Wasps Workshop Guidance – August 2021

As Scotland has recently left the tier system regarding COVID-19 Safety Guidance the implications for the hosting of workshops has relaxed. However, Wasps will continue to adopt the policy for the lowest level of restrictions, to provide safety and security for its tenants, visitors and staff.

This guidance for workshops follows The Community Learning and Development guidance, updated to include the following information in relation to community based learning activity for adults over the age of 18.

The Implications for Level 0

Participant levels are to be calculated based on 1m social distancing and the available space in the workshop area. Wasps’ Property Team can provide guidance on numbers for each space at the point of application. The relevant COVID-19 Safety measures should be taken.

Wasps’ Workshop Guidance has been compiled to assist in the preparing for recommencement of workshops. It is important to consider that anyone wishing to start workshops must complete the risk assessment forms downloadable on the right hand side of this page, for Fire Safety and COVID-19 Safety. These must be completed in full and approved by the Wasps Property Team (property@waspsstudios.org.uk) before workshops can commence.

Also downloadable from this page are sample completed risk assessment forms, which you can work from for guidance or use as a template and edit to suit your individual circumstances. Please contact the Property Team via the email address above if you have any queries.

The Scottish Government’s change in restrictions also permits Wasps to allow visitors to studio buildings, whose visit is for the purpose of your practice. Examples of these kinds of visitors would be clients, collaborators and buyers.

If you intend to hold workshops or/and invite guests to your studio please read and follow all guidelines below. All visitors must follow the Tenant Guidance in place.

Workshops and Visitors

• Tenants who wish to run workshops should read and follow the Scottish Government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance for the Community Learning and Development Sector, which can be found here.
• Normal health, safety and fire guidance applies to holding workshops and inviting visitors into the buildings. Visitors who enter the building for reasons other than workshops should be managed in line with the COVID-19 guidance in place for your studio building, which can be found here.
• Please inform a member of Wasps staff immediately if you or anyone else in your studio building exhibits symptoms associated with contracting COVID-19 so that we can promptly manage the situation.

Risk Assessments

• Risk assessments must be completed in full and approved by the Wasps Property Team before workshops can commence. Please submit these if you haven’t already: property@waspsstudios.org.uk
• Risk Assessments are required for anyone inviting more than one visitor to their studio
• You can download draft risk assessment forms from the Downloads sidebar on the right.

Moving through the buildings

• All visitors and studio users must use the Eve Pass Track and Trace system.
• Tenants are fully responsible for any visitors they invite into the building.
• Tenants must escort visitors to studios/workshop spaces in a safe and responsible way.

August 2021

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Updates

To find up-to-date information on the Coronavirus situation in Scotland please visit The Scottish Government website.

Wasps Building Access during COVID-19

From Monday 9 August remaining Scottish Government-imposed restrictions have been eased. However, for the safety and security of our tenants, visitors and staff Wasps is maintaining some of the policies we have been following thus far. Regardless of an individuals’ vaccination status, or region’s restriction level, while at any Wasps building we request that the following measures be continued so that all tenants, staff and visitors have the confidence in continuing to use these facilities.

To stay safe, to protect others and to save lives, all tenants, workshop & event organisers, and visitors should follow the FACTS while using Wasps buildings:

• Face coverings in enclosed communal spaces
• Avoid crowded places
• Clean your hands and surfaces regularly
• Two-metre social distancing
• Self-isolate and book a test if you develop coronavirus symptoms

Moving through the buildings

• All visitors and studio users must use the Eve Pass Track and Trace system.
• Tenants are fully responsible for any visitors they invite into the building.
• Tenants must escort visitors to studios/workshop spaces in a safe and responsible way.

Please carefully read and understand the Wasps COVID-19 Guidance before you enter any building, all building users must adhere to all measures in place. We have a dedicated helpdesk should you have any questions: coronavirushelpdesk@waspsstudios.org.uk

Wasps Galleries and Exhibitions 

We can now to safely welcome visitors back to our gallery spaces. To keep up-to-date with current exhibitions and open venues, please visit the programme page for the full arts programme.

All visitors must follow Wasps COVID-19 Guidance above.

Wasps has limited capacity entry to all gallery venues, on display on entrance to the exhibition space. We will ask audience members to safely queue outside the venue if we are at capacity upon arrival.

Wasps Workshop Guidance

The hosting of workshops is now permitted. However, for each event permission must be sought from Wasps’ Property Team, who will be able to advise applicants on the capacity of the intended venue space.

Read Wasps latest Workshop Guidance here.

Wasps Residencies: Guidance during COVID-19

The Booth, Shetland and Admiral’s House, Skye are categorised as self-catering holiday accommodation. Please download the Wasps Residency Covid Guidance which sets out the measures Wasps has implemented in its residency spaces and the restrictions we ask you to adhere to at this time, to keep yourself and others around you safe.

Space Enquiries and Viewings 

Physical distancing and safe working measures are in place at all Wasps buildings. To enquire about a Studio or Creative Industry space with Wasps please click here.

Last update: 15 October 2021

Student graduate Susie Dalton has been awarded the Wasps Award for her work in the Leith School of Art Contemporary Art Practice Exhibition. Susie Dalton has been awarded an exhibition with Wasps at South Block for the upcoming programme year.

The Wasps Award is given to contemporary emerging artists. Susie Dalton was chosen for her poetic and poignant reflection on lockdown life manifesting itself in beautiful sculptural form. Read on as we speak to Susie about her work, the wonderful piece selected for the award, and her plans for her South Block exhibition.

Susie Dalton

Tell us a little about your practice and work in the RSA Annual Exhibition

I’m a visual artist, and I work a lot with clay. I like how tactile and versatile clay is and how it gives opportunities to put form to feelings and experience, especially those which are difficult to articulate.

My work in the exhibition explores the transformative impact of social isolation. Since lockdown measures were introduced, I’ve spent the vast majority of my time alone in my flat, with only the sun for company. To capture this companionship, I made 459 porcelain tiles, one for every day since social restrictions began, and treated them with chemicals which turn blue in sunlight. I placed them all over my living space, and now each one now has an irreversible record of the light and dark that touched it.

What are your hopes for your awarded exhibition at South Block?

I’m really excited to exhibit work in South Block. It’s such an inviting and sociable space, and the opportunity to show work in a place where people get to relax and connect in person feels particularly precious at the moment. I’m looking forward to using the time between now and the exhibition to develop a few ideas and make new work.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Wasps for the award, and to Leith School of Art for the support and guidance they’ve given over the last year.

See more of Susie’s work at @susierosedalton and look out for news of her upcoming exhibition at South Block.

A big thank you to all our funders

Two visual artists have been awarded the Marchmont x Wasps Residency, giving them the opportunity to practice their craft at one of The Borders’ most culturally important estates this summer, Marchmont.

Emerging from a partnership between Wasps and Marchmont Estates, two artists who take nature as inspiration, textile specialist Laura Derby, and Helen Flockhart, an artist whose chosen medium is oils, will join the growing artistic community at Marchmont in August as fully funded residencies. Helen Flockhart (pictured left) is a Wasps tenant at the Briggait, Glasgow, and Laura Derby (picture right) is a Wasps tenant at Cannonwalls & Claverhouse Studios, Kirkcudbright.

Director of the Scottish Borders mid-18th century Palladian house, Hugo Burge, is creating a hub for creators and makers in the region. Marchmont is expanding its mission to support artistic vision, and since building renovations began in 2011 the estate’s stables have been converted to artist studios and the former garage is now a workshop space. Marchmont is currently home to six artists and creators with more joining the community later this year.

Part of Marchmont Estate includes the former studio of one of Scotland’s most versatile creative figures of the last century, polymath Rory McEwen, a leading figure in the folk music scene from the late 1950s and a pioneer of botanical and multimedia art. During the residency Laura Derby will be working in Rory’s former studio in the village of Fogo, three miles from Marchmont House.

Despite having received no formal graduate training in art, Rory McEwen became one of the most gifted botanical artists of the 20th century. Taking his inspiration from the surrounding landscape and countryside Rory’s artwork can be found in the collections of such institutions as the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Tate, the National Gallery of Modern Art, Scotland and MOMA, New York.

Artist and winner of the Marchmont residency Laura Derby:

“Lucky me to get to spend a month to live and work in Rory McEwen’s studio. His botanical works seem to glow with awe at the miracle of life and I hope that some of the embodiment of appreciation he has enabled rubs off in my work.  Ideally I would like to impart appreciation of this gift of life we have, and what a great opportunity for me to try through this residency at Marchmont.”

Co-winner of the Marchmont residency, artist Helen Flockhart:

“I’m delighted to have been given this opportunity.  This is a new experience for me – my first residency – and having just worked through four consecutive years for three solo shows, I’m excited to see what work will ensue as a result of immersing myself in all the visual, historical and creative stimuli that Marchmont has to offer.”

Anthony Hughes-Onslow, General Manager, Marchmont Estates:

“The Marchmont Residency programme was created in partnership with Wasps to enable artists to explore and understand their art in a stimulating but different environment. If it delivers progress in the artists’ work then it succeeds in its ultimate purpose.”

Wasps Chief Executive Officer Audrey Carlin:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for artists to immerse themselves in an inspiring, historic location, with a developing creative community in what must be one of Scotland’s most picturesque areas. The Borders has a long tradition of supporting the Arts, and with the addition of Marchmont as champion it promises to be a vibrant future for the region. Congratulations to Laura and Helen. I’m sure they will find the experience rewarding and enriching.”

Stay tuned this August for updates from the artists during their residencies at Marchmont Estate.

Helen Flockhart (left) and Laura Derby (right) at Marchmont Estate

About the artists

Helen Flockhart

Having gained a first class BA Honours degree from the Glasgow School of Art in 1984, followed by a post-graduate year (Highly Commended), Helen received a British Council Scholarship to study at the State Higher School of Fine Art in Poznan, Poland from 1985-86. Since then she has lived and worked as an artist in Glasgow. With 20 solo exhibitions in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Poznan, and contributions to group shows and art fairs in Europe, Canada, New York and Singapore, Helen’s work is in collections such as Flemings, Glasgow Museums and Smith Art Gallery and Museum. Helen has won awards such as First Prize in the Noble Grossart/Scotland on Sunday Exhibition, Lyon and Turnbull Award at the RGI and a grant from the Pollock Krasner Foundation, New York.

Helen remarks: “I have always painted in oil. I like a surface rich with detail and colour on which to feast the eye. I also like a twist in the beauty and there is often something to puncture the idyll. A keen gardener myself, my paintings reflect a fascination for plants and the natural world, often featuring figures engulfed in a fecund tangle of vegetation. They are all rooted in the human condition though and in recent years have taken a look at stereotypes and tropes of figures in history, mythology and in lived experience.”

Arusha Gallery states: “Hers are works which break with established convention – a blend of portrait and landscape, Flockhart’s paintings are verdant, fantastical paeans to that particularist genre of British myth making centred on pastures, mountains and divinity. Indeed there is something Blakean about her work – a warmth of vision borne of what appears simultaneously ancient and modern.

Laura Derby

Laura creates hand tufted wool pile textiles as artful, practical furnishings for walls, floors and upholstery. She likes the idea of her work inviting connection with the true nature in a deeper way by inviting people to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate through use of mindfulness/meditation mats, stools and art rugs. Her palette of wool, presently, is upcycled and repurposed from carpet industry surplus enabling the wide range of colour she likes. She uses photography, drawing, painting digital art, memory, fantasy, dreams to capture ideas and creative visual work to translate into textile. Sharing appreciation of the natural world is the object of her work and longstanding interest in health/mental health. Consciousness, archetype. One of her influences is the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser – painter, architect, ecological activist and philosopher. Laura hopes to foster more interest and insight into the benefits of connection, re-connection with the natural laws of earth, not as commodity, as complex subtle ally the benefits of which are woven into the very essence of our wellbeing.

Laura has a BA Honours degree in Industrial Design (Woven Textiles) from the Scottish College of Textiles. She worked in New Zealand briefly, as artisan creating highest quality indigenous artist designed rugs. For the last 20 years she has worked in social care to support people towards the recovery of mental health issues. Laura is committed to strengthening the fabric of life. Laura aims to achieve the Quality Charter Mark of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere by working with them and other partners to produce works of textile are made and designed purely from and within GSAB.

University of the Highlands and Islands graduates are to feature in an art exhibition hosted at Inverness Airport, welcoming visitors to the region when travel resumes.

The new exhibition, Highland Creatives opens with works by Inverness College UHI alumni Yelena Visemirska, Louise Innes and Evija Laivina, current practitioners at Wasps’ Inverness Creative Academy, the first creative hub for the area.

The launch of Highland Creatives is in preparation for an increase in national travel and recommencement of international travel, expected later this year, while providing an opportunity for local emerging artists to showcase their work in a public space. The art will also be available to buy directly from the creators.

Speaking about the exhibition Audrey Carlin, Chief Executive Officer at Wasps Studios, said: “Over the past year opportunities for artists to physically exhibit their works have been vastly reduced. This partnership with the University of the Highlands and Islands and Inverness Airport mirrors the hope we have of a return to a less restrictive time, and we take this initiative partly as a way to welcome new, occasional and frequent visitors to the Highlands, but also a thankful expression of being able to enjoy art in person once more.

“Later this year Wasps will complete the final phase of the development of its Inverness Creative Academy project, which will provide a substantial cultural resource for the region. We look forward to welcoming everyone to this flourishing and interconnected creative community.”

Graeme Bell, Inverness Airport Manager added: “I was delighted when the university and the creative team at Wasps approached us with their idea of installing an art exhibition in our terminal building.  Having recently redesigned the building, it provides an eye-catching attraction which complements the space. We are only too pleased to be able to help local artists and the wider creative community during such challenging times.

“As travel restrictions ease, visitors can appreciate our region’s unique culture and visual identity through the artwork being exhibited. And, of course, it can be enjoyed by the Inverness Airport team too.”

Managed by Wasps, Inverness Creative Academy Phase 1 opened in November 2018. It is the first creative hub in the Highlands to provide a space for artists, makers and creative industries. Inverness College UHI has its own studio space within the academy to provide creative space and collaborative opportunities for the students.

Talking about this initiative Nicola Smith, Head of Careers and Employability at the University of the Highlands and Islands said: “As we celebrate our tenth birthday, the university is especially proud of the many strong industry partnerships and supportive relationships we have built. We are delighted to be partnering with Wasps and Inverness Airport to give our hugely talented graduates the opportunity to display their work in this contemporary exhibition space.

“It has been a challenging time for those in the creative industries and this is just one example of how we are working hard to support our students and graduates to look to the future. All our alumni are graduates for life and the university is proud to work with industry partners to position our region as an attractive location to develop a sustainable creative career.”

More graduates from the University of the Highland and Islands partnership will feature in the exhibition over the coming year. To find out more about the artists and Wasps Inverness Creative Academy, visit invernesscreativeacademy.org.uk.

You can listen to Audrey Carlin, Chief Executive Officer at Wasps Studios and creative artists Yelena Visemirska, Evija Laivina and Louise Innes talk more about the exhibition launch with Katie Masheter in the latest University of the Highlands FutureMe podcast episode at www.uhi.ac.uk/en/students/career

Artists Lynsey MacKenzie and Richard Goldsworthy have both been awarded the Wasps Award in the 2021 RSA Annual Exhibition. Richard Goldsworthy will be exhibiting with Wasps at Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh in 2021, and Lynsey MacKenzie will be exhibiting with Wasps at the Briggait, Glasgow in 2022.

The Wasps Award is given to contemporary emerging artists. This year both artists were selected for their experimental processes and materials. Wasps’ selectors were drawn to Lynsey’s play with scale in her paintings, and Richard’s practice of charring materials. Here we speak to the artists to hear more about their practice, and their hopes for their awarded exhibitions.

Richard Goldsworthy

Tell us a little about your practice and work in the RSA Annual Exhibition

My practice is all about transforming and combining different materials and new processes to create intriguing sculptural forms and drawings. At the moment I am focusing on wood and pewter. By carving, sanding, burning and casting, I add strident contrasts to expose, highlight and celebrate their natural features and so-called imperfections. The results represents a delicate balance between my input and allowing the materials to find their own voice, to make their own marks.

“Darkness in the Light” is about material contrast and how different elements can be juxtaposed and harmoniously combined. Using charring and casting, the material is enhanced and transformed into something new yet still highlights the intrinsic qualities of the materials. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

 Richard Goldsworthy – ‘Darkness in the light’, Charred willow and pewter

What are your hopes for your awarded exhibition?

Lockdown has been frustrating for all artists, I suspect sculptors are feeling this particularly strongly as it is more difficult to engage with three-dimensional art virtually. This exhibition, for me, is all about engaging artistically with people again. A new audience, some new ideas, the chance to be around fellow artists – it is very exciting.

Lynsey MacKenzie

Tell us a little about your practice and work in the RSA Annual Exhibition

My process is quite intuitive and is driven by compositional concerns – relationships between colours, the materiality of the paint, thickness, thinness, and the speed and energy of marks. I am also interested in painting’s relationships to time, for example through the non-linear accumulation of imagery and forms.

I painted the two works exhibited at the RSA while I was working at home during lockdown. Over this period, I was drawn to the idea of swimming, of floating, suspended in water, especially somewhere remote and quiet – and so I found myself painting images of imagined outdoor pools.

 
Lynsey MacKenzie – ‘Quietude’, Oil on canvas, Triptych

What are your hopes for your awarded exhibition? 

I’m planning to make a new body of work specifically for the Briggait spaces. I’d like to work on some really large pieces, and perhaps also bring in some much smaller pieces as well as I like to contrast scales sometimes.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Wasps for selecting me for this award. I’m so excited to get started on making work towards the exhibition!

You can see both artists work in the RSA Annual Exhibition, shown online until 30 May.

Perth Creative Exchange recognised with 2021 Scottish Property Award

Wasps’ latest completed development project, Perth Creative Exchange, has been recognised as the winner in the category of Regeneration Project of the Year 2021 at this year’s Scottish Property Awards.

The Scottish Property Awards was founded in 2014 and aims to recognise the best new commercial and public buildings in Scotland. Perth Creative Exchange is a £4.5m partnership project between Wasps and Perth and Kinross Council which transformed the former St John’s School building to create Perth’s first creative hub – an inspiring home for artists, makers, creative industry professionals and the general public. Perth Creative Exchange is Wasps’ 20th building in Scotland, and its first studio building in the area.

Perth Creative Exchange was opened to tenants in October 2019 and officially opened by the Provost of Perth and Kinross, Dennis Melloy on 26th February 2020.

Wasps Chief Executive Officer Audrey Carlin: “This award is testament to the collaborative partnership approach to regeneration led by Perth and Kinross Council, working closely with Wasps, alongside a range of stakeholders and funders, to successfully deliver a creative, economic legacy in the heart of Perth City Centre. “Perth Creative Exchange is already home to a community of artists and makers who, along with creative industries, a café, meeting space, workshops and events space, is breathing new life into a derelict former school building. The facility is now supporting creative business incubation with the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre, Elevator’s Business Gateway services, Culture Perth & Kinross and the University of the Highlands & Islands – Perth College, all partners in the project’s success, ensuring Wasps will continue to deliver a lasting legacy from the regeneration process.”

Wasps’ current project, Phase 2 of Inverness Creative Academy closely mirrors the Perth Creative Exchange development in that it is a regeneration venture converting a former school into a creative hub, this time for the Highlands. The final phase is due for completion later this year.

Wasps gratefully received funding for Perth Creative Exchange from:

Wasps Chair Andrew Burrell reflects and collects memories from others on the life of and friendship with founding director Tom Laurie OBE, who passed away just before Christmas.

Many of our artist tenants, staff and Board will have known Tom who sadly died just before Christmas in Glasgow at the age of 82.

Tom was one of the founding directors of Wasps and a long serving member of the Board, more recently accepting the honorary role of Patron during the reorganisation of the Group some six years ago. During Tom’s tenure at Wasps the organisation grew, confronting the inevitable challenges, whilst Tom’s energy and optimism inspired those around him.

His significant contribution to Wasps and the visual arts was matched by his interest in, and promotion of, music, theatre and the arts generally in Scotland. His broad interests were key to his ability and enthusiasm for connecting people, ideas and projects, the results of which we will all hopefully enjoy for years to come.

I first came across Tom in the 80’s when developing Ingram Square in the Merchant City and noting his love for urban renewal and conservation, moving on to The Piping Centre in the early 90’s where he was also instrumental in introducing Gerry Grams as the architect to the project. You were never sure what direction your life might take when accepting an invitation for a beer with Tom at Babbity’s; the number of projects initiated there must be a record per square metre for any building in Glasgow.

His influence wasn’t confined to Scotland. I recently discovered his love for Barga, an historic town in Tuscany from where many of our west of Scotland Italian diaspora originate, and a town for which I too have fond recollections but had no idea this also applied to Tom. His stories would have been much better than mine but I’m too late.

In order to capture some of the importance of Tom’s involvement in Wasps, as well as the impact on the lives of many who collaborated with him, I asked a few former Board members and colleagues to provide a personal anecdote or two.  Hopefully these might inspire many others to reflect on their memories of Tom.

I first knew Tom when, as a young woman, I started working for the Bridgegate Trust which was the organisation restoring the old Fishmarket, to become the Briggait. Tom was one of the original trustees and the quantity surveyor for the job. We camped in his office while the work was being done and I enjoyed many impromptu concerts as Tom would arrive into the office and burst into some Scottish song, just for the sheer joy of it. He was the most vibrant, warm and nurturing person anyone could hope for in their first job and he had a huge impact on my personal and professional life. Without him and his enthusiastic love of Scotland, its buildings and its people, we would have lost much of our built and musical heritage. A life well lived and sorely missed.

Eleanor McAllister OBE
Patron and Former Trustee, Wasps

Tom was simply a wonderful man. As a young architect I met Tom and Fraser as clients commissioning a small ‘French pension’ (his words) to be created in the east end of Glasgow – at that time (1983) a ‘marginal’ area – of urban dereliction. Tom bubbled with enthusiasm, and ideas, daily. Designs changed with each new vision.

It was impossible to predict just what an impact this little building would have, ‘Babbity Bowster’ under Fraser’s management has become legendary.

From there I consider myself fortunate like so many others to have known Tom. He took me under his wing, introducing Rugby weekends, always ensuring that I didn’t ‘peak too early…’, hidden Parisian restaurants, Dublin bars, charitable Boards (most notably Wasps), impossible projects, grand ideas, and the most varied and colourful array of friends and characters.

A life well lived. A man truly missed.

John Forbes
Former Trustee, Wasps

I knew Tom as both a QS and from Wasps, where he was Chair of the Board, being one of the creative and committed people who first established the idea and delivered a range of studios across Scotland that, from the artist’s perspective was very successful, though we were financially troubled. When he stepped down from Chair I took over and, to provide some continuity, he continued as vice-chair, a partnership that lasted for well over a decade and saw Wasps become not just financially stable but expanding. To mark his retirement from the Chair Wasps commissioned a tenant to make him a stained-glass window for his front door, a gift that touched him deeply.

He was full of ideas, always imaginative, though they were not necessarily deliverable, and was a constant ball of energy, fizzing with enthusiasm, a person one would have thought unlikely to be a QS but his partnership Keiller Laurie Martin was successful and continues today as KLM. There was much else he was involved in and to which he contributed greatly, of which others can better describe, but he will be sorely missed not least in the bar, especially when he sang; he has left much behind for the lasting common good but Wasps alone is a great living memorial.

Ian Wall
Patron and Former Chair, Wasps Trust

As a young graduate architect in the 80’s, Tom was the first ‘surveyor’ that I worked with, and he set a standard of energy, creativity, collaboration and enthusiasm that has yet to be rivalled. A road trip with Tom and Fraser with a few others to Cardiff Arms Park to see Scotland play Wales one winter, we got snowbound in Herefordshire on the way back. Tom, armed with his Good Pub Guide found us great places to stay, eat and drink. The stories, laughs and real ale flowed and it became a trip I would never forget. Tom was my introduction to Wasps where I remained involved for over 17 years.

Gerry Grams
Former Chair, Wasps Ltd

Tom and I worked together for over 15 of his 30 years as chair of Wasps. When I started in the early 1990s Wasps was going through tough times but Tom led the board bravely, always looking to build consensus, seeing the company as a collaboration between artists, staff, board and funders. Early on I knew I was working with a unique surveyor when he told me he couldn’t make a meeting as he was recording an album. That he had a presence in both the property industry and in the arts made him the ideal chair of a hybrid organisation like Wasps.

I learned an enormous amount from working with Tom, particularly about how to conduct yourself in business with humanity and humour. Bursting with ideas, he was always upbeat and smiling, with a joke to tell to start every meeting. The organisation overcame its tough times, traded out of deficit and bought up most of its buildings throughout his time as chair. It would never have got to that point without his positivity and his cheerful guidance. Everyone who worked with Tom at Wasps will never forget his influence on the company but more importantly they will remember his warmth, his compassion and his humanity.

David Cook
Former CEO, Wasps

In the mid-70s I and other artists were, post-graduation, seeking studio spaces in the city to practice our work. We approached the SAC’s Bill Buchanan. Bill announced that he had set up a company to help, Workshop and Artists’ Studio Provision Scotland (Wasps).In the winter of 1977/78 Tom Laurie, Lindsay Gordon from the SAC and I were walking around Glasgow looking for a suitable building to convert to artist studios, and happened upon a derelict property on King St in the Trongate, which would have been the first Wasps building, had it not been for the fact that a collective of artists in Dundee had secured a former Primary school months before.

Tom turned the fortunes of Wasps around. There was no money in the beginning, and the rental income barely covered the administration costs. Tom secured charitable status for Wasps, and through his infectious enthusiasm attracted influential board members to Wasps to help deliver a strategy that would go on to grow the company nationally. In the beginning Wasps found it a challenge to give the spaces away. Now Wasps’ studio spaces are much sought after, with waiting lists for many of its 20 buildings.

Tom was a very affable, inspirational character, whose enthusiasm and patient dedication he lent to a cause he felt needed to be addressed – that those working in the visual arts in Scotland needed a leg up.

Tommy Lydon
Artist and Wasps Studio Holder

Tom remained a supporter of Wasps and would occasionally call into the office for a chat with Audrey, Stuart and colleagues which was much appreciated. He was a consistently energetic and imaginative contributor to any discussion around the importance of nurturing and promoting those involved in the creative industries and Scotland owes him a considerable debt.

Andrew Burrell
Chair, Wasps

PHOTO: Tom Laurie OBE (courtesy of Barga News)

• We are delighted to have welcomed two new Trustees to Wasps Board in March this year, Nikki Kane and Mhora Samuel, both of whom are Wasps tenants. We asked them both about their careers and interest in art, and thoughts on how we can help to support Scotland’s creative community moving forward.

  Tell us a bit about your background…

  NK: My background in the arts is a mix of curating, making, management and academia. I studied History of Art at the University of Glasgow for my undergraduate, then after a few years working in public art I completed my Master of Research in Creative Practices at Glasgow School of Art, which was a mix of practice and academic research and writing. I then spent a few more years working in cultural organisations, taking part in residencies, and curating various projects, including as part of the CuratorLab programme at Konstfack in Stockholm. I am now working on my PhD at Edinburgh College of Art which examines the notion of a contemporary art career and the role of festival and biennial in this, with Glasgow International and Edinburgh Art Festival as partners.

  MS: I was born and brought up in Edinburgh and went to university in Aberdeen, then went south to work in London. I danced a lot in my early years and my father was an architect so as a family we visited a lot of buildings and historic monuments!

  What are you passionate about?

  MS: The value of investing in creativity, places, and sharing the stories of our lives to help find ways to look after each other better.

  NK: I am passionate about working with artists and other creative practitioners to develop their work in a variety of settings. I am particularly interested in working in collaborative ways across disciplines or mediums, and in rich and interesting sites or modes of exhibition.

  How did your career in arts develop?

  NK: During and right after my undergraduate degree, I worked in internships, work experience and event-based roles in different cultural organisations, to try and get a broad understanding of different organisations and ways of working. This eventually led to a long term role working on large-scale public art projects where I developed skills and experience in project management and working with practitioners. At the same time I developed my own practice by undertaking a lot of residencies in the UK and abroad, and working on independent projects. I then joined the committee of artist-run space Market Gallery where I got to continue working with artists on exhibitions and other projects. I have continued working on independent curatorial projects whilst also working in more formal roles.

  MS: I started out as a community-based dance choreographer and teacher in Scotland and Oxford and worked at Chisenhale Dance Space in London. I then ran performance, theatre and creative industries development organisations as Director at Total Theatre, Chief Executive at the Cultural Industries Development Agency (CIDA), and Director of the Theatres Trust. More recently I helped set up Creative Enterprise Zones in London for the Greater London Authority and managed implementation of Screen Scotland for Creative Scotland.

  How did you discover Wasps?

  MS: When I was running CIDA we organised the Arts Council funded conference ‘Creating Places’ at the Tate Modern in partnership with ACME Studios, Space Studios and Wasps. Securing artists studios and support infrastructure was an important part of CIDA’s work.

  NK: I have been a studio holder in the Briggait since 2015, when I moved into a shared space after completing my Masters at GSA, before that I had visited exhibitions and friends studios, so was very glad to be able to move in myself!

  What do you hope Wasps achieve in the next five years?

  NK: Over the next five years, I hope Wasps can continue to support as many artists, makers and other cultural practitioners as possible. I hope that we can continue to develop how we connect with our various localities across the country and our tenants. I would also like to see us continually working to make the most of our buildings as spaces for cultural encounters through exhibitions and events.

  MS: Continue to provide well managed spaces and buildings across Scotland for artists and creative organisations in a supportive and enabling way, including helping tenants develop, produce, exhibit, distribute and sell work.

  What can people/businesses/public bodies do to support artists and makers in Scotland?

  MS: Work with artists and makers, understand their intrinsic value and manage policies to ensure public funds and support continue to flow to them as individuals, collectives, companies and organisations and positively address the inclusion of those who face social, cultural, economic and racial inequality.

  NK: Organisations and individuals can support the many incredible creative practitioners in Scotland by participating in cultural activity of all sorts – exhibitions, events, screenings, performances, sales, open studios are all opportunities to engage with the work being made here and the people making it. For those with resources and platforms, sharing and supporting creative work through commissions, materials, spaces and funding is key. And when connecting with artists and makers, trust and the freedom to experiment and work freely is really important.

  Find out more about Wasps Team on our ‘About’ page, by clicking here. 

• Perth Creative Exchange, a £4.5 million creative hub which will help boost the local Perthshire arts economy, was officially opened at a launch ceremony on Wednesday February 26, by the Provost of Perth and Kinross, Dennis Melloy.

  

  The Provost unveiled a plaque to commemorate the success of this partnership regeneration project by Wasps Artists’ Studios and Perth & Kinross Council, in transforming an empty school building – the former St John’s Primary School – into a facility of high quality, affordable studios for artists, makers and creative businesses. It houses The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre for creative business incubation, a facility which was part funded by the Scottish Cities Alliance’s 8^th City Programme, funded through the European Union’s ERDF Strategic Intervention. As well as a significant contribution from Edrington (The Famous Grouse).

  The event also saw the opening of Fair Exchange, the first exhibition in the building’s new gallery, The Gannochy Project Space, which features work by some of the Perth tenants. The exhibition continues until Friday 27th March.

  

  Provost Dennis Melloy said: “I am delighted to see the Perth Creative Exchange facility come into being, made possible by a £3.5 million investment by Perth & Kinross Council.”

  We are creating an environment which encourages creative and artistic growth, whilst retaining and attracting talent to the City of Perth. Not only has Perth Creative Exchange attracted resident creative people from across Scotland to the Fair City, this splendid facility is already fully let and expected to support 66 full time equivalent jobs and generate wage earnings of just under one million pounds per annum across the local economy.”

  “The creative sector is now the fastest growing sector in the UK. In 2018 it added £111 billion to the economy, an increase of just under 8% from the previous year. And Perth and Kinross is a place where businesses thrive – but creative people need particular support for their talent to thrive and grow. We have around 1,500 creative industries in our area, many of which are very small scale but have huge potential to grow.”

  

  Audrey Carlin, CEO of Wasps, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm that artists, makers and creative businesses have shown for the new Perth Creative Exchange, and it has been amazing to see this old school building come back to life.

  “The official opening is the chance to mark what we hope will be the start of a new chapter in the story of the area’s cultural economy – and will also be the moment when we start to welcome in the general public, for what will be the first of many exhibitions.

  “Perth and Kinross has an abundance of creative talent but there has been a real shortage of the high-quality, affordable studio and workspace.

  “Hubs like this can help turn the tide, by providing creative people with affordable and high-quality studios and offices they need in order to build thriving businesses.”

  

  Four of the 13 business workspaces have already been taken by creative industries including Perth-based social enterprise Really Real Resources, a photography agency dedicated to portraying what life is really like for many of society’s most vulnerable, and The Malting House Design Studio, an exciting branding and design agency.

  The aim is to generate a positive environment for artists and entrepreneurs who want to live and work in the area – rather than having to seek opportunities elsewhere.

  The main contractors for Perth Creative Exchange were Robertson.

  Kevin Dickson, Managing Director, Robertson Tayside, said: “Working with hub East Central Scotland and Perth & Kinross Council, we have delivered a space which will support the creative sector both now and in the years to come. This hub will be a boost to the arts community in Perth and further afield, and everyone at Robertson is delighted to see it thriving already.”

  Find out more about Perth Creative Exchange here.