, Feàrna / Adler, by Alasdair Whyte, Alice Stillman and Rhona Dougal explores community participation through themes of the
environment and Gaelic culture.
Funders: Creative Scotland, supported by the Scottish Government, Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Partners, Argyll and Bute Council

Page 4

COASTAL CULTURES,
ISLANDS 2023
Artist led projects responding to the uniqueness of
their island locations, building community
participation and audiences. Throughout each
project, the artists engage communities in socially
inclusive, imaginative and meaningful ways,
including sharing their work through exhibitions and
events both  in-person and digitally.

Page 5

THE ARGYLL
COLLECTION,
RECONNECTED 23-25
• £50k fundraised from the Art
Fund (UK) to review cultural
value and build awareness of
the Argyll Collection
• Youth training and community
activities supported by the
National Lottery Heritage
Fund and Gannochy Trust
• Condition checking 173
council owned art works in
every school and library
• Collaborators, St Andrews
University, University of
Glasgow 
• Partners, Argyll and Bute
Council

Page 6

GAELIC LANGUAGE & CULTURE
HIGHLIGHTS 23/24
• Gaelic Culture Strategy consultation and events inc. Dunoon
Burgh Hall, Campbeltown Museum and the Rockfield Centre,
Oban.
• Building relationships between Argyll and Ireland – CHARTS
commended by Bòrd na Gàidhlig.
• Colmcille/ St Columba Exhibition and Events Tour inc.
Campbeltown Museum, Islay Gaelic Centre, Kilmartin Museum,
Iona Community Hall, the Rockfield Centre, Oban, and Donegal
Museum.
• Dedicated Gaelic Culture Officer, with report inc. to the Gaelic
Policy Lead Group,  Argyll and Bute Council. Funder Bòrd na
Gàidhlig.

Page 7

CHARTS grows local opportunity, creating work in partnership with others regionally
and nationally to support and raise the profile of the cultural sector in Argyll and Bute.
Argyll and Bute Council support @ £75k (22-23), enabled extra CHARTS income
generation for direct sector distribution across local areas of £452,438.
Since 2020 CHARTS has fundraised more than £1.35m in total - including and due to
annual Council investment (2020-24).
CHARTS role is vital for education, employment, social and economic development.
Argyll and Bute Council investment brings significant return.
For further information, contact
Seymour Adams, Vice-Chair, CHARTS Board at,
Seymour@chartsargyllandisles.org
https://www.chartsargyllandisles.org
For project details see the CHARTS Annual Review 2022-23
CHARTS is a SCIO registered in Scotland SC049113