ABOUT US
Crag Community Arts is a charity based in Girvan, South Ayrshire, South West Scotland.
The group was established in 2004 with the aim of providing opportunities for local people to engage with and participate in quality arts events and activities.
Our most notable event is the Carrick Carnival of Light which involves several weeks of lantern workshops in Girvan and surrounding rural area culminating in the River of Light Lantern Parade through the town ending at the shore front, where our resident artist David Powell has over the years developed a spectacular fire show.
Crag has also organised Community pantomimes, Samba Drumming workshops and has been responsible for many art workshops and building of big puppets for local parades.
The Burning Man event on the first weekend in May is also becoming established as an annual occurence in the town.
Girvan Tattie Festival is in June, includes children’s workshops, making costumes, printing banners and t-shirts for the Tattie Parade.
Fundraising events include Tea in the Park, a tea tent serving delicious home baking, teas and coffees at the Lowland Gathering, and various craft fairs throughout the year.
Crag Community Arts aims to promote, maintain, improve and advance the education of children, young people and adults, particularly by encouragement of the Arts and creativity.
We run a range of free creative activities for the community of Carrick with a focus on re-using and upcycling and participants report an increased sense of wellbeing, enjoying activities with like-minded people and the opportunity to make new friends.
Key partnerships enable us to deliver annual festivals including Girvan Arts Festival and Girvan Folk festival and we contribute to local initiatives towards a thriving local town.
We are known for our annual Carrick Carnival of Light involving the whole community in lantern making workshops. This culminates in a lantern procession through the town in late October/early November.
Crag Board Members
Crag Community Arts is administered by a Board of Directors, all with extensive experience of the Arts or related social enterprises. The current Directors are listed here.
Stewart Sheddon
BOARD DIRECTOR
Stewart is a retired solicitor who spent most of his working life in practice in South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway. Stewart’s passions include traditional music and fly fishing. Stewart is a Trustee of Girvan Traditional Folk Festival and is involved with various other local projects.
Sally Graham
BOARD DIRECTOR / CHAIR
Sally Graham joined the board in 2024 .
Isabel Archbold
BOARD DIRECTOR
David Powell
Creative Director
Helen Humphries
BOARD DIRECTOR
Helen Humphries is a graduate of the University of Aberdeen and taught Creative Writing at Clark University in Worcester, MA, for a number of years, before returning to work in International Education in London.
She established her own art therapy company, Art at Work Ltd in 2003, before moving back to Scotland. She had a book of her poetry, Framed, published in 2021, and in 2022 established the annual Girvan Arts Festival.
Blake Stubley
BOARD DIRECTOR
Blake joined the board in August 2024. his expertise is in IT software and he enjoys woodturning in his spare time making items to sell at craft fairs.
Sandra Clelland
BOARD DIRECTOR
Sandra Clelland is a keen advocate of life-long learning. She has a BA hons degree in Social Policy and Sociology, a diploma in applied social sciences and an HND in Art and design.
Sandra has had a varied career, but up until retirement, her focus was on various aspects of community development and training.
As a practising artist, she currently leads our weekly Paint and Patter workshops and is a keen proponent of the benefit of the arts for personal development and health.
CRAG Community Arts 