THE CONCERT by Mr McFall’s Chamber featuring Valentina Martinez and Gallo Ceron was really fantastic. Several audience members were moved to tears and the programme of tango and nueva cantion had attracted several members of the local Latin American community.
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Sunday 14 September
The next day was the last day of the festival and began with me running around after some very relaxed artists to ensure that their needs were being taken care of. It is no exaggeration to state that at times being an Arts Enabler feels like being the personal manservant of as many artists as are involved in one’s project. As one wag put it, ‘there’s no business like showbusiness’, and I think that this might have been what he or she was referring to. There is no other business in which at times it seems one is obliged to pay more attention to the needs of the product than to those of the customer!
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The last night of the Festival took place on Scoraig peninsula and as it was my own community I had a particular interest in it going well. Considering that it was the first licensed public event that had ever taken place in Scoraig, the gig at Nigel’s Shed went remarkably smoothly. There WERE plenty of last minute details to be taken care of but by some miracle these fitted well into the available time frame so that the event started more or less on schedule. By the time the second act had come on I had relaxed to the extent that I could actually enjoy the performances! I slept that night on a hay bale under a tarpaulin in case there were any incidents after everyone had gone home. Fortunately there were none.
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The Aftermath …
The rest of the month has consisted largely of resolving various residual financial and artist-ego problems stemming from the Wester Ross Festival. The support of the Highland Festival team has been invaluable here. There is also the matter of several reports that require to be written…
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And the future …
In a couple of weeks I will be moving on, having been offered a place on HiWide’s broadband team. I will miss working in the Arts and will no doubt find myself back in this sphere again at some point. I wish my successor every success. If there is one lesson I have learned in the 5 months as ACE worker it is that community arts events cannot be forced onto reluctant communities but should probably only ever be attempted in communities where committed individuals with good communications skills are prepared to put their own local reputations on the line to run with those arts ideas that can have such a profound socially transformative effect.
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© Tommy Beavitt, 2003 |
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