Banchory was shortlisted for a Creative Places Award 2015 in recognition of the vast number of creative people who live in the community.
The 2nd stage of the application was to be the development of a 2 year project that will promote the creativity to a wider audience.
See the Creative Scotland press release
Our programming ideas, to date, have proposed three key strands of work
Elements of the programme will be designed to produce new creative works and resources that will form a robust legacy of the Award
Banchory Stories –
An intergenerational and international reminiscence and storytelling project, exploring the life experiences and adventures of Banchory’s global community.
Using local stories as inspiration and source material, the aspiration is to create a new community play for Banchory (21 yrs after the seminal “Tensions & Trust” community play) which could be premiered at Woodend Barn and toured around the north east with the support of North East Arts Touring. Many of the original Banchory community play participants are entering the last stages of life and it is vital that their contributions to Banchory’s creative heritage are recorded, digitised and preserved for future generations. This strand would allow us to celebrate the past and look forward to the future based on real community input.
Love Banchory –
Exploring Banchory’s identity as the Gateway to Royal Deeside and its enduring popularity as a holiday destination from the Victorian times to the present day, Love Banchory will be a multi-arts projects featuring contemporary commissioned postcards, souvenirs and memorabilia that represent Banchory today. A film and moving image strand will be developed, involving screenings and sharing of local home footage of the area featuring local landmarks and popular local pursuits.
Postcards, mementos, archive film footage. By identifying locally valued assets we will promote these places and pursuits, building them into the new creative Banchory Brand.
River Festival –
Building upon the success of this revitalised community festival we have plans to improve the profile and promotion of the event and potentially to increase the number of arts activities and performances that already a feature over the festival weekend (ie craft fair, bands, community ceilidh, visual arts projects). Several prominent local artists are already members of the festival committee and bring the knowledge and skills to develop this aspect
Town Artists –
A proposal to build a “town artists” team who will be highly visible in the community over the year, devising projects and making links between local groups who have never had any previous connection. It is envisaged that the artists would have a presence at key local events - the farmers’ market, Banchory Show etc - and would seek to develop links with artists from other countries that reflect the place of origins of many of Banchory’s new residents.
Banchory District Initiative would act as financial managers for the project, with the Creative Places steering group being responsible for the creative planning and monitoring of the programme.
Some of the Creative People already involved with the project
North East Arts Touring
Sound Festival
Woodend Barn
Banchory Singers
Third Stage Choir & Art Group
Woodend Wood Engravers
Banchory & District Royal British Legion Pipe Band
The Milton Art Gallery
Woodend Barn Resident Producers – Jenny Smith (dance) and Heather Fulton ( Frozen Charlotte Children’s Theatre)
Woodend Barn Resident Theatre Company – Company of Wolves
Banchory Museum
Crathes Castle (National Trust for Scotland)
Deeside Dance Centre
The Scolty Centre recycled art group
Banchory Scottish Dancing Club
Banchory Ternan Morris Men
Banchory Library
Banchory River Festival
The Banchory Agricultural Show
Woodend Music Society
Banchory & District Initiative Ltd
Banchory Strathspey & Reel Society
Yeadons Books
Banchory Accordion & Music Group
Crathes Hall
Deeside Writers
Lang Byre Gallery
Bonnie Banchory
Banchory Heritage Society
Deeside Camera Club
Banchory Amateur Dramatics
Banchory Art Group
Banchory Embroiderers Guild
Hilary Duncan, ceramicist
Mel Shand, visual artist
Belinda Rose, textile artist
Nicola Chambury, visual artist
Jonathan Rose, Furniture maker