Shetland Arts

30/10/2026

📣 We have some exciting news - we're teaming up with Shetland Foodbank for a third time to bring you two special charity film screenings!

This time, we'll be screening Chris Columbus' evergreen 90s classic Mrs Doubtfire. Full of hilarious set-pieces and truly brilliant physical comedy from Robin Williams, this warm, bizarre and heartfelt story is perfect for all the family.

How it works: Simply bring your donation to Mareel and exchange it for a ticket to the screening of your choice. All that's left to do after that is enjoy the movie while helping support our community - your contributions will go directly to Shetland Foodbank to help those in need. The more you bring, the bigger the impact!🤝

🛒 If you'd like to pick up your ticket in advance, donations will be accepted from Tuesday 10 November, or you're welcome to turn up and donate on the night.

📆 Sunday 15 November, 2pm (Screen 1)
📆 Thursday 19 November, 6:30pm (Screen 2)

21/10/2026

🎶Neurodiversity in the Scottish Music Sector

Creative Scotland wants to understand the experiences of neurodiverse artists working in the Scottish music sector. This is so that it can align its funding, development support and partnership working to effectively address identified needs and create opportunity within the sector. This is part of a scoping exercise to learn more about the challenges currently facing neurodiverse artists in the Scottish music sector and what would make things better.

Findings from this survey will be considered alongside discussion with artists and organisations in November. Information gathered will feed into a short report which will be shared on the Creative Scotland website in early 2027.

The deadline to complete the survey is 5pm on Wednesday 11 November.

👉Complete the survey:

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

20/10/2026

Vote for your favourite £200k commission proposals!

19/10/2026

🧑‍🎨 Heather Christie, artist and illustrator has been working with residents at King Erik House to make a fantastic scene of "Wir Street".

Recalling memories of "da street" and the people who fill it, participants created a shared mural featuring community figures, historic shopfronts and local celebrations like Up Helly Aa. Can anyone spot The Adventures of Tommy?🐱

Thank you to Heather and everyone involved.👏

15/10/2026

📣 We're hiring! Join our team as a Music Instructor.

As a Music Instructor, you’ll develop and deliver educational materials and assessment activities for students studying on the Skills for Work, Creative Academy, NC, HNC, BA and MA courses we deliver in partnership with UHI Shetland.

⏰ Part-time hours: 21 hours/week (over 42 weeks, term time)
⭐ Salary: £29,676 – £35,152 (pro rata)

📆 Closing date for applications: Sunday 25 October at midnight

👉 Find out more and apply: https://shetlandarts.org/opportunity/music-instructor/

14/10/2026

⬇ A fantastic opportunity for artists, now open for applications!

13/10/2026

🧐 So, you've seen us posting about it, but you're still wondering - what is VACMA?

The Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards (VACMA) is a programme of small grant schemes delivered in partnership with a range of local authorities and art organisations across Scotland. It is for practicing visual artists and craft makers who are based in Scotland - we manage the fund for Shetland.

Here are a few snippets about VACMA, who it's for and how the funding can be used. You can find out more information on our website, including a full document with guidance for applicants.

📆 Autumn closing date: Tuesday 20 October (5pm)
📆 Winter closing date: Tuesday 5 February (5pm)

Find out more: https://shetlandarts.org/opportunity/vacma-26-27/

13/10/2026

06/10/2026

‼️ 2 weeks to go until the first VACMA application deadline of 2026/27!

VACMA offers fixed bursaries of £500 and £1,000 - artists should apply for the level of bursary that best suits your proposed activity, regardless of your career stage. The purpose of these bursaries is to support visual artists and craft makers in their creative and professional development.

Whether your medium is paint, clay, ink, metal, textiles, film, glass or something else entirely, if you think we can help you advance your creative and professional skills within visual art and craft, we’d like to hear from you!

📆 Deadline: Tuesday 20 October at 5pm

👉 Find out more and apply: https://shetlandarts.org/opportunity/vacma-26-27/

28/09/2026

Alex Purbrick looks at the life and work of local artist Jimmy Thomason, whose exhibition Home and Away is on display in the Mareel cafe over the next few months.

"It is rare to meet a character such as Jimmy who has lived such a colourful, varied life and hopefully he will be recognised as being one of Shetland’s most talented, unique artists," she writes.

Read more via the link in the comments below.