News from Cove Park - October 2020

Cove Park reopened in September and we are delighted to welcome artists from across the UK to our autumn programme of funded and independently-funded residencies. COVID-19 secure ways of living and working on site are in place and we are pleased everyone can enjoy their residencies in a safe, peaceful and inspiring context.

This month we host former residents, such as choreographer Skye Reynolds and ceramicist Dawn Youll, alongside those taking part in our programme for the first time, including writers Polly Atkin, Samantha Clark and Sarah Urwin Jones and visual artist Ben Sanderson. October also sees the continuation of the Birkbeck/Sophie Warne Fellowship and we are pleased to host poet and songwriter Lawrence Illsley through this prestigious award programme. We are also very excited to welcome the first artists taking part in the Crisis Residency Programme, supporting 11 early career visual artists based in Scotland and funded by Freelands Foundation. More information on this new series of residencies is given below.

Finally, we can now announce details of the open call for applications to our funded residency programmes in 2021. If you are a maker, designer, writer, poet, translator, filmmaker or visual artist and would like to take part, scroll down for more information on the residencies we will offer during the Spring and Summer of 2021.

We hope all our artists and friends continue to be safe and well.

Image: Cove Park's Pods & the view towards Loch Long (photography, Martin Gibb)

Crisis Residency Programme 2020

Devised in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, this new series of residencies is designed to support early career visual artists based in Scotland. The crisis has had a devastating impact upon artists. Many have lost work and access to studio space, in addition to having planned projects, exhibitions and commissions postponed or cancelled. Recognising that this is a particularly challenging time for those in the early stages of establishing their careers, this programme offers artists the necessary time, space and financial support to reconnect with their practices, focus upon current and new projects without distraction and to share ideas and experiences with peers from a wide range of backgrounds.

The 11 artists taking part in this programme this year are: Thomas Abercromby, Saoirse Anis, Rabiya Choudhry, Caitlin Dick, Francis Dosoo, Kerrianne Flett, Rhona Jack, Amy Jones, Ross Little, Adebusola Ramsay and Natsumi Sakamoto. More information on this programme and all the participating artists is available here.

The artists were appointed following a Scotland-wide nomination and application process and we would like to thank all those that made such helpful nominations, including: Jenny Crowe (Arts Manager, Platform, Glasgow), Eoin Dara (Head of Exhibitions, Dundee Contemporary Arts), Kate Gray (Director, Collective, Edinburgh), Margaret McCormick (Community Engagement Programme - Visual Art, Platform, Glasgow), David McCracken (Print Curator, Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen), Ashanti Harris (artist and Cove Park Visual Arts resident in 2019), Ainslie Roddick (Artistic Director, ATLAS Arts, Isle of Skye) and Andrew Parkinson (Curator, Pier Arts Centre, Orkney).

The Crisis Residency Programme is made possible with generous support from Freelands Foundation.

Image: Rabiya Choudhry, 'Car Crash, January 25th' (2018) 290mm x 230mm, acrylic on card (photography, Matthew Arthur Williams)

 

Open Call for Applications Announced

We are pleased to share details of our funded residencies in 2021 and to announce the deadlines for applications to our Craft & Design, Experimental Film & Moving Image, Literature & Translation and Visual Arts programmes. These fully funded residencies support research, experimentation and the development of new work in an inspiring context. More information on our residency programme is available here.

Residencies awarded through these funded programmes will take place during the late spring and summer of 2021. Please view the Application Guidelines for each programme for further information. The deadlines for application are as follows:

Craft & Design: 
Monday 14 December 2020
Experimental Film & Moving Image: 
Wednesday 16 December 2020
Literature & Translation:
Monday 7 December 2020
Visual Arts: 
Monday 14 December 2020

Image: 2019 Craft & Design Programme Resident, Raisa Kabir (photography by Alan Dimmick)

Hands-On Cove Park at Home

Although Cove Park has reopened to artists, our regular series of Hands-On Cove Park workshops and events continues, for safety reasons, to be offered through online activities. In addition to the series of HOCP at Home films and activity packs (available here), we have also offered a series of online October Holiday Workshops, devised and led by former residents Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir and Zephyr Liddell. These workshops focused on creative collage and weaving, and activity boxes containing all the materials each project required were delivered in advance to everyone taking part in our local community.

To receive details of future Hands-On events and workshops, please join the mailing list here.

We would like to thank the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Young Start Community Fund for supporting HOCP at Home.

Image: Taking part in HOCP at Home, September 2020

Cove Park's 20th Anniversary Postcards

To mark our 20th anniversary in 2020, Cove Park has produced limited edition sets of 20 individual postcards including wonderful commissioned images of our 50-acre site overlooking Loch Long, the accommodation and studios, our famous Highland cows and the award-winning Artists Centre.

Each set features photography by Ruth Clark, Alan Dimmick and Martin Gibb and design by Maeve Redmond. All proceeds raised from the sale of the postcards will support our international residency programme. 100 sets of an edition of 170 are available and each set of 20 postcards is priced at £15 (including p+p within the UK). To buy one of these wonderful sets and support Cove Park, please visit our Shop.

Image: Cove Park's 20th Anniversary Postcards

Support Cove Park and become a Supporter, Friend or Patron in 2020

As for all artists and charities working within the cultural sector as a whole, the current global crisis means 2020 is a critical moment for the future of Cove Park. Although our plans to celebrate our 20th anniversary this year are now on hold, our commitment to the artists and communities we serve continues. At a time of considerable uncertainty for everyone, providing opportunities for artists from all backgrounds and at every career stage to devise and produce new work is more important to our culture and society than it has ever been.

Please join us by becoming a Supporter, Friend or Patron in 2020. We offer a number of ways individuals and groups can support our work, take part in our programme and spend time at one of Scotland's most beautiful locations. To find our more and to join Cove Park please visit our Support Us page.

As a registered charity Cove Park welcomes all donations, small or large. Gifts of any amount will make an enormous difference to our work. Please donate today if you can. Thank you.

Image: Cove Park's Artists Centre, June 2019 (photography by Alan Dimmick)