Nairn Book & Arts Festival

The winners:
First prize: Michael Marett-Crosby for Snow

Second prize: Alicia Lawson for The Terribly Lonely Beach Hut

Runners-up:

Eric Jones for The Missing Man

Chris Matthews for Skeleton of a Dog Found in a Cesspit at Simpson Street, Nairn

Karen Messruther for Pretend You’re Earthbound

Nairn’s increasingly prestigious Book and Arts Festival got off to a flying start yesterday (Friday) with the prize giving and pre-view of the Nairn Open Art Competition.

The innovation this year a of a double gallery format was a great success and on a beautiful sunny evening a large crowd moved between the Seaman’s Hall and the historic Court House. The Festival organiser Angela McOwan was thrilled with the enthusiasm of the guests -“Having two venues has allowed us to show twice as many works as last year in great comfort. Pictures and sculptures by over 100 artists have been beautifully hung and our expert visitors have been very complimentary about the quality of the work and its layout”.

Nairn Provost, Cllr Laurie Fraser, welcoming guests to the prize giving commented that the Festival is now established as an important part of Nairn’s visitor programme and is a major component of Scotland’s cultural scene. In addition to the Council, support from other sponsors EventScotland, Albyn Housing Association, Dynam Graphics and Nairn Rotary has allowed the Open Art Competition to offer very generous prizes. First prize winner Andrew Thomson said
“this is the first major prize I have won and it will give my career in the arts a terrific boost”. His picture ‘Sparrow Tree’ was snapped up by an important collector immediately sales opened.

The exhibition will remains open until June 19th at the Court house and the Seaman’s Hall. At the same time the 4Square Exhibition, Ruth Nicol’s solo show, both at Nairn’s Community Centre, and other shows at the Railway Station and throughout the town give visitors to Nairn plenty to see.

Following a late cancellation, acclaimed writer Michel Faber has stepped in to give a reading.  Michel was born in Holland, grew up and was educated in Australia, and emigrated to the Scottish Highlands in l993.  He won three major short story competitions, and was signed up by Edinburgh’s Canongate Books. He’s well-known for his novels Under The Skin and the international bestseller The Crimson Petal and The White.  At this event he may read from his latest novel The Fire Gospel, or from unpublished work, or even from his early books.  Come along for a dramatic, and deeply engaging event at 4.30pm on Thursday 9th June at Nairn Community Centre.

Handing in day for this year’s Open Art Exhibition was a lot of fun - looks like we have over 350 entries this year - it will be a busy day for the judges on Sunday. Exhibitions run from this Saturday 5th June - Saturday 19th June.

This event has been cancelled by the Antonious Players who are very sorry they are not able
to attend the festival.  Shakespear in Love now has a new start time of 8pm

Saturday 12 June 2010
10.30am – 4pm

To mark the final weekend of the Nairn Book & Arts Festival, Piccolo Press in Harbour Street will be open to visitors.  Piccolo Press is one of the very few remaining traditional printers within the UK, with letterpress and diestamping presses that we are sure Guttenberg and Caxton would understand and approve.

There will be a special display of printing artefacts, books and ephemera with tours of the “Printshop & Presses”, conducted by Tim Honnor.  One press will be set up so that you can print your own postcard!

All are welcome and entry is free. There will be a donation box in aid of the “Inverness Sea Cadets” and gift stationery items, printed at Piccolo, will be available to purchase.

Dr Tony Pollard, one of the world’s foremost battlefield archaeologists, has announced some exciting findings about the location of the historic Jacobite Battle of Prestonpans.  Dr Pollard, the Director of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University who will speak at the festival on Friday 11 June,  led the team which investigated an area some distance from the originally recorded battle site.

You can read the full article on the BBC News website.

It was a very cold windy morning down at the bandstand when John Fyfe, Festival Chairman launched this year’s programme of events. 

Tickets go on sale this Easter weekend at Nairn Book Shop, the Community Centre and on http://www.thebooth.co.uk

Pictured with Festival Administrator, Angela Mcowan.

The Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who will be appearing at the festival, was so moved by David Beckham’s devastating injury she immediately put pen to paper and wrote a new poem: Achilles in which tributes to Beckham’s ability with a football are mixed with references to the classical myth in which the warrior is let down by his one weakness – his heel – while fighting at Troy. She told the BBC: “He (Beckham) is almost a mythical figure himself, in popular culture.

A.L. Kennedy’s dark comedy set in 1870s London and based on a true ... Confessions of a Medium has just been broadcast on Radio 4.

The BBC’s Book at Bedtime has recently featured several festival writers: Sally Vickers, Katy Hickman and Esther Woolfson.

More Venues & Prizes for Nairn Festival’s Art Exhibition

Gallery space has greatly increased for this year’s Open Art Exhibition.  Following the remarkable success last year’s event when over 500 entries were received, this year selected works will be exhibited in both Nairn’s Town House and in The Seaman’s Hall.

Artists from all over Scotland entered the Competition last year and the organisers are anticipating another bumper entry this year –particularly with a new prize for artists from the Highland and Islands as well as acceptance of photographic works for the first time. 
Robyn Ruane, organiser of the Open Art Competition, said “We were so excited last year by the enthusiasm of the entrants who submitted so many more entries than we had expected that we want to highlight a much greater number this year while maintaining the high standards required by our judges”

EventScotland are continuing their support for the Competition ,  with a prize roll starting at £1500, a second prize of £500, a Student prize of £500, sponsored by Nairn’ Rotary Club and the new Highland Prize, sponsored by Inverness’ design company Dynam, of £500.

The student winner will also be offered free exhibition space at the following year’s Festival. Last year’s winner, Edinburgh’s Ruth Nicol, whose pictures so impressed the judges that they made her overall winner, will be showing her latest work in the Community Centre during the 2010 Festival said today – “I have received a lot of recognition throughout the art community since winning the Nairn Open and my work has been accepted by professionals in the high quality art world. I’m looking forward to showing my work again to the friendly and knowledgeable visitors who come to the Nairn Festival.”

Cinema Nairn, the community initiative reviving big screen entertainment in the Highland seaside town, has revealed its programme for the next six months.

The project has also received a major boost in the form of a financial donation from the local Rotary Club.

Starting on Saturday 20 February, films will be screened regularly at Nairn Community Centre with six confirmed so far, ranging from classic 1950s movies ‘The Searchers’ and ‘The Sweet Smell of Success’ to two of last year’s hits, ‘Moon’ and ‘Looking for Eric’.

Cinema Nairn will also programme films with a literary theme during Nairn Book & Arts Festival week in June.

The novelist A L Kennedy, who will be at the festival on 13 June, is giving a series of readings entitled The Writing Life on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30pm on 16, 17 and 18 February.

Her play, Confessions of a Medium, with a very strong cast including Bill Nighy, will be the Saturday Play on Radio 4 on 13 March at 2.30pm.