Shetland, Stavanger and Sheffield brought together as Sturgeon awarded funding for music project
A SHETLAND based singer-songwriter has been awarded £7,500 for a collaborative music project between Scotland, England and Norway.
Folk musician Jenny Sturgeon will combine with Norwegian jazz artist Petter Frost Fadnes and English producer Andy Bell on The Blue Hour.
The project will explore the cultural and ecological significance of the “storytelling hour”, when day turns to night.
Through digital exchange and in-person collaboration, they will research and connect their local folklore alongside sharing the natural nighttime sounds of their respective locations in Shetland, Stavanger and Sheffield.
They will then spend five days at Utsira Lighthouse in Norway using their research to inform creative approaches to composition, improvisation and immersive sound.
Sturgeon has received the funding through the latest round of the Four Nations International Fund, which supports 42 projects connecting the UK with peers in 37 other countries.
Each project, led by a UK nation, partners with at least one other UK nation and international country.
It is administered by Creative Scotland and backed by co-investment from arts agencies in England, Northern Ireland and Wales to a total of £335,000.
Sturgeon said the funding would provide “vital time and space to research, experiment, and develop this new collaborative music project, allowing us to learn from one another’s artistic practices and cultural perspectives”.
“By developing the project collaboratively and internationally, we hope to connect audiences across communities, foster ongoing dialogue, and begin developing work that will resonate beyond geographical and cultural boundaries,” she added.
Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.
