Shetland Artist Membership - 1 Year Anniversary
Gaada is celebrating the first Anniversary of it’s Shetland Artists Membership scheme which provides benefits and opportunities to living in the isles.
Since the soft launch in September 2023, Gaada has had 53 Shetland Artists join the membership to benefit from a range of perks including: access to making facilities, 1-on-1 project support, free development events, members opportunities and even receiving the occasional printed dispatches from the workshop direct to their door.
Each member receives a hand-printed welcome pack which includes a special Golden Tottie pin.
Gaada has launched a special members site which provides a simple and easy to navigate directory of Shetland Artists….. www.shetlandartists.org
Members receive occasional printed dispatches from Gaada.
In March, we invited our users to contribute anonymous user feedback on all areas of Gaada’s work, including services accessed through Membership.
See what our Members had to say below:
“Working at Toogs [Artist Workshop] puts me in touch with the local cultural world, and I feel like it makes a place for me in that.
I like the way that their ethos is that they are learning all the time, and this shows in the care that they have taken to get to know me and my work. They have demonstrated a genuine interest in what I am doing, and shared their experience with me to help me on my way.”
Members are active in all areas of Shetland including the outer isles!
“I have had two 121 discussions in support of funding applications. Both of them have been really instrumental in assisting me to achieve my objectives.
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I honestly think, that without the support of Gaada’s 121 discussions I would not have secured the funding that I have done, and this has enabled me to significantly grow as an artist in my own community.”
In the spirit of Gaada’s inclusive, artist-led ethos, Shetland Artists membership encourages interdependence and creative development of artists at all levels.
Whilst membership is priced significantly lower than similar offerings nationally, there is no escaping the UK is in a cost of living crisis. Often looking after ourselves can fall to the bottom of the priorities and so earlier this year, Gaada introduced Access Bursaries to its annual bursary awards to provide free membership and sessions to artists from low income backgrounds.
Gaada is an artist-led social enterprise founded with the aim of supporting the development of Shetland Artists, and so we are excited to welcome new members to sign up, and help shape the future of the Shetland Artist community!
If you would like to find out more information about Gaada’s membership scheme for Shetland Artists, please visit our Membership page, have a peek at ShetlandArtists.org and finally feel free to get in touch if you have any questions!