Kat Hill has been appointed as the Creative Director of Upland and will lead the visual arts and craft development organisation into its second decade.
Upland Arts Development CIC, founded in 2015, runs a year-round programme of events and initiatives across Dumfries and Galloway including Spring Fling, Scotland’s premiere open studios weekend.
Kat, previously based in Skye, is a cultural leader, educator and writer who began her career as an academic historian – lecturing at the University of London’s Birkbeck College.
She has 15 years’ experience in professional and management roles, including for charities and non-profits, as well as extensive work shaping educational, academic and creative programmes.
Kat, who took up the part-time role this month, said: “In its first 10 years Upland has developed a superb reputation for the ambition and quality of its work to develop the visual arts and craft.
“Upland has a strong reputation for its work in the community and in the environment – both particular passions of mine, along with the power of culture to enrich people’s lives.
“I very much look forward to carrying this work forward into Upland’s second decade and to supporting the large and vibrant creative community that is such a significant part of life and culture in Dumfries and Galloway.”
Kat has a deep love of Scotland’s rural areas and is the author of The Wainwright Prize shortlisted book Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter.
Wendy Macleod, Upland’s Chairperson, said: “I am delighted to welcome Kat to Upland Arts Development CIC as the new Creative Director. Kat brings a wide range of transferable skills to the organisation and her interests in creativity, community and the environment will ensure Upland is in a strong place for the future.”
Recognition of Upland’s excellence came last year with the award of a multi-year funding deal worth £294,000 by Creative Scotland – helping bring financial stability.
This year’s Spring Fling will feature 111 artists and makers across the region and takes place from over the Bank Holiday weekend of 23 to 25 May.
Upland initiatives
Spring Fling – Run by Upland since 2015, Spring Fling is one of the UK’s most successful visual art and craft events. In its first 21 years, it attracted over 174,000 visitors who made 546,000 studio visits. Over £10.2m of art and craft was bought and it has generated over £17.5m for the local economy.
Emerge – each year Upland provides bursaries and mentorship from established artists to two emerging artists and makers with strong connections to the region.
Artful Migration – Artists’ residencies and commissions (delivered in partnership with Moving Souls Dance) exploring the threats facing birds that migrate from around the world to Dumfries and Galloway.
Upland made: A winter contemporary art and craft sale organised ahead of Christmas giving people the chance to buy unusual, hand-crafted gifts created by local artists and makers.
Exhibitions – Upland has taken work by the region’s artists to galleries across the UK. It has also organised exhibitions in more unusual settings, such as Kilsture Roaming, in Kilsture Forest.
Modern Makers – From 2017 Upland brought together small groups of enthusiastic young people to learn craft skills. These included everything from woodwork and ecological building techniques to costume design, clog making, slipware pottery and glassmaking.
- See the Upland website at www.weareupland.com.
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Notes for editors
About Kat Hill
Kat has a PhD from the University of Oxford (2011) and she has received numerous grants and fellowships, including awards from the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust, the IAS Princeton and IASH at Edinburgh University. She lectured at Oxford, UEA and Birkbeck College for ten years before leaving London for a life in Scotland to write and research.
She is the author of the prize-winning book, Baptism, Brotherhood, and Belief: Anabaptism and Lutheranism, 1525-1585 (Oxford University Press, 2015) and her second book, Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter was released with William Collins in Spring 2024. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. She is currently working on her third book entitled Endlings: Last Things, Extinctions and Endtimes.
Kat is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and a European champion.
About Upland
Vision
- Creating a sustainable, innovative and inclusive visual arts and crafts sector in Dumfries and Galloway.
Mission
- To provide leadership in the visual art and craft sector regionally, collaborating with the cultural sector across Dumfries and Galloway and beyond.
- To raise the profile of the visual art and craft sector of our rural area in a national and international context and build meaningful partnerships to support this.
- To listen to local visual artists and makers and respond by providing relevant support and act as a collective voice to advocate on their behalf.
- To support the engagement of a wide diversity of audiences in visual art and craft and initiate opportunities that promote inclusive, meaningful participation.
- To produce and facilitate ambitious creative projects that are innovative and experimental in approach.
Aims
- To produce and deliver festivals, events, and experimental projects of the highest quality that are rooted in place and far reaching in scope.
- To nurture the development of artistic excellence so that it thrives and grows
- To inspire and engage a diverse range of people to celebrate, participate in and be supportive of visual art and craft practice.
- To raise the profile of visual artists and makers locally, nationally and internationally fulfilling a crucial role in the culture, economy and tourism of Dumfries and Galloway.
- To actively work to reduce our impact on the climate and environment and embed positive climate action in our work.
Upland’s funders are Creative Scotland, D&G Council, The Holywood Trust, ASWT, Barfill.
For media information contact Matthew Shelley on 07786 704299 or at Mjhshelley@hotmail.co.uk or call Upland on 01387 213 218.
Picture by Nicholas J R White.