At a meeting of East Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet a decision was taken to provide funding for two major exhibitions to mark Homecoming 2009.
Scotland’s Year of Homecoming 2009, which marks the 250th Anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth, is a Scottish Government-led initiative aimed at attracting thousands of visitors to Scotland by showcasing Scotland as a ‘must visit, must return’ destination to a worldwide audience.
The exhibitions, which will be the Council’s focal point for the celebrations, will feature two very separate but equally inspiring themes. One of the exhibitions will celebrate East Ayrshire’s link with Robert Burns and Scottish creativity and will feature new commissions and collections.
The second exhibition will tell the story of Ayrshire’s innovators including Murdoch, Fleming, Wallace, Boswell, Shankly, Dunlop and Macadam and will feature key collections relating to this theme from our own collections and beyond.
Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of the Council said: “The Dick Institute will house both of these exhibitions and they will run for several months from February 2009. This is a very exciting project which will draw visitors to East Ayrshire while fitting nicely within the national celebration of Homecoming 2009.
“Homecoming Scotland has recently announced that there will be a £1,000,000 funding allocation available to support events that are successful with bids to the Themed Events Programme. One off funding of between £5,000 and £50,000 will be available to create new or enhance existing events which compliment the themes and objectives of Homecoming Scotland. The deadline for the submission of bids is 26 February 2008 and grant awards will be announced on 11 April 2008 so I would urge you to contact Torquil MacLeod, Funding and Programme Manager from Homecoming Scotland today for further information on 0131 4722313.”
For further information please check out http://www.homecomingscotland.com
Taken from the www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/corpres/news/display_story.asp?StoryID=2366
For further information contact Torquil MacLeod on 01314722313
