Inverness Old Town Project

The Inverness Old Town Project has been developing since 2006, when the late (and very much missed) Public Art Development Officer Evi Westmore appointed artist Matt Baker as Lead Artist, with support from the Scottish Arts Council (SAC). Baker proposed to use the Old Town Project to gain greater visibility for the diverse cultural community of the Highland region, enabling them to play a significant role in the emerging identity of Inverness as an important regional capital city.

The first publicly visible part of the Old Town Project was the temporary artwork ‘Imagining the Centre’, where 14 Highland artists (including musicians, a playwright, graffiti artists, new media artists, sculptors, painters and a historian) created a series of installations along Church Street one September Saturday. Since then, the Old Town Project has focused on the generation of for a distinct cultural ‘destination’ within the City.

Two distinct strands of art activity catalysed by the Inverness Old Town Project are now current:

- 1. The Old Town Art Project has received further support from SAC to deliver 6 artwork commissions for the area. These are a mixture of permanent installation to support the new identity as a cultural district, and temporary works to sustain dialogue with local people and secure a legacy of experimentation and innovation.

- 2. A network of Highland artists working in public spaces has grown from the ‘Imagining the Centre’ project. These artists are now establishing themselves as a voice within the region and beyond.

Phase 2 of the Old Town Art project is led by Inverness City Partnership officer Marie Mackintosh, Project Coordinator Susan Christie and Lead Artist Matt Baker. This phase began in earnest with the ‘Streetexts’ project by graffiti duo DUFI, the launch of the permanent installation ‘3 Virtues’ by Matt Baker (March 2008) and the appointment of Louise Mor to oversee the Victorian Markets section of the process.

The Inverness Old Town project as a whole has been project managed Susan Christie. The original funding was secured, and the project begun by the Inverness City Partnership (ICP) and Partnership Officer Marie Mackintosh.

Contributers:
Louise Mor: Louise’s role is to “organise all aspects of the Victorian Market commission programme.”

Fin Macrae: Fin Macrae is a fine art photographer and multi-disciplinary artist who is one half of the Highland based duo DUFI.

Al MacInnes: Al MacInnes is a freelance graphic artist and designer who is the other half of the canned art and guerrilla duo DUFI.

Sarah Grant: Spectator and sometime participant, Sarah has in the past donned a black wig to assist with the ‘Inverness is Pants’ project…

Blog articles are written by: Louise Mor, Fin Macrae, Alister MacInnes, Sarah Grant, Inverness Old Town Art.