Lorraine is new Shetland Arts chairwoman

SHETLAND Arts has unveiled Lorraine Hall as its new board chairwoman. She replaces Danus Skene, who stepped aside as chairman when he began campaigning as the SNP candidate in the UK general election this spring.

Originally from Motherwell, Hall was educated at Glasgow and DeMontfort universities and worked in finance and HR for a number of companies – including a stint at Boots’ head office in Beeston – before moving to Shetland in 2003 to work as NHS Shetland’s director of human resources.

She is said to have a keen interest in the arts, and describes her musical taste as “eclectic” – “covering everything from Abba to ZZ Top, with Bach and Puccini in between”. Hall is also a fan of ballet, theatre and film.  

In a statement on Tuesday, Shetland Arts said that having worked for the organisation in an advisory capacity since 2014, her background in economics, accounts and HR made her the “ideal choice to guide the organisation into its future”.

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“I am absolutely delighted to be chair,” she said, “and am looking forward to getting to know the businesses, staff and volunteers that make Shetland Arts such a wonderful organisation to be part of.”

Shetland Arts general manager Graeme Howell said: “Lorraine will be an invaluable asset to the organisation and I am looking forward to working with her to take SADA into the next phase of its development.”

The appointment comes shortly after Howell appointed two established staff members to senior roles as part of a restructuring process.

In April, music development officer Bryan Peterson was handed the position of head of creative opportunities, while musician and sound technician Jonathan Ritch was installed as head of production.

Howell took over in late 2014 after Gwilym Gibbons, who oversaw the fraught construction phase of cinema and music venue Mareel, left the organisation.