The Valuing Nature Programme supported the development of a short film, produced by the AALERT for Decision Making (AALERT 4DM) project, about art and artists and their role in landscape decision-making through community development and empowerment in the context of land reform and re-peopling in Scotland.
Watch the film's trailer
AALERT 4DM builds on the Arts and the Artist in Landscape and Environmental Research Today (AALERT) network that emerged out of a workshop supported by Valuing Nature and the Landscape Research Group in February 2018. It was funded by AHRC under the Landscape Decisions Programme to explore and enhance the contribution arts and arts research can make in informing decision-making related to landscapes, land-use, and land assets. The project brings artists into dialogue with stakeholders and academics interested in landscape management, through a programme of interactive and case study-based workshops aligned with wider networking activities and the production and exchange of written and visual documentations of these experiences.
‘Art is not an Island’ was created as part of the preparations for the project’s scoping workshop. The film aims to stimulate discussion and debate about the role of the arts in the re-peopling agenda in Scotland, focusing in particular on the relationship between the arts and landscape values. It helps to think about and reflect on how the everyday practices of local artists, and the activities of arts organisations and enterprises, contribute to the wider sense of belonging that builds a community’s co-identification with the landscape. It documents the experiences of eight artists and makers living on the Isle of Eigg and North Uist, explaining their connections to the special landscapes where they live and the importance of their artistic practices.
Please click here to access the long version of the film and additional materials
The AALERT network have also produced the Valuing Arts and Arts Research Demystifying Report.