Hands Up for Trad’s Women in Music and Culture 2024 list has been announced to celebrate just some of the women working in Scotland.
Launched as part of International Women’s Day 2023, we shine the spotlight on 15 women who all contribute towards Scotland’s cultural landscape through their work. Read the 2024 list here.
We asked Lesley Shaw to tell us more about there work, influences and ambitions for the future.
How did you first get involved in the arts and who were your early influences?
For as far back as I can remember (and even before then!) I’ve been involved with Pipe Bands, so my first involvement and early influences were through Coalburn Pipe Band and the Highland Games and pipe band competition circuit. At that time, there was only woman in our Pipe Band, and I remember thinking how amazing that was without really understanding at the time the barriers that resulted in so few women being part of the scene in those years.
Initially, I thought I wanted to work in sports events and was lucky to work with the BBC at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002. For a few years after that, I was involved in both sports and cultural events for a few years and wasl very fortunate to have been given opportunities by Celtic Connections and Piping Live that resulted in some crossover work with Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games Bid. The trust from a team of inspiring women within the Bid Team to take on board music suggestions for key events, including the 2014 Bid Decision in Sri Lanka and the announcement event for Scotland is something I’ll never forget. My job there was encouraging people to ‘Back the Bid’ and I travelled to events and festivals across the country to gather support – this was also my first introduction to the wonderful Heb Celt Festival!
I joined the Celtic Connections team permanently after Glasgow won the Bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Little did I realise at that point that things would come full circle and I’d be involved through Celtic Connections in the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme! Between Celtic Connections and Piping Live, a whole new world of music, community and friends opened up to me and my passion for music and culture grew from there. I started doing some freelance work with bands like India Alba and Treacherous Orchestra and alongside Celtic Connections have been lucky enough to travel all over the world with them and work on some incredible projects.
Those formative years and the support I received had a huge influence in how I grew in my career (I’m still growing!) and while there will always be work to do, it’s great to see so many more women visible in the scene today. I’m hugely thankful every day to work with some truly incredible women.
At a time which has been very challenging for many people working in the arts, how did you use the last 3 years to develop your creativity?
Like most people working in the arts, the covid years forced us to rethink plans and ambitions. At Celtic Connections we were fortunate in that our 2020 festival went ahead before the world closed down and we had time to prepare for a fully online festival in 2021. This pushed me into a world of filming of which I had very limited prior knowledge. We had to rethink timelines and lots of logistical aspects which I quickly realised were very different to filming live shows.
My role also changed within Celtic Connections and I became Festival Manager over this period, so I constantly felt challenged in adapting to a new role and ever-changing circumstances. I’m so proud of all the organisations, festivals, venues, artists and the whole supply chain that managed to get through those years and I think a lot of conversations over that time have resulted in stronger, more supportive relationships across the industry.
One of the things that excites me most about working in the arts is that there is always something new to think about. We have an opportunity in the industry to challenge, question and innovate and so I feel that I am always learning and developing both in my role and as a person.
Who or what interests you creatively?
The people that we work with and relationships that we forge are what interests me most. I feel very fortunate that new projects and music constantly appear in our office and it’s a privilege that as a festival, artists want to share these with us and present their work to audiences at the festival.
I love the collaborations that we are part of and that we have the ability to platform and nurture new work and see projects or artists grow over a period of time. I love that we can work with other festivals to create a legacy for ambitious projects like the Grit Orchestra and Transatlantic Sessions. I love that we have created strong partnerships with educational establishments such as RCS to provide unique opportunities for music students.
I love that we can raise the profile of Scottish culture and music internationally during the festival but also, by working with international events such as the Ryder Cup, Olympics, Commonwealth Games and UCI Cycling, that we can bring our event to new audiences. I love the reaction of audiences to live music and constantly work to ensure that everyone involved in the festival including artists, audiences, staff and volunteers have a good time.
Most of all, I love the sense of community that being part of the music and cultural scene in Scotland brings.
What are your plans for the next year or so and/or what are your longer term creative ambitions?
I look forward to opportunities to continue to showcase the brilliant music that Scotland has to offer while also facilitating exciting collaborative opportunities for musicians both at home and internationally.
Find out more about Lesley Shaw here.
Read the Hands Up for Trad’s Women in Music and Culture 2024 List
Hands Up for Trad are an organisation who work with Scottish traditional music, language and culture. If you would like to support our work you can donate here.
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