Welcome to the CABN Catalysts!

I am delighted, on behalf of the Scottish Borders Place Partnership, to announce that we have now appointed our freelance CABN Catalysts, who will guide the transition of CABN from its current position in Live Borders to an independent, sector led model over the course of the next 12 months.

We have 3 Catalysts sharing two roles:

Catalysts – Engagement : Jessie Growden and Julia Parks

Catalyst – Transition : Felicity Bristow

 

CABN Catalyst – Engagement : Julia Parks – @juliaemilyparks

I am an artist filmmaker and organiser from West-Cumbria. In Spring 2022, I started a 6-month residency with Alchemy Film and Arts in Hawick. My project, encompassed research, sound recordings, analogue filmmaking and community engagement and investigated the relationship between plants, people, animals and textiles making along the Teviot and Tweed River. Prior to moving to Hawick, I worked with Signal Film and Media in Barrow-in-Furness as a Project Manager for a large photographic archive project called Seeing the North With Sankey.

“I am looking forward to starting my role with CABN and job sharing with Jessie.”

CABN Catalyst – Engagement :  Jessie Growden – @jessiegrowden_video

I studied textiles at Heriot-Watt University, and since I graduated I’ve worked with Eribé Knitwear, Live Borders, Alchemy Film & Arts and Unwind Yarns amongst others. I have my own video art and drawing practice, and when I’m not at work I like to keep fit, read, and go for walks in the woods.

“I’m looking forward to joining the CABN team to help continue its fantastic work as we transition to a new model.”

CABN Catalyst – Transition : Felicity Bristow – @felicitybristowstudio

I am an artist and designer, graduating from Edinburgh College of Art. I originally joined the team as CABN Marketing & Projects Assistant in 2012 working up until 2019. I recently returned working freelance to support the project as Communications and Project Assistant – supporting the Evolve transition process.
I am currently training part-time with master bookbinder Tom McEwan after being awarded a QEST Scholarship in Spring 2021.

“It is great to be stepping into a new Catalyst role working with Jessie and Julia to support the CABN project as it transitions into a sustainable and exciting new independent model.”

 

We have a really exciting mix of skills and experience in this new Catalyst team, and we can’t wait to see how they bring this into this transition phase.

The three Catalysts will work collaboratively, with the Catalysts for Engagement focused on ‘front facing’ network engagement and communications and the Catalyst for Transition focused on the development of the new model, bringing the legacy and learning of work to date and the current context of support to inform the way forward. The Catalysts will be a point of contact and will provide support and advice for creative individuals and organisations in the Scottish Borders.

We had originally advertised for 2 roles: Catalyst – Engagement and Catalyst – Sustainability.   We had strong applicants for both roles, though putting together the right mix of skills with the time offered by those interviewed was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle. The interview panel, which included strategic partners Creative Scotland, therefore suggested a reconfiguration of the Sustainability role to a Transition Catalyst role, with the ability to commission around any gaps in expertise required in the original Sustainability role brief as we move through the next few months.

I will be handing over the reins to the new Catalysts over the next couple of weeks and taking up a new role within the Arts & Creativity Team at Live Borders. All CABN communications will continue to flow – Jessie will be at the helm! – though there will be different contact details for project staff and general enquiries.

The Catalysts are freelance and will be managed at strategic level by the Scottish Borders Place Partnership who will transfer the funding to a host organisation – the Southern Upland Partnership – to administer payments and provide some additional support to the Catalysts. We’re delighted that SUP are the host organisation, as there will definitely be added value and synergies with the work they do which encompasses a wide range of project work to support business, environmental and cultural impacts.

STRATEGIC SUPPORT: The Catalyst posts and the work over the next 12 months is funded by the Scottish Borders Place Partnership (Creative Scotland and Scottish Borders Council) and SoSE (South of Scotland Enterprise). We are hugely grateful for the support and investment into CABN from these agencies, not just financially – they have understood the value of the network and the potential for it to deliver ambitiously in the future for the creative sector in the Scottish Borders including through new partnerships and collaborations.

SECTOR SUPPORT – CABN EVOLVE STEERING GROUP AND CULTURAL FORUM: We also want to take this opportunity to thank those in the sector who have provided a huge amount of input on a voluntary basis to get us to this point. These are primarily the members of the Scottish Borders Cultural Forum and the CABN Evolve Steering Group. The Scottish Borders Cultural Forum created a space for concerns to be raised about the potential loss of the unique support that CABN provides, and actively petitioned against the potential loss of the network. The CABN Evolve Steering Group have met 9 times since the beginning of June and provided advice, input and robust discussion around the way forwards. They were also instrumental in shaping the route map forward for CABN. I can’t thank all those individuals enough, along with those who have input in different ways over the last few months.

Mary Morrison, Leader, CABN