DG Unlimited’s Get Involved Get Inspired Fund (GIGI) supported A’ the Airts to produce the Sanquar Knitting Project. In this DGU Story, Yvonne Barber of A’ the Airts tells us more about how GIGI helped develop community interest in the Sanquhar Pattern.
A’ the Airts in Sanquar is a fully accessible community arts and crafts centre in the heart of Upper Nithsdale. It provides a hub for individuals and groups to express and explore their creativity. In February 2018, A’ the Airts applied to DGU’s GIGI fund to hold a community open day, to encourage younger members of the community to learn about Sanquar’s knitting heritage heritage and the Sanquar pattern, and to demonstrate how the designs have been brought into the 21st century. The project also aimed to decrease isolation in older members of the community, encouraging them to learn to knit in a group environment.
Yvonne said, “Although our arts centre has been operational since 2010, and Sanquar itself has a knitting tradition stretching back many years, the team here at A’ the Airts felt that there was a lack of knowledge locally about the town’s knitting heritage, and the opportunities it could provide for community creativity and employment.”
A’ the Airts successful application to the GIGI fund provided them with the opportunity to run an open day. This opened up the project to people across the community who may not have known about the history of Sanquhar Knitting.
Yvonne says, “Our open day was a great success. Because it was held across the afternoon and evening, it attracted people who worked during the day and couldn’t usually attend this type of event. The open day also brought us a much younger audience; children from the local primary school attended and tried their hands at knitting the world famous pattern.”
“Thanks to the open day, and our collaborations with local partner organisations to organise it, we now have much more community interest in local knitting traditions and a stronger connection between the community and the centre. We have a new group of local women and men accessing our evening training classes, and we have also seen an increase in our hand knitted glove classes.”
A’ the Airts Top Tip
“Get feedback from the people who attend your events. We received some fantastic positive comments from participants, which are useful for future funding applications and are necessary for reporting back to funders.”
A’ the Airts in Sanquar is a fully accessible community arts and crafts centre in the heart of Upper Nithsdale. It provides a hub for individuals and groups to express and explore their creativity. In February 2018, A’ the Airts applied to DGU’s GIGI fund to hold a community open day, to encourage younger members of the community to learn about Sanquar’s knitting heritage heritage and the Sanquar pattern, and to demonstrate how the designs have been brought into the 21st century. The project also aimed to decrease isolation in older members of the community, encouraging them to learn to knit in a group environment.
Yvonne said, “Although our arts centre has been operational since 2010, and Sanquar itself has a knitting tradition stretching back many years, the team here at A’ the Airts felt that there was a lack of knowledge locally about the town’s knitting heritage, and the opportunities it could provide for community creativity and employment.”
A’ the Airts successful application to the GIGI fund provided them with the opportunity to run an open day. This opened up the project to people across the community who may not have known about the history of Sanquhar Knitting.
Yvonne says, “Our open day was a great success. Because it was held across the afternoon and evening, it attracted people who worked during the day and couldn’t usually attend this type of event. The open day also brought us a much younger audience; children from the local primary school attended and tried their hands at knitting the world famous pattern.”
“Thanks to the open day, and our collaborations with local partner organisations to organise it, we now have much more community interest in local knitting traditions and a stronger connection between the community and the centre. We have a new group of local women and men accessing our evening training classes, and we have also seen an increase in our hand knitted glove classes.”
A’ the Airts Top Tip
“Get feedback from the people who attend your events. We received some fantastic positive comments from participants, which are useful for future funding applications and are necessary for reporting back to funders.”
