Hinterland: Life from the Ruins

Summer 2016

Public art charity NVA has produced ambitious plans to reclaim the future of St Peter’s Seminary and the surrounding woodland in Cardross. The proposals will repurpose this world-famous modernist icon to create a new cultural, heritage and learning resource.

www.hinterland.org

#hinterland

Join the conversation online:

@_hinterland_

From 18 - 27 March 2016, 8,000 people had the opportunity to safely access the ruins of St Peter’s Seminary for the first time in 30 years. The audience carried light sticks, illuminating a walked route through Kilmahew woods. The iconic building was brought back to life with subtle lighting, projection and haunting choral music. The event attracted audiences from across the UK and further afield with many discovering the building for the first time. As the official launch of Scotland’s Festival of Architecture and a key highlight in the Year of Innovation,

Architecture and Design, the media interest in Hinterland was phenomenal. The event received 4 and 5 star reviews and reached over 22 million people through broadcast coverage alone. There were features across a wide range of titles, including the Helensburgh Advertiser, Guardian Eye Witness, BBC television and radio, and international titles such as CNN and the New York Times. The sell-out event attracted thousands of people to Helensburgh, with feedback from local businesses confirming that the ‘Hinterland effect’ boosted trade in the town.

Through Hinterland, we have been able to build relationships with local schools and colleges, organisations and businesses, including Cardross and Renton Primary Schools, Young Scot, the City of Glasgow College, Argyll and Bute Volunteer Centre and Capability Scotland. A new partnership with ACT Argyll contributed towards 6 trainees’ SQA qualifications and provided access to a creative woodland build. These connections, and others, will help create locally relevant and long lasting partnerships for the future of St Peter’s.

Hinterland would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and dedication of over 60 volunteers, who we would like to say a huge thank you to. It was wonderful to be able to bring together such a range of people, from 18 to 81 years old.

Team Hinterland was also made up of 4 Creative Mentorships, which opened up access to Hinterland’s expert creative team for an immersive learning experience. Skills development and training are important areas of the Kilmahew / St Peter’s engagement programme and will be built on for future activities.

Had a great time, meeting many very nice people, particularly important for me being new to the area. The event developed a real community spirit.Hinterland Volunteer

I had such a great experience volunteering for Hinterland. The event was run so well, I felt confident in my role and gained a lot from the experience. It has inspired me and given me renewed confidence in pursuing a career in the arts in Scotland.Hinterland Volunteer

I had a really, really brilliant time, and learned much more than I ever expected to, largely due to the generous, good natured and open way the mentor shared their thinking throughout…I can’t tell you how useful that has been. I now feel like I’ve got enough insight into the process to be able to have a go at experimenting with projection mapping myself and to see how that might fit into my own practice.Hinterland Mentee

Future plansNVA have been working for almost a decade to develop the proposals to save St Peter’s Seminary, bring the buildings and surrounding landscape back to life, and create a major new cultural venue in Argyll and Bute.

In preparation for Hinterland, we initiated the site clearance works needed to make the building safe for public access, removing hazardous materials and debris. Through stabilisation works using innovative construction materials, we have managed to save 80 of the iconic vaults in the chapel and refectory from collapse. By carrying out these works we have gone a long way towards rescuing the buildings from demolition and ensuring that they have a future.

In March 2016, following a massive fundraising effort, we received the news of £4.2 million in confirmed funding from Heritage Lottery Fund and Creative Scotland, towards our capital fundraising target of £6.2 million. After years of dreaming, scheming, battling, planning and persuading, we are finally able to take forward

our vision for the future, with just £1 million left to raise. The building was so nearly lost, and this investment gives hope that Scotland and Europe will gain a new cultural centre worthy of the optimism and ambition that created St Peter’s Seminary exactly 50 years ago.

The planned works will begin on site in 2017 and will take two years to complete. Paths will be reinstated through Kilmahew woods, making it possible to visit new areas of the historic estate. The ruins of St Peter’s Seminary will be consolidated, with the chapel and crypt fully restored to create new performance and exhibition spaces. A powerful programme of festivals, events and day-to-day activities will use the stunning surroundings as inspiration. Already a number of major arts companies and national partners have expressed an interest in working with us, and the cultural programme promises to offer something unique, not only to the local area but to the cultural life of Scotland.

Like so much of NVA’s groundbreaking work, Hinterland doesn’t so much intervene in the landscape as subtly make you see what is already there but has been hidden – in this particular case, through creeping dereliction. Hinterland’s alchemy of light and sound helps us detect the invisible and see the beauty that lurks amid the ruination.Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

It is impossible not to be swept up in the spectacle of light and sound. ‘Brought to life’ doesn’t do justice to the work carried out by the team of artists and technicians. Hopefully, Hinterland is a taster of the brilliant things to come.Laura Campbell, The List

Our fundraising efforts will continue throughout the period of redevelopment as we seek to enhance the current works and to support the ongoing running costs. If you are interested in making a donation, you can find a donate button on our website:

People visiting the venue will have opportunities to become actively involved in its development, through volunteering programmes, informal learning activities and participation in arts projects both with NVA and visiting artists and arts organisations.

Through a collaborative partnership with Cove Park , we have developed an architectural

arts residency taking place during July 2016, which has been awarded to Andy Campbell of Glasgow-based design practice Dress for the Weather. Andy will have access to Cove Park, St Peter’s Seminary and its woodland landscape as contexts for his reflection and the development of new work, before construction works start next year.

Email: hello@hinterland.org

Contact us

Kilmahew / St Peter’s is supported by: Dunard Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, Binks Trust, Caram Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, Mickel Fund and Pilgrim Trust.

To ensure public safety, the site is currently inaccessible with 24 hour security in operation. We are currently developing opportunities for the public to access St Peter’s Seminary during this transitional phase. Please subscribe to our mailing list to be kept up to date with planned future events and activities:

www.hinterland.org

www.hinterland.org/subscribe