ADRIAN CLARK reports on a month (or so) behind the scenes in the life of an Arts Officer
FROM APRIL TO AUGUST, the working life of an Arts Officer in Inverness (in my case at Highland Council) and probably elsewhere, becomes something of a blur.
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 | | Capoiera for adults at Day of Dance 2003 |
The Easter Activities programme is hardly done before deadlines loom for the summer version, which goes out to all primary aged pupils and Secondary 1 to 3. The Highland Festival intervenes with various opportunities for joint initiatives and marketing, in particular of the Highland Council’s annual Day of Dance.
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Funding packages have to be finalised for the Caledonian Canal Ceilidh Trail (Year 2), the Traditional Music Programme (Year 3), the Cultural Coordinator for Schools programme (Year 1) and various new projects such as a series of writers' visits and a socially inclusive digital art programme. Job descriptions and plans must be written for a New Opportunities Fund Out of School Hour Activity programme, due to start in the autumn.
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Meanwhile the promotions programme is kicking in, and there is danger of missing out on some crucial detail, such as artistes’ accommodation, tickets, floats, payments, PA, lighting, et al. Artistes working with children have to be checked through the Disclosure Scotland process, and final arrangements made with venues and artistes regarding the summer activities.
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Running through all this is the need to ensure constant publicity through the media, special publications, email, web presence, postering, mail-outs and word-of-mouth. Little point in running activities if nobody knows about them, but it is also difficult knowing when to stop. And this also involves publicising the activities of the voluntary sector through the Arts Diary.
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At the same time as all of this is going on, the Service is being restructured, bringing together Culture and Leisure with Community Education, to give birth to a new animal, Community Learning and Leisure. Lots of new faces to deal with and lots more clutter in a crowded office.
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 | | Belly Dance Display at Day of Dance 2003 |
One is normally confident that certain events and activities will work well. The Day of Dance fits this bill, its format and core clientele now well established in its seventh year. More teenagers now take part, but males are an endangered species.
A concert by top Gaelic group, Cliar, with its strong local following, in Phipps Hall, Beauly, is bound to go well and indeed did so . Mr Boom continues to be a sure draw for children and grannies.
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One is quietly confident that a show about the writings and life of George Mackay Brown (“For the Islands I Sing” by Splinters Productions) will go down well in Inverness Town House, as indeed it does.
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© Adrian Clark, 2003
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