‘Soundmap: People and Place’ Brief for sound artist and visual artist Contents 1. The Commission 2. Background 3. Context & Vision 4. Artist Roles 5. Timescale 6. Structure 7. Finance & Contractual 8. Application Process 9. Selection Process 10. Project Contact 11. Appendices 1. The Commission Live Life Aberdeenshire Arts and Heritage team wishes to appoint a sound artist and a visual artist with experience in socially engaged practice. Working with selected communities across Banff and Buchan in the settlements of Ladysbridge, Rosehearty, Banff, Sandhaven and New Byth, the sound artist will take a creative approach to engaging communities using sound to reflect the locality of language and inspire individuals to nurture their creative and acoustic skills. The visual artist will complement the sound work which will be created by designing and delivering visual documentation. This project is funded by Aberdeenshire Council’s Developer Obligation scheme. 2. Background Banff and Buchan is one of six administrative areas in Aberdeenshire with its larger settlements focused around the coastline. Fishing, tourism and agriculture traditionally play a major role in the local economy. Banff has a population of just over 4,000 and is one of the major settlements on the north Aberdeenshire coast. Sandhaven and Ladysbridge have recently undergone notable population growth. Ladysbridge, two miles outside Banff, has grown significantly over the 1 last four to five years with new housing developed from the site of a former mental health hospital, founded in 1865 and closed in 2003. The highest proportion of Banff and Buchan’s employment is in the manufacturing sector. Significant numbers also work in health and retail. Fishing catches have increased recently in the Fraserburgh area, which includes Rosehearty and Sandhaven. Tourism also plays a role in the economy of Banff and Buchan, largely concentrated around the area’s coastline. The Banffshire stretch between Cullen in Moray, and Pennan in Aberdeenshire, has been voted one of the top 20 most iconic coastlines in the world in a National Geographic survey. Most of the settlements have a primary school and a community or church hall at their centre, except for Ladysbridge. Some of the areas are connected by local buses but most residents rely on their own transport. Development of walking paths has been a recent initiative and the Soundmap: People and Place project will work closely with and compliment these. 3. Context & Vision This intergenerational sound-based project is designed to creatively engage people who live and work in Banff and Buchan, across ages and generations. It will be locally focused to reveal the unique and distinctive sounds of local people and place. From the varied dialects of Doric and the accents of those that come and go, it will explore not only the vocals of North East Aberdeenshire but also the sounds of the land that keep us here. The project is also designed to engage participants in a debate around rural isolation and loneliness and the impact of this on the health and wellbeing of our communities. A key ambition of the artists’ engagement in these communities is to improve mental health and wellbeing, encourage people to walk in their local communities and stay better connected, physically, socially and emotionally. How to make positive change should be explored in various contexts - whether it be a young family moving into a large estate such as Ladysbridge, young people experiencing social, physical or peer isolation, experiences of living in small communities with limited transport, or older individuals becoming disconnected from their family and friends. We live in a visual world filled with image and by focusing on the sense of hearing we can interpret and understand the world differently. We will skill up our young people and engage older people in new audio technology and field recording, exploring and discussing throughout the process. By working with different generations towards a common goal we hope to unite communities and foster a sense of achievement and self-worth. 2 This project, therefore, should create opportunities for people in disparate communities to come together to participate, share, learn, be creative, meet new people and have fun. The sound artist will make these links, acoustically and physically. Local walking routes will be considered for how local sound can interpret these pathways, and enhance the experience and the moment of journeying, giving more cohesion. Depending on project timescales, some of the initial recordings produced may be able to contribute, in part, to Live Life Aberdeenshire’s new festival, Across the Grain, which celebrates Doric culture, language and the North East’s traditional music roots. The focus of community involvement for the residency will be: • Individuals, of all ages, who live in and around the communities of Ladysbridge, Banff, New Byth, Sandhaven and Rosehearty. • Referred individuals and groups as highlighted by Aberdeenshire Council Community Learning and Development team • Referred individuals and groups as highlighted by NHS Grampian Public Health Coordinator This commission is being undertaken by Live Life Aberdeenshire Arts and Heritage team, with support from Aberdeenshire Council’s Community Learning and Development team, NHS Grampian Public Health Coordinator and Aberdeenshire Youth Forum. The Arts and Heritage team will provide overall project management and support for the appointed creatives, access to our recording studios at Macduff Arts Centre and Aden Recording Studio (ARC) in Mintlaw, and the resources of our Technical Officer. The Live Life Aberdeenshire Health Walk Coordinator will support active engagement in the local landscape, from the pathways the participants will take as part of the field work, to the public routes people may take to the final sound installations. 4. Artist Roles We are looking to appoint a sound artist and a visual artist with experience in socially engaged practice and proven track records in creative community outreach, with the ability to relate to different groups and people with varying skill levels. The sound artist will engage with individuals in the communities that have been identified, to facilitate the exploration of sound linked to improving health and wellbeing through walking, listening and responding to the local environment. 3 From sounds created and gathered in different places, through activities devised and/or facilitated by the sound artist, a new work is to be presented in a creative and celebratory way, incorporating and inspired by the participatory work. This new work should include the production of a series of sound installations to be displayed, presented or performed towards the end of the residency. These may take the shape of listening posts along pathways within communities, their countryside and their coast, or another type of interpretation proposed by the sound artist. We also require some form of online resource, a series of podcasts for example, to compliment these works. The visual artist / designer will be responsible for a visual interpretation of the Soundmap project to connect it to a wider audience in a creative and collaborative way. The artist will design and deliver, with community involvement, a non-literacy product by way of a visual booklet that supports and guides participants and visitors through the project and the final sound installations. This practitioner will also work with the sound artist in the visual presentation of the listening posts and online graphics / branding. The delivery of this project will successfully recognise: • the unique contribution that artists can make in a complex social context during a process of consultation and exploration • the practical contribution that creativity and creative processes can make to the positive health, wellbeing and connectivity of individuals and communities • productive interactions with those concerned with development in the area and the community during the process Both artists must be approachable, empathetic and understand the challenges faced by traditional rural communities. They will work collaboratively and produce the following: 1. A timetabled plan, including all supporting activities, which will engage and deliver sound-based creative opportunities for people living in the communities mentioned. A focus should be put on the relatively new estate of Ladysbridge 2. Temporary sound installations and a complimenting booklet which will be a direct result of the creative engagement and activity in the community 3. A celebratory event involving those who have contributed to the project and the wider population 4. An archive of work and materials including contributions by people from the communities involved, to be available digitally and online 4 5. Timescale This project will take place over a period of six months, in recognition that it will involve some concentrated periods of work in several communities in the local area. A visible presence by the artists throughout the engagement will be key to successful partnership working. It is anticipated that the project will begin in October/November 2019, with community engagement work expected to take place from then until around March 2020. Final sound installations, booklet, an online archive and celebratory event will be completed by April 2020. 6. Structure The final structure of the project, methodology to be used throughout and the format of the community engagement will be agreed