Macrobert event

17th September Macrobert Arts Centre was 40 years old. My placement at the University of Stirling Archive gave me the idea of staging an event with dance to raise awareness of Norman McLaren ahead of his centenary in 2014. As it happened I was able to tie in with the 40th birthday celebrations to do just that. The Norman McLaren filmhouse was showing  a variety of  material during the day and after discussion with the artistic director, we agreed to also show McLaren's Hen Hop. Three dancers and a fiddler were at the door of the filmhouse to lead the audience out into the foyer. There the dancers interpreted the hen character with a slightly more Scottish version of fiddle music than the Canadian Barn dance music in the film. The dance led people to the exhibition area where we had hung a giant version of the McLaren skull picture. McLaren had an x ray taken after a series of headaches, and felt this the ideal place to make a self portrait. He asked the consultant for a copy and then drew little pictures of the working of his brain!! The hen features there too. The exhibition of 40 years of the Macrobert was curated by Brian Hartley. In collaboration with him I also added a written piece linking McLaren with Arts in Stirling, alongside 'Stress' a drawing by McLaren from the special collection..also held in Stirling. During the dance I walked among the audience, sitting at tables and standing, and offered them a hen 'feather' from my basket. These were hand made curls of paper on which were written various facts and quotes about McLaren. I then engaged them in conversation about McLaren, Macrobert, the arts and what having access to these facilities means for artists and future artists. Finally I invited them to write a letter to Norman about their thoughts from the days event, and what Macrobrt means to them. It was a great day!! images to follow.....