Free creative city car park event and artistic new look for shop windows

As part of a new city centre art project work is underway to give people the experience of window shopping with a difference and the chance to park and smile with a creative free car park event featuring local performers and the work of artists.
 
Following Re-Imagining the Centre, Inverness Old Town Art (IOTA) has come together with Inverness BID to continue to invite artists to refresh the way in which we experience the city. With support from Inverness Common Good Fund, IOTA has invited Richie Cumming and Stacey Hunter to curate a new project that injects life into empty shops, with the aim of enriching and heightening footfall in the city centre.

IOTA projects have successfully focused in and around the Old Town, growing out of the streetscape and developing ideas for a cultural zone.  Getting Up – Windows on the City is a continuation of this creative process, drawing attention to the area by engaging artists and the public in unusual ways.

The artists involved are working across a variety of media from life-size figures depicted in a space-themed Garden of Eden installation by Mike Inglis (inspired by Albrecht Durer) to glow-in-the-dark woolly mushrooms by a young female duo (Hilary Grant & Mahala Le May).  The artworks involve and reflect the local community; some using archive film footage and others directly engaging with pedestrians. Artwork is designed to stimulate conversations and enable people to have easy access to stimulating contemporary art.

Art Collective NOW NOW have organised a Contemporary Art Tombola situated in the ex-99p Shop. 99 contemporary art objects will be exhibited in the window of the shop throughout December, with members of the public winning them for 99p per ticket in a guaranteed-win prize draw in January.

Currently installing their exhibitions, the artists are cleaning, scraping, painting and sawing in preparation for a public unveiling on Saturday 19th December. Getting Up’s headquarters is based in a rather unusual location  - Old Town Rose Street Multistorey Car Park - where staff have set aside the reception room, formerly used for marriages, for artists to set up laptops, test their films and wire-up custom-made lighting.

The car park is also playing host to a FREE celebratory event beginning at 6.30pm on level 8 of the car park on 19th December. This special event, which finished at 8pm, features live music from Withered Hand, Mississippi Hoodoo Man with local support from 28 Jacks, free art videos and sound-pieces transmitted to your phone, video projections, art installations and even free soup for early birds.

Highland Councillor Thomas Prag who sits on the IOTA Steering Group said:

“I can’t resist this - I think it’s a terrific initiative! Blank shop units are so often just an untidy eyesore waiting to be brought to life. Well done to the combined efforts of the team who have managed to get access to them and stimulated some brilliant ideas to reinvent them – and who would have thought of using a car park for a fun arts event?”

“Its bound to get people talking in the city centre and draw different audiences into the spaces. This is a fledgling IOTA initiative that we are very intrigued to see develop and we are delighted that such a diverse range of artists have applied to participate.We all remember using the 99p shop and now we can enjoy the art there and win part of the exhibit too = and who could resist a `glow in the dark woolly mushroom!”

Getting Up is curated by Richie Cumming (DCA, Rough Cut Nation, National Galleries of Scotland) & Stacey Hunter (The Lighthouse) who say

“We’ve been overwhelmed by positive support from local organisations like the team headed by Philip Barron at Rose Street Car Park and Graham Hanks at ICA as well as individuals like Susan Christie, Steve Kerr and Moira & Colin at YUM! Cafe - all of whom have been incredibly open-minded and generous with their time and resources. It’s been a race against time to pull this off and of course we couldn’t have succeeded without the shop owners’ permission.

“Andrew Rose from Graeme & Sibbald and Matthew Park from DM Hall have been invaluable in helping to secure the spaces. We believe that owners like Frank Taylor will benefit from sharing our vision to transform these symbols of a challenging economy into vibrant galleries that everyone in the community can enjoy.

“We hope as many people as possible join us in the car park on the opening night to listen to some great music, tell us their ideas for future events and meet the artists who will be doing a walking tour of the installations with us at 8.30pm.”

Getting Up Curators have previously overseen various successful shop windows projects in Scotland including Westside Plaza in Edinburgh, Merchant City, Glasgow, Aberdeen City Centre and Crieff

At A Glance - Artists and locations:

Andy MacVicar
Ex Video Drive-In store 83-85 Church Street

Mike Inglis
Ex Video Drive-In store 83-85 Church Street

Janie Nicoll
Ex-Harry Gow shop, 14 Union Street

‘Yuck ‘n Yum
Various Locations - Rose Street Car Park and Yum! Cafe - Look out for a white van driving around Inverness city centre with the words ‘Yuck ‘n Yum Mobile Distribution Unit painted on the side Thursday 17th, Friday 18th & Saturday 19th December.Bluetooth installation in the Yum! Cafe 14a Margaret Street

NOW NOW
Ex 99p shop, 4/6 Drummond Street

Hilary Grant & Mahala Le May
Ex Video Drive-In store 83-85 Church Street

Key dates for the city of Inverness:

• 14 December  Install week.

• 19 December Launch event in collaboration with Old Town Rose Street Multistorey Car Park from 6.30pm-8pm followed by free walkabout tours of sites with artists & Curators at 8.30pm

• 24 January   De-mount of installations