The Falkirk Council Arts Team consists of a team of experienced arts practitioners specialising in the areas of:

  • performing arts
  • visual arts and crafts
  • film and media
  • creative engagement

What we do

Support local communities/voluntary sector and independent artists/practitioners from Forth Valley area but also across the central belt.

Commissioning

  • Annually through HippFest – music/audio commissions for silent film
  • 10 years managing Big in Falkirk (commissioning festival for street arts)
  • Pacemaking/public art commissioning primarily focussed on town centres regeneration but also some local housing initiatives and the Helix
  • Curation of year round temporary exhibitions including retrospectives (Alan Davie, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder; Fabrizio/ Alex Rotas, Barbara Rae, etc)
  • creation of touring exhibitions – Julia Donaldson illustrators + supporting emerging artists locally – Neil McTavish Opera Singer/Dawn Wright textile artist

Operating cultural venues

Hippodrome, Callendar House, Kinneil Museum) and also pop-up hubs (arts flat in Langlees as part of Arts and SIP project; various pop-up studios for creation of artworks for the Helix Day (the opening of the Helix); and more recently the arts/ heritage hub in the Howgate (initially for Falkirk Townscape Heritage Initiative and then latterly for our NLHF funded project Great Place).

Events/ activity management

  • One-off community/ creative celebrations (Home – the official opening of the Helix)
  • Cultural programmes as part of national and international events (Queens Baton Relay – Commonwealth Games; Torch Relay – London Olympics 2012
  • Local seasonal events – Fireworks/ Christmas/ New Year, etc and one-off 'pop up' celebrations – Grangemouth Children's Festival/Creative Writing project/Summer Schools

Performing Arts programming

  • FTH programme
    • Supporting young people (Falkirk Youth Theatre, Reaction)
  • Providing support to voluntary and independent arts groups in the area
  • Co-productions - with voluntary sector
    • Classic Music Live!/ Imperial War Museum
    • Battle of the Somme/ composer Laura Rossi
    • Working with professional theatre makers ie Imagine Theatre, 3 years of panto and Starcatchers Children's Theatre Company.

Contacts

Lesley O’Hare
Cultural Services Manager

Gillian Smith
Exhibitions Officer

Hazel Beattie
ADO (Performing Arts)
Paul Eames
Team Leader (Arts)

Anna Mayhew
Cultural Coordinator

Alison Strauss
ADO (Film & Media)