Shortly before the lockdown announcement in March 2020, I received the happy news that I’d been granted a Visual Artist and Craft Makers Awards (VACMA) for a series of online mentoring sessions with poemproducer Antye Greie-Ripatti and with location sound recordist Martin Clarke.

The online format of my project was designed in the first place around my island location and my desire to limit travel for reasons of climate and carbon… but it has turned out to be very well-suited to this period of mid-pandemic socially-distanced living. So while many other projects are cancelled or on pause, I’m really pleased that this project can carry on in just the way we had originally hoped!

A bit about my mentors and our discussions together –

Antye Greie-Ripatti moved from Berlin to the island of Hailuoto in Northern Finland in 2008. It is interesting to hear how she has been navigating the challenges of moving her work from an urban to a rural context, and I am enjoying discussing the methods she has used to intertwine international and local approaches to environmental, ecological and participatory sound art projects.

Martin Clarke is a location sound recordist whose career spans film, TV, radio and artistic projects. Though currently based in London, Martin is originally from Shetland. He is therefore perfectly placed to understand and help mitigate the effects of wind and rain that might otherwise put a stop to me working outdoors with audio equipment in Orkney…!

Funders

I am very grateful to Creative Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Orkney Islands Council who provided the funding for the VACMA scheme.