Here at Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW), Lumsden, are pleased to share with you the first news of our 2023 plans and opportunities.
SSW is an organisation committed to the transformational power of bringing people together through making and to opening up opportunities for artists and local people to access our facilities.
Sam Trotman, Director, SSW, “We are excited to this year be focussing our programme on the recently developed areas of the SSW site and to see these brilliant new spaces activated by artists and our local community. This year will see new creative community activities as well as important opportunities for artists within our ceramics programme. This year we are also taking time to update and develop our strategic plans for 2023 onwards as such 2023 is a transitional year for SSW and we are taking time to actively learn, shift and grow as an institution, in light of the times we live in and asking what a rural arts organisation is and who it is for.”
Following our period of Capital redevelopment, the new Community Making Space is now complete, on Main Street in Lumsden. With its position facing out towards our community, the space is highly visible and accessible, its design and architecture inviting people in. It offers dedicated space for groups and individuals to use and activate together. Over the coming year, SSW will be working with people who live locally to SSW, artist collective Myvillages and a new Community Arts Organiser to develop how the space is run, as well as working together to create a community focussed programme as part of The Rural School of Economics supported by the BEPART programme. The Rural School of Economics takes place across Europe and sets out to value and share the decentralised, self-organised and creative ways we get together and live in rural places.
Throughout 2023 the Community Making Space is being used as a test site for a broad range of ideas from the local community and groups. This test programme is called Lumbungsden, and is a collaborative project with artists Myvillages as part of the multi-local Rural School of Economics. The Lumbungsden programme has kicked off with a series of taster sessions in February and March which was decided upon by local people. These sessions are now full but drop in sessions available throughout the month. The Lumbungsden programme will culminate with a summer school that will bring together local residents and groups and artists from across The Rural School of Economics and the Creative Europe BE PART Network.
Myvillages describes *Lumbungsden:
“Lumbungsden” merges “Lumsden” and “Lumbung” . “Lumbung” was the motto for the Documenta in 2022, one of the most influential international art events that takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. “Lumbung” is an Indonesian term and means “shared rice barn”. The word was introduced by the collective Ruangrupa, the curatorial team behind this documenta. Sharing art, community and resources was very important, and we want to continue “Lumbung” by bringing the motto to Lumsden = Lumbungsden”
We are also pleased to share news of the newly redeveloped ceramics workshop with increased capacity, improved access, new equipment and maximized layout. A new ceramics programme and Open Access use of the space will be announced in Spring.
The accommodation for visiting artists has also been refurbished providing resident artists with improved facilities. Accessibility has been a key part of the plans, with improvements to the fabric of the building and to site navigation. SSW will also continue Partnership Residencies in 2023, with University of Helsinki and Cove Park and the third year of SSW’s Care Givers Residency programme with Counterflows festival.
All images by Felicity Crawshaw
