Giant sand artworks promote the East Neuk Festival

June 30, 2021 | Culture

East Neuk Festival has put the spotlight on the plight of young musicians in an immense sand portrait drawn onto Elie beach.

Amid growing fears of the devastating impact the pandemic will have on the future of our next generation of musicians, a picture of a young trombonist accompanied with the call to action ‘It’s time to let them play’ was etched into the sand of the Fife beach this week.

Created and designed by Sand in Your Eye, the eye-catching beach art heralds the beginning of the East Neuk Festival which takes place in indoor and outdoor venues along the beautiful eastern stretch of Scotland’s coastline from Thursday to Sunday (1-4 July).

East Neuk Festival 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.’

The East Neuk Festival has been committed to nurturing young and emerging talent since it was founded in 2004. Its celebrated artist development programme, the ENF Retreat, offers young musicians the opportunity to develop their artistry through a residency of workshops and mentoring leading to public performances at the festival.

A giant sand drawing to mark the East Neuk Festival (Photo: Jamie Wardley / Sand In Your Eye)

Today the festival announces that its latest ENF Retreat Residency will be undertaken by young jazz composer, vocalist and storyteller Nishla Smith.

Partnering with scientists from St Andrews University’s School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Smith will develop a song cycle called ‘Aether’ for voice and improvising ensemble exploring impacts of the climate crisis across different environmental settings. The project will culminate in a development residency with the ensemble, and a performance of the new work at the 2022 ENF alongside the creation of a short film which will document the partnership, research, creative and rehearsal processes.

Svend continues: ‘We have always keenly felt our responsibility to support musicians in the early years of their careers and remain committed to offering opportunities that we hope will help to take them forward and allow them to develop profile and build a career.

‘This year we have continued to offer opportunities through our ENF Retreat programme and we open our festival concert series with two young pianists making their debuts. We are delighted to be announcing Nishla’s residency. A wonderful performer with an enquiring mind, I’m really looking forward to seeing how her project develops.’

Nishla Smith added: ‘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.’

Since the ENF Retreat was founded, a family of players has been built and the festival’s investment in these young musicians continues beyond their time spent in their residency. Many return to perform at the festival including violinist Benjamin Baker who this year will perform alongside guitarist Sean Shibe at the converted barn The Bowhouse at St Monans.

Drawn at low tide and washed away as the tide comes in, the drawings are temporary installations. Another portrait was revealed yesterday to local residents in Elie. A picture of Mozart alongside a caption by the renowned pianist Paul Lewis, the drawing celebrates Lewis’ East Neuk Festival debut which will take place at the converted barn, Bowhouse, at St Monans this weekend featuring music by the composer.

Svend concluded: ‘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.’

The 2021 East Neuk Festival will take place Thursday to Sunday (1-4 July) with al fresco performances, pop-up events, digital performance, art installations, community-led projects, and radio broadcasts promising a rich festival experience for audiences in Fife and beyond.

To view the 2021 East Neuk Festival programme and for further information visit eastneukfestival.com