PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Today (Wednesday, August 3) at 12 noon, King’s College Centre, University of Aberdeen
Patricia Ferguson, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, will be introduced to the Wee Book of Gaelic during a visit to Aberdeen tomorrow.
The youngsters will treat Ms Ferguson to a reading of Gaelic poetry at a special event at the University of Aberdeen’s King’s College Centre (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/kcc/) to promote the work of the Arts Education Team and Word - University of Aberdeen Writers Festival.
The Minister will meet members of Aberdeen City Council’s award-winning Arts Education Team who were behind the compilation of the book, as well as the Word 05 team and children who were also involved in the project.
The Wee Book of Gaelic is the first publication by Word Firsts, a publishing partnership between the Council’s Aberdeen Storytelling and Theatre Festival and the Word Festival. It is the only imprint in Scotland dedicated to publishing the work of young people.
Alan Fulton, the City Council’s Head of Service for Culture and Leisure, will discuss the partnership between the Council and the University and will outline the work being done by the local authority to promote Gaelic in Aberdeen, from nursery through to secondary age. Gaelic education is open to all children, who do not need to have any experience.
As Ms Ferguson will be told, the Leabhar Beag na Gaidhlig (The Wee Book of Gaelic) project emerged as a result of partnership working between the Arts Education Team and the University of Aberdeen's Word Festival.
Links were then made with Peacock Visual Arts, author Anne Lorne Gillies and illustrator Simon Fraser, as well as the Gaelic medium units at Hazlehead Academy and Gilcomstoun Primary in Aberdeen.
The idea for the project idea stemmed from The Great Book of Gaelic exhibition, part of which was brought to Peacock Visual Arts as part of the Word 04 festival.
One of the Great Book authors and one of the illustrators took part in residencies at the Gaelic units in the two schools, resulting in the publication of The Wee Book, which was officially launched at Word 05 in May, at a packed event at Peacock Visual Arts.
Word Firsts exclusively publishes work produced by children and young people aged 3-18. The next exciting publication is now being compiled.
The finished book - an anthology of short stories written by secondary pupils from across Aberdeen, the result of a competition launched at the Storytelling Festival 2005 – will be launched at next year’s Word festival.
Tomorrow’s visit is being hosted by the University, as the main partner in the project.
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Patricia Ferguson, said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to learn more about this exciting project and most importantly, to meet the young people who have been involved in it.
“It is encouraging to see these young people not only keeping the Gaelic language alive and learning more about an integral part of the culture of Scotland, but also being given the opportunity to take part in creative activities like this at a young age.
"I am also delighted to see that this project has resulted in the publishing partnership Word Firsts, which gives children and young people the opportunity to have their work published. I look forward to reading the finished anthology."
Arts Education Co-ordinator Annette Murray said: “We are absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the success and quality of the projects being generated by the work of Aberdeen City Council’s Cultural Co-ordinators, who make up the Arts Education Team.
“Our team has set up many other successful partnerships, which allow us to share expertise, knowledge and create new artistic opportunities, such as writing and compiling the Wee Book of Gaelic.”
The Minister will be greeted by Annette and Elly Rothnie, Word Festival co-ordinator, then shown to the City of Aberdeen Room in the King’s College Centre, Old Aberdeen.
Dr Graeme Roberts, Vice-Principal of the University (Teaching and Learning), will welcome the Minister and invited guests and will introduce Alan Fulton.
Elly Rothnie will then introduce Word Firsts and speak briefly about how the project came together.
The four children - Anna Visocchi, Catriona Ross, Ellen Aitken and Ruth Stephen – will step on to a stage to read their poems for the Minister.
Following refreshments, Ms Ferguson will have the opportunity to speak to the youngsters and meet the Arts Education Team, who will show her a display panel showcasing their work.
She has a busy day of engagements in Aberdeen, including lunch with the Lord and Lady Provost to mark the opening of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. The Minister will also introduce the festival’s opening concert at the Music Hall tomorrow evening.
ARTS EDUCATION TEAM
The Arts Education Team is a strategic service linking the arts and artists with young people of school age, across the City. Most of the work is programmed within school time and is linked to the curriculum, but there are also occasional projects which are undertaken during school holidays.
The team is managed by Arts Education Co-ordinator Annette Murray and supported by Project Assistant Heather Evans.
There are three Cultural Co-ordinators: Louise Baxter (Visual Arts, Film and Literature), Lorna Dey (Galleries, Museums and Heritage) and Linda Lees-Hislop (Dance, Music and Performance).
The Cultural Co-ordinators in Scottish schools pilot scheme ran from 2002-04 as part of the National Cultural Strategy, with the aim of organising arts and cultural heritage visits, events and workshops for schools. It has been extended to 2006.
The Arts Education Team recently won a national award for the Woodlands and Hazlewood Commission.
Ceramicist Stephen Bird was commissioned to produce two new pieces of artwork for the City within the context of disability, and created ceramic panels and a 'huggable' vase.
The team was awarded £1,000, which will be used to continue its work of designing arts project for school pupils, in partnership with schools and other City organisations.