Creatives
Make Do & Mend offers artists funding and support to develop an idea, based around a theme that considers the position of women and girls living in Scotland today.
Since the project’s launch in 2018, we have awarded 23 artists seed funding to develop new work responding to different themes and provocations.
Keep an eye on this page for new Make Do & Mend opportunities.
The latest round of Make Do & Mend was in collaboration with Bijli Productions. It invited proposals responding to the theme of ‘thrive’.
This round of Make Do & Mend focussed on supporting projects where the lead artist identified as being BIPOC+ :from the African diaspora, the Caribbean diaspora, the East Asian diaspora, the South East Asian Diaspora, the South Asian Diaspora, the West Asian (includes Middle East) Diaspora, Latinx, Indigenous people, bi-racial/mixed heritage, or who also self-identify as a Person of Colour or Black.
Scroll below to find out about the artists and their projects.
Andrea Cabrera Luna
Instructions on How to Cry is a physical theatre show exploring the science and mystery of emotional tears which appear to be solely present in Homo Sapiens and their role in human evolution.
The show invites viewers to have fun and celebrate imagination in a post lockdown world.
At the heart of the performance lies the question: what makes us human?”
Anne Wood (lead artist), Kath Burlinson, Niloo Far Khan, and John McGeoch
Taboo in a culture where I longed to belong. This is my story. My mother is Scottish. My father was Pakistani. In my early twenties I found the father I had never met, visited Karachi and experienced generous hospitality and cultural riches. I also discovered that being a professional musician and an illegitimate woman accorded me little status in Pakistan. I had arrived but didn’t know who to be. I needed to find my own way to thrive.
Through story, song, original music and immersion in the food, textiles and geography that define cultures, Crossing Lines explores contemporary Scottish/Pakistani identity.
Catherine Bisset (lead artist), Angela Milton, and Rebecca Fairnie
People who thrive can be inspirational role models, but some who thrive are dangerous individuals who exploit others to get what they want. By selecting extracts from monologues, dialogues, letters and diaries associated with toxic power mongers such as Richard III and Elizabeth Bathory and comparing them with catchphrases, speeches and tweets by modern day toxic thrivers such as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Priti Patel we will develop a performance that will explore the psychological and behavioural parallels between modern toxic thrivers and well-known classical characters who also excelled at exploiting others and circumstances for their own gain.
Gillian Katungi
Exploring the joy of healing, the peace of finding self and home through the diasporic experience of womxn and girls who identify as Black Scots.
I’d like to explore the ability of women and girls from across the diaspora’s ability to thrive through a celebratory and sensory visual and soundscape / live performance.
Libby Odai (lead artist), Chrissie Ardill, and Zephyr Liddell
Is Anybody There? is a project exploring the creative potential of audience interaction through digital means.
Using roller dance to tell the story of connection, the audience will be invited interact with the performers throughout the short performance.
Lubna Kerr
Is bullying hereditary? A mother bullies her son as a young child. What impact does that have on his future relationships?
Does he pick women that bully him or does he bully them.
Does bullying make you a narcissist? How do you thrive being bullied? How do you thrive being a bully?
Maria Sappho (lead artist) and Kate Steenhauer
An audio-visual work exploring themes of gender, identity, and sexuality through live-evolving painting and music in response to intimate verbatim by:
– Bethany: reflects on being a transwoman in the most male-dominated arenas such as the RAF, commercial diving and Oil, Gas & Nuclear Power Industries.
– Annie: ‘finally’ shaves off her beard, which initially acted as a shield against transphobia and allowed her certain privileges within patriarchal societal norms.
– Emma: shares her existential sadness when her voice broke in puberty and she abandoned her passion for singing. Now after more than 10 years she is undergoing her transition and starting to sing again.
Our Make Do & Mend programme began in 2018 and has supported projects across a range of practices and art forms.
Click the button below to find out more about the artists supported previously.
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Stellar Quines creates shows, supports career development, both on stage and backstage, for creatives at all levels.
We collaborate with others to campaign for change and take our work out into the community with projects that nurture creativity and invite action – all with the aim of achieving greater equality.
