Cairn Officially Launches
photograph: Eoin Carey
Cairn officially launched at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow on Friday 24th June with a turn-out of around sixty filling the theatre’s historic Victorian Bar for what proved to be a vibrant, positive & optimistic event. Those in attendance included freelancers from across a wide range of professions in the performing arts along with representatives from Pitlochry Festival Theatre, The Citizens, the National Theatre of Scotland, Vanishing Point, The Traverse Theatre, the Tron, Brennan Artists, the Scottish Society of Playwrights & the Federation of Scottish Theatre.
Steering Group member & Acting Chair Julie Coombe welcomed those gathered and gave an introduction to why Cairn was formed before fellow Steering Group members Andy Clark & Kirstin McLean spoke about how the organisation will operate and the vision for Cairn going forward.
Open to anyone working in the performing arts in Scotland, Cairn aims to attract those who feel there is a need to try something new and different or who have never been interested in joining a union before. Cairn also hopes to appeal to those who are apathetic or disenfranchised but still wish to remain part of the union movement.
The reaction to Cairn’s emergence has been positive, with many across the performing arts and the trade union movement in Scotland looking forward to how a new organisation will contribute to the cultural landscape in Scotland.
Producer, director and current Chair of the Citizens Theatre, April Chamberlain said ‘At a time when more than ever we need our voices heard, it's great to welcome Cairn, a new, inclusive grassroots organisation committed to supporting and representing people in our industry’. Chris McCusker, a committed trade union activist who advised the working party during the setting-up process welcomed Cairn’s inception saying ‘I am so happy that their tenacity has paid off. Unions are all about members.’
Carole Anders, an actor for over 25 years, said ‘I’m joining Cairn because I think actors and arts in Scotland need their own identity, their own voice and, to my mind, having our own union will bring us a step closer to the cultural independence many of us have wanted for a long time. I cannot wait to have my Cairn card in my pocket.’ David Walker, an actor and voice-over artist originally from South Uist who works in both Gaelic and English mediums, said he was "looking forward to being a part of the new journey with Cairn and working for fairness and success for all in the arts’ and hoped that a new Scottish union would be a ‘more inclusive and personal experience for its members’.
Others who have signed up include actor-musician Tom Urie, David Hayman, who described Cairn as an ‘exciting venture’ and singer and River City actor Frances Thorburn who said said she was looking forward to a ‘to a new and bright way forward for all the performance professionals in Scotland.’
Cairn will now focus on member recruitment and hopes to run a series of events across the country before its inaugural AGM in the autumn.
