Crowdfunding for Aye Inspired

The decision to crowdfund Aye Inspired wasn't an easy one to make. We wanted to keep everything FREE. We're artists, and contrary to what Damien Hirst would have folk believe, we don't like talking money, it embarrasses us.

Here's the thing, we couldn't get a free gallery space because we are "political". Most gallery spaces in Aberdeen are council facilitated and you don't need us to tell you how Aberdeen City Council feels about the YES vote. One venue did suggest we open up our submissions to the Better Together camp for "balance". But here's the thing. there is no artistic or creative movement in the No camp that we're aware of. Even if we've wanted to open it up to No voting artists (which we don't- let them think of it themselves- this is our gig), what if we got no submissions from them? Would one of us have to hastily sketch a Union Jack on the back of an envelope and get it framed the night before the exhibition just to show that we're balanced? Nah.

The thing is, we're not balanced. We are apologetically and unashamedly YES VOTING ARTISTS. We will not compromise on our message. Already we've over 30 artists submitting wonderful engaging work to Aye Inspired. We've got submissions coming from as far afield as Barcelona. We've got artists approaching us from all over Scotland England and Wales. Last night we had a donation from the USA!

We've already got our Aberdeen venue, (yet to be announced and so exciting...) but we'd like to take Aye Inspired around the country if we can.

So that's why there's a wee donate button over there on the right hand side of the page. Sorry, but we need cash to hire at least one venue in every town we'd like to go to. If we hire our venue, we can show our exhibition and not have to stifle who we are and what we're about. If we get enough donations, we'll take our exhibitions to as many places as we can afford to hire. it's that simple. We'll still take up offers of free venues where they appear, so if you have a venue or know one please use the contact button below to get in touch.

So if you want to help us get out there as artists and start our conversation with the voting public as artists, please give whatever you can. It could be 50p, it could be 5 bawbees, it could be what you've saved in not buying David Bowie's latest album. We're grateful for anything. Anything left over from venue hire we'll use for publicity and if there's still anything left over we'll donate it ourselves to the Yes campaign.

I put the call to yesterday and we're doing nae bad, but we'd like to make this exhibition big enough to reach as many folk as we can. So please donate to Aye Inspired.

Call for Venues and Submissions

Hi, My name's Gillian. Also known as Misssy M. I'm a creative type, I'm also a yes voter. I'm a member of National Collective, which is a huge group of creative folks who want Scottish independence and I want to get out there and start talking to people about independence. I'm not a politician, I don't belong to any party and I don't have a mainstream media outlet to talk to people. I just make things and want my country to run its own affairs. 

This summer Scotland is going to be thrumming with people like me doing creative things for independence. And I'd like to tell you what we've got planned. Myself and some artist pals are working on pieces of art that have been inspired by the debate around independence. There's about ten of us at the moment, but we want you to join in. Our plan is to take our art exhibition, Aye Inspired anywhere that will have us in the North East of Scotland. And even further afield if we can get the means to do it.

I need two things- art and sympathetic venues.

Are you an artist who would like to submit an independence inspired piece of work? Get in touch via that contact us form at the bottom of the page. We'd love to hear from you. We're looking for work to be ready to exhibit from July.

Are you a gallery, venue, cafe, pub, village hall, castle, boatshed, cinema, arts venue, theatre OR anywhere where we can show art and have the public come in and look at it and talk to us? We're based in Aberdeenshire and we'd consider anywhere suitable for our traveling exhibition. Get in touch via that contact us form at the bottom of the page. We'd love to hear from you just as much.

And if you haven't got a venue, aren't an artist but want to help us make it happen why not donate a few bawbees. Everything we crowdsource will be used to hire venues, buy materials, get publicity material printed and facilitate any traveling the exhibition does. There's a donate button on the right. Thanks to all the wonderful people who have done so already.