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| JASON ROSE |
With only a year and a half to go, I’m still unclear what shape the year will take. I think folk need a yardstick. Is it back-to-back festivals for 12 months or what?
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For most folk ‘Highland culture’ is probably an image of fiddlers and swinging kilts. To me it means naff tourism like toy Nessies and exhibitions involving phrases like ‘while we were being ethnically cleansed by the English’, but also wonderful day-to-day stuff like having a pint in the Market Bar, going for a stroll in the Ness Islands, buying a book in Mr Leakey’s, or playing frisbee on a spectacular beach.
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My own hope is that it inspires and enables a generation. It should make young Highlanders realise that this is a great place and there’s nothing to stop them having a go at creating something themselves. Why buy The Da Vinci Code, sip a Starbucks latte and try on clothes in Gap when they could be writing their own novel, setting up their own café and designing their own fashion range?
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Okay, a tall order, but heck, this is an inspiring place to live and 2007 should make folk realise that and enable them to follow their dreams. We have lots of creative types here already but they don’t get enough limelight. 2007 should encourage these people to blow their own trumpet.
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In terms of how I see the scheme in relation to the Book Festival, I hope that the year of culture enables the Inverness Book Festival to be beefed up to its full potential, and taken as seriously as any of the other major literary festivals in the UK. This year is only our 2nd but we’re already proving that there’s no shortage of local talent while big names from elsewhere in the UK are keen to come here.
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As a broadcaster with Moray Firth Radio, I hope 2007 realises what a powerful force local radio is. It should encourage all broadcasters to reflect Highland culture more. For a start, there should be prime-time opportunities on commercial stations like MFR for local bands to perform. It goes back to what I said about inspiring a generation.
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In general, I think most folk expect 2007 to be a year of ‘events’, like a great big gala. I don’t think enough has been done to explain to people that ‘culture’ can be almost anything and that they can suggest how to spend £9 million celebrating it.
Broadcaster and Director of the Inverness Book Festival
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| December 2008 Editorial |
H2007 Evaluated
Posted by Commissioning Editor, Kenny Mathieson, on
Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:01:00 GMT |
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