Kendal musician awarded £25,000 to create brand new art piece for Cumbria

A Kendal musician has been awarded £25,000 to each create a brand new piece of musical art for Cumbria.

Jack McNeill is one of three artists to be awarded funding as part of the Catalyst creative residencies in Cumbria project, a unique collaboration between Art Gene in Barrow, the University of Cumbria, and Cumbria Arts and Culture Network.

Funding is being provided by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) as a way of promoting the county, its nature, industry and heritage through the creation of a new piece of art or experience.

Following a rigorous selection process focused on a brief of interpreting modern-day Cumbria, and raising the visibility and profile of the county as a unique, innovative and creative place to be based and develop a creative career, three artists have been selected.

Jack is a Kendal-based orchestral musician, solo clarinettist and musical director.

He said: “After investing a lot of time and energy in the proposal, the selection process has been an emotional ride! I am thrilled to be given this opportunity, and bristling with new energy.

‘’It’s the turning of a key in terms of returning home to Cumbria after working away, and now working creatively here. My project places Cumbria at the heart of a global drama, from a future just around the corner.

‘’Cumbria is a privileged place in so many ways, and one where our collective voices can animate the landscape, ringing for change and empathy.”

Jack plays clarinet and bass clarinet, writes music and makes things that happen between the worlds of live music, theatre and radio.

For Catalyst he’ll be working with Propellor and Mahogany Opera Group to establish a massed natural voice choir in Cumbria. The end result will be part interactive violin concerto and part digital drama. Participants will be invited to engage in this collaborative performance exploring a future where Cumbria is at the heart of an unfolding industrial conspiracy.

The project, called Air Songs, will unfold in community forests around Cumbria.

Funding also went to Emma McGordon, originally from West Cumbria and a multi-award-winning poet and performer, and Azraa Motala, a visual artist with a base in Preston and Greater Manchester.

The three artists were selected through a rigorous and highly competitive process. Applications were received from 235 artists from all over the UK. A panel of experienced cultural leaders and artists created first a longlist of 30 artists, and finally a shortlist of 20, 11 of whom were called for interview.

Kate Parry, Chair of the Selection Panel said: “We were absolutely delighted with the response to our call for proposals. It was an incredibly rewarding and rich experience to read them all, and extremely challenging to narrow it down to 11 artists to interview. 

‘’The final panel decision was unanimous, however, and we’re really excited now to support three such ambitious, different artists on their Catalyst creative journey. This is a chance for each artist to uniquely interpret Cumbria.”

The three artists will begin their residencies this month, culminating in presenting their new work in early 2025.