Places with Under 2,500 Residents (award £50,000):

Winner: Wigtown

In a town of just over 900 people, more than 90 people volunteer annually to help make the Wigtown Book Festival happen for 10 days each September/October. Through their collective efforts – and with the help of two full-time staff - the townspeople have created a large scale and high quality festival.  Its distinct approach has helped it attract an audience of 15,000-plus annually and generate more than £800,000 gross for the regional economy.  Other events include the Spring Book Weekend – co-ordinated by the Association of Wigtown Booksellers and the national Wigtown Poetry Competition.

The award will allow the Wigtown Book Festival to be developed into a year-round programme - including a residential creative writing course and a high-profile Wigtown Lecture.

Nominees:

Creetown

In recent years the community of Creetown has taken inspiration from Hideo Furuta, a sculptor of international recognition, who moved into the village in the 1990s and donated some of works to the community.  Since then, a number of other art-based projects have taken place.  These include the creation of Creehenge – a granite stone circle, and Creebaby – a wooden roundhouse venue and a giant living sculpture in Balloch Wood.  Other events include The Creetown Country Music Festival, which attracts up to 5000 people every September, and a range of imaginative projects within the Inspiring Communities project.

Creetown received a Special Award of £40,000 from the competition judges for its long standing creative programmes involving the whole community.

Kilmartin Glen

Kilmartin Glen’s landscape incorporates artistic inspiration from as long ago as the Neolithic period.  Kilmartin House Museum sits at the centre of the Glen and is charged with interpreting, protecting and promoting this unique place. Through its work KHM has been able to build on this millennia old tradition of artistic expression using the landscape as inspiration.  It supports local contemporary artists through community art projects and gallery exhibitions, as well as selling works in its retail outlet.

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