East Neuk Festival urges government to support young musicians with giant sand portrait
Hattie Fisk
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Putting the spotlight on young musicians with a large sand portrait on Elie beach, East Neuk Festival says: ‘It’s time to let them play’.
Created and designed by Sand in Your Eye, the eye-catching beach art signifies the launch of East Neuk Festival, which is taking place in indoor and outdoor venues along Scotland’s coastline from 1–4 July.
East Neuk Festival’s director, Svend McEwan-Brown, said: ‘Multiple lockdowns have caused irreparable damage to all musicians’ lives and careers, and we witness with dismay the especially harsh impact the crisis is having on those in their first years as professional performers.
‘Millions of opportunities have been lost to these young people all over the globe, and while the scale of this crisis puts it well beyond our reach to resolve, we certainly can play our part in creating opportunities and supporting excellence and creative endeavour as much as we possibly can.’
Drawn at low tide and washed away as the tide comes in, the drawings are temporary installations. A portrait of Mozart alongside a quote from pianist Paul Lewis was also drawn on the sand this week in celebration of the festival.
On the portrait, McEwan-Brown said: ‘Having been moved by comments Paul made last year regarding how he had been drawn to Mozart’s music during lockdown, I wanted to feature this wonderful quote from him in our second sand drawing portrait. We look ahead in excitement to his ENF debut this weekend and to hearing Mozart’s beautiful piano music here in the East Neuk.’
In addition to artwork on Fife beach, the festival has also announced its latest ENF Retreat Residency will be undertaken by young jazz composer, vocalist and storyteller Nishla Smith. Her project will entail developing a song cycle called ‘Aether’, exploring the impacts of the climate crisis across different environmental settings.
Nishla Smith said: ‘For a while now I’ve been thinking about how I can use my artistic practice to create something meaningful in response to the environmental problems we face as a society.
‘In ‘Aether’, I wish to broach my anxieties and hopes in a way that I also find artistically meaningful. I want to create something that balances the seriousness of the subject matter with some moments of hope and optimism.’
The 2021 East Neuk Festival will take place from 1-4 July, with al fresco performances, pop-up events, digital performance, art installations, community-led projects, & radio broadcasts.
To find out more visit their website.