Lyth Arts Centre will continue to evolve to benefit local communities
Recorded 4 years ago
About this recording
Lyth Arts Centre (LAC) is based in the geographical heart of the county of Caithness. In April 2017, the arts centre became a registered charity and Charlotte Mountford and Tom Barnes were appointed as Co-Directors to lead the organisation into a new era.
During this recorded conversation Charlotte and Tom discuss the history and vision of LAC.
It was founded in 1977 by artist and musician William Wilson who started by hosting events in his living room. He developed and ran the organisation for forty years until his retirement in 2017.
Charlotte and Tom describe their initial impressions of Caithness when they travelled almost 600 miles to attend an interview.
On moving to Caithness in the depths of winter Charlotte recalls, "The team at Lyth were really welcoming and supportive.” She also remembers, "I had a cold for the first 6 months until my body adjusted.”
Recognising that the arts centre had to evolve and develop its charitable aims. Tom states, "Our strategy from day one was to make LAC invaluable to the local community.”
They explain how they were able to reach a wider community through the use of village halls and community centres and this helped to bridge the gap to make LAC available to the wider community.
As a result of their dynamic and innovative approach, excellent progress was made in achieving these goals. However, when the pandemic struck in 2020, they had to reassess their situation. The abrupt break allowed them to 'hit the reset button'.
They attended resilience group meetings with all the different third sector organisations in Caithness, looking at how they could provide practical support. They adopted a holistic approach, exploring the roles of arts and well-being in supporting people in difficult times.
Pre 2020 Charlotte would have described herself, "As working in arts and culture but since the pandemic struck, I now feel I run a community organisation.”
Charlotte and Tom reflect upon the highly successful Northern Lights Festival celebrating Wick Harbour and the Caithness Coastline. The festival ran from Friday 8 October to Saturday 16 October 2021 and hosted a variety of free events including the STORM puppet procession.
Charlotte says, "There is something really interesting about being able to showcase an incredible heritage and history to contemporary audiences and instil a sense of pride."
Tom recalls that during the festival, "We felt an amazing sense of pride for Wick and had amazing conversations with people.”
Charlotte talks about some of the projects at LAC including the Caithness Artists in Residence CAIR project which allows local artists to support local community groups. She also describes the latest Dandelion project - Our Unexpected Garden will take the garden to the people! A trailer converted into an innovative growing space will tour to 4-5 sites across Caithness.
Lyth Arts Centre will continue to evolve and continue to find the best method of benefiting local communities.
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