We are proposing a trip to Palermo in Sicily.  If you are interested please contact us at info@theartssocietystirling.org.uk

We are planning a day visit to Hospitalfield House in Arbroath.  Full details to follow.

There will be a Paint and Sip evening on 17th May at the Bridge of Allan Sports Club in aid of the Forth Valley Cats Protection. Tickets are priced at £25.  This will be a guided session with a local artist who will share different techniques throughout the evening. More information can be found here: https://www.cats.org.uk/fv-paintandsip

A grant of £1500 has been approved for Start Up Stirling to run an "Art for all rural outreach project".

It is envisaged that the 2025 project would be split into three parts:

1) The Summer Project split across different Community Hubs

The Summer project could be split into different venues, to provide feedback for future projects like this, to gauge what types of artwork and creative expression are most popular.

2) The Autumn Project is based at the Callander Community Hub, as this is the most advanced Hub.

The Autumn project would be purely for the Callander Hub. The ethos of the charity is to bring support directly to the people who require it when they need it most. The same principles would be applied to this project, as for many the cost of arts and crafts materials and transport to access art related activities would be prohibitive.

3) Access through Food Banks to art materials for vulnerable families across Stirling and Forth Valley

A grant of £250 has been approved for Creative Stirling to run "An introduction to set design & construction" workshop.

To read the report produced after this event please click here

Our new lecture programme is now available - just click on Lectures.  Enjoy!

Our new lecture programme and our autumn visit and study day information is now available on this website.

Deirdre Sprunt died on Monday 5th December.  She had been in hospital for a considerable time since having a bad fall in the house.

Deirdre joined NADFAS in 1990 and became a member of the committee in 1993/4.  She took over as membership secretary from Ailsa Bradley and in 2004 Deirdre herself planned our joining of the Gift Aid Scheme.  This was an extra burden she carried along successfully with her position as Membership Secretary until she retired from the committee in 2007.

Deirdre will be sadly missed by her many friends in our society now of course known as ‘The Arts Society Stirling and Forth Valley’.  Her funeral is to be held at 11.00 am on Monday, 19th December at the Bannockburn Crematorium.

We are delighted that Lachlan Goudie, renowned contemporary Scottish artist and broadcaster, has agreed to meet us for an afternoon tea and lecture on his recent book 'The Story of Scottish Art'.

The event was designed to celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2020 but has been delayed by circumstances beyond our control.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL

Dear Member,

I’ve been told one should never start by apologising, so I shall just report that your committee felt it necessary to cancel our first four in-person lectures of 2022. Stirling Council closed the Albert Halls for a time at the beginning of January and they have also taken our booking for April as they have to set up for the coming Scottish elections. With the Omicron variant of covid-19 being a bit of an unknown, it seemed simpler and safer to let our lecturers know they did not need to book travel arrangements. Meantime, you can still enjoy our lectures delivered by Zoom and YouTube and I hope you do. If you do not have the technology yourself, please do talk to family and friends and see if they could let you “attend” our on-line lectures. It is now permissible to visit people’s homes [and a good cup of coffee and a cake are usually welcome].

STUDY DAY 31 March

Our spring study day celebrates the accession to the throne of our Queen, Elizabeth, by examining the whole process of coronations through the years. I learnt recently that every coronation since 1066 has been in Westminster Abbey, although two monarchs [Edward V and Edward VII] were never crowned. The booking form is to be found in the Documents section under the Our Society tab on this website.

VISIT 26 May

This year we are visiting Marchmont House in the borders. I’ve only seen it on the website but it looks very imposing and I think we are very lucky that Annette has secured us a double guided tour, both to the house itself and to the sculpture garden. There will be the usual coffee and tea on arrival and a lunch included. Again, The booking form is to be found in the Documents section under the Our Society tab on this website.

COMMITTEE

We could still do with your help on our committee. Volunteering is at the heart of The Arts Society and there are many ways to become involved and support your Society. There are opportunities to help on lecture days meeting new members, signing in members or setting up the display board. You may be able to help with our website, with publicity materials or be able to take photographs at our events.

The committee meets on the Tuesday morning before each of the ten Thursday lectures for a couple of hours. We monitor our finances and issues of governance, review the previous month’s lecture, plan future lectures, study days and visits, report and discuss National and Area Arts Society information.

Ideally, a new committee member would have time to decide his/her interest and shadow the post-holder for a time. You may consider attending a couple of meetings as an ‘observer’ to meet the team and have an understanding of what is involved. A strong committee is vital to the future of the Society and to ensure that we continue to have an enjoyable programme of lectures, study days and visits.

Stay safe and well and I’ll see you soon,

Regards

Peter Rickard, Chair - The Arts Society Stirling & Forth Valley

A Happy New Year to you and yours.  May 2022 be all you wish for.

I am writing to you with an update on our plans for 2022.  In recent days your committee and I have come to the conclusion that in order to protect your health, and in order to protect our financial position we need to revert to on-line lectures.  We do not take this view lightly and I hope you will understand.

The next four lectures from January to April will be via Zoom.  Note that there is also a change to one lecture: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA by Neil Faulkner has been postponed until 2023, DEBO, DUCHESS of DEVONSHIRE is now in April not March and the March lecture [which is sponsored by Lyon & Turnbull] is AN (almost) A to Z of MODERN SCOTTISH WOMEN ARTISTS  by Alice Strang.  Here is the new programme:

January 20     IT'S NOT JUST TCHAIKOVSKY  by Nigel Bates

February 17   ROSALBA CARRIERA  by Lucrezia Walker

March 17        AN (almost) A to Z of MODERN SCOTTISH WOMEN ARTISTS  by Alice Strang

April 21          DEBO, DUCHESS of DEVONSHIRE  by Simon Seligman

We are not changing the dates of our Study Day [March 31] or our next visit [now confirmed as 26 May to Marchmont House in the Scottish Borders] but will keep you informed of any developments.   Further details of the lectures and the links will be sent nearer the time.

I look forward to seeing you on-line, and don't forget, you can ask a friend round to watch with you.

Regards

Peter Rickard, chair

Our first meeting in person following the COVID-19 disruption is Thursday 16 September.

Open until 30th June 2021.

Click here to enter the exhibition: 

The VAO art competition is currently running in its sixth consecutive year and is open to both amateur and professional artists.

VAO2021 PRIZE FUND WORTH £8,000

Overall Winner Receives:​

• Cash prize

• Certificate 

• Solo Show at Deepbridge Chester Arts Fair 

• Annual Mentorship Programme  

• International Online Global Art Exhibition of Finalists

• Free Career Development Talks

• 20% Discount with Cass Art​

All Category Winners Receives:​

• £250 cash prize 

• Certificate 

• Finalists will be exhibited at Deepbridge Chester Arts Fair 

ALL SUBMISSIONS will receive promotion on social media and email coverage to 50,000, plus an invitation to the annual show.

DEADLINE MIDNIGHT 15TH MARCH 2021

for further details see: https://mailchi.mp/6172b679deaa/2019-artist-application-open-now-5130184?e=195779d997

Area Events planned for 2019 -2020 Wednesday 23 October 2019 : visit to the ‘Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland’ exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland Sunday 26 April to Wednesday 29 April 2020 : Country Houses of Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire Monday 28 September to Thursday 1 October 2020 : Visit to South East Ireland (nb although this visit does not take place until the following session booking will be in 2019 - 20 session) Full details of these visits will follow later.

Some members will remember a visit to Alison’s studio in Temple; she gave us a very nice lunch and then we visited the grand house a mile or two away. Here are details of an upcoming exhibition

'Art in Glass'  Solo Exhibition
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2nd - 26th August 2019    Venue 244

The Artist
Alison Kinnaird has an international reputation as an artist working in glass. She uses the ancient technique of wheel-engraving, often combining it with cutting-edge technology such as LED lighting.

Her work ranges from small intimate pieces to architectural scale projects and is in many public and private collections, including the V&A Museum, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and the Corning Museum of Glass NY.

The Venue
Shillinghill Studios
Temple Village, EH234SH

This solo exhibition will take place in the conservation village of Temple, 12 miles south of Edinburgh, in the converted church dating from 1832, which has been Alison's home and studio for forty years.

Shillinghill Studios are also the base of Temple Records, founded by her husband Robin Morton, which specialises in Scottish and Irish music.

The ruined church beside the studio was the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Scotland in the 14th century, and as well as enjoying the open studio exhibition in a spectacular building, visitors can discover this historic venue.

Hers is a fusing with the physical elements of glass of metaphysical elements of imagery and perceptions, inner worlds and 'otherworlds', symbolism, inherited belief and lost experience, time and timelessness'
Hugh Cheape, Royal Museums of Scotland

find out more at

www.alisonkinnaird.com

01875 830 328 or alisonkinnaird@gmail.com