It felt very on brand to start Halloween celebrations with a witch walk and end them in a friend’s 17th century cemetery gatehouse.

Ok Scotland-based artists! This one’s for you. Go follow @fundeachother on Instagram! We’re hoping to foster systems of support for freelancers in the Scottish arts sector 💛 #arts #scottisharts ##creativecommunity #supportartists

Apparently it’s the season of the bob 😂

The fact that all of this has happened in the last 12 months is mad! Sometimes my anxious brain gets stuck in the negatives and the stress but this little video is a good reminder of the amount of joy and beauty over the last year. Feeling very grateful for it 💛

Back on BlueSky after a bit of time away! It’s autumn in Edinburgh now and there are lovely colours everywhere. Few photos from my walk earlier today, a quick break from book writing ✨

🚨Open Call – Wholes 🚨 Very excited to release the open call for the research and development period for my new theatre piece, Wholes! Please share with anyone who might be interested. With thanks to @creativescots.bsky.social, Lyth Arts Centre, and @atandmt.bsky.social for support ✨

Lenticular clouds over the Harris hills. The big camera version 💙 #scotland

Still some space on the starter pack! Keen to get freelance Scottish artists/writers/musicians/cultural sector workers involved too! Give me a shout if you want to join the list 😊 Let’s create a more connected sector 💕

Pleased to be included on this Scottish arts starter pack from @micahmackay.bsky.social - check it out for many more interesting follows... 👇

Calling any Scottish arts and cultural organisations / artists who want to connect with the rest of the sector… #scotland #arts #artsky

This is so great!🤩

Have started a Scottish arts organisations and artists starter pack. For those new to Bluesky – SP’s collect together accounts on a common theme and you can follow them all with one click 😊 Starting with the arts orgs. Individual artists – let me know if you want to be added! go.bsky.app/4gSyNWx

Really enjoying Hannah Stowe’s Move Like Water 🌊 A truly beautiful reflection on her relationship with the sea.

🎭 Standing with Cumbernauld Theatre 🎭 @cnauldtheatre.bsky.social

It’s February. The light is gorgeous. Little jigsaw pieces of life feel like they’re finally coming together 😊

Creative Scotland round-up: Huge boosts for Summerhall, Filmhouse & Belmont reopening bids, CCA & Aye Write in Glasgow, Cumnock Tryst & Hebcelt festivals, but Cumbernauld Theatre loses funding & Traverse & Scottish Poetry Library are thrown lifelines. www.scotsman.com/news/theatre...

A few words for the Scottish arts and cultural sector from an arts development manager and fundraiser #fundingdecisions

Short hair for the first time. Think I’m going to like it!

Well, this is exciting! Our little collection of musings on publication before print is now available via the CUP website! It’s free-to-access online for the next few weeks too ☺️ My section deals with the idea of publication through song (yes, there are carols!) #newbook #coauthor #medievalsky

Writing is a tough gig. The least we can do is be good to each other.

substack.com/@micahmackay... New little bit of writing up on Substack!! #artsfunding

Word of the Day is ‘uhtcearu’ [ucht-kay-aru, with the 'ch' as in the Scottish ‘loch']: Old English for ‘the sorrow before dawn', when you lie awake in the darkness and worries crowd your mind.

I am not someone who does well with the cold. However, I’ve been out running four times in freezing temperatures in the last week…should I be saying a tentative ‘new year, new me’? 😂😂

Any South West Coast Path walkers here? Looking for any advice/tips! #southwestcoastpath

Second run of 2025 and it was beautiful ✨🩵

Spotted this down by the Dorset coast this week. Seems apt to post it on NYE. Beautiful things can sometimes appear at unexpected times and unexpected places. Happy New Year Bluesky family x

Doing my little bit to advocate for arts funding again. The Scottish Government must keep its promises going forward and must begin to rebuild trust with the arts and cultural sector. #fundingsky #artsky

On STV again tonight pushing the Scottish Government to stick to their funding commitments for art and culture. Catch it at 10.30pm, Scotland Tonight. Also big 💛 for STV’s hair and make up team x

Had three phone calls in the last 24 hours from scam callers claiming to be from Three network. Just a reminder to everyone out there to be vigilant this time of year when scams are on the rise.

Absolutely delighted to share the news that I’ve received funding to for a period of research and development to turn my ‘Wholes’ project into a theatre piece. Wholes platforms the voices of domestic abuse survivors in rural Scotland through art and creativity ✨

'When Notre-Dame reopened on 7 December, it was thanks, in part, to the efforts of 175 researchers with expertise across a range of disciplines: acoustics, art, data, history, archaeology, anthropology.' Example of why blue-skies research matters for 'real-life' problems we've not yet imagined. 1/2

Views from yesterday’s train – Ruthven Barracks. This is where the Jacobite forces gathered after the Battle of Culloden.

Very excited to have curated Wholes, a mini exhibition of work produced by women working with Caithness and Sutherland Women’s Aid and staff members of the organisation. This is part of the #16DaysofActivism Against Gender Based Violence campaign. #artsky #artforactivism

Why donate to @womensprize.bsky.social? - They created a reading/writing community where women are heard - This helped move from 39% of bestsellers written by women in 1998 to 57% in 2023 - They're now tackling non-fic: only 34% of bestsellers are woman-authored ££ sent to them make a difference

All I want for Christmas is not to be a freelancer anymore.

Day 4 of writing every day: I’m really enjoying committing to a routine. I’m not tying myself up in knots being a perfectionist over every little sentence. I’m just concentrating on getting the words done and enjoying the process ☺️ #writersky

Oh hey, it’s that wee book my doctoral centre group wrote together. Spoiler: there be carols 🎶 www.cambridge.org/core/element...

At my parents watching Between The Covers on BBC, and on the one hand it’s nice to see a show about discussing novels on the telly, but on the other it’s wild that almost every author was already a celeb. Just another way the door into the creative industries is closing in the face of WC writers.

I guess I could just write one 😂

I know I missed the whole NaNoWriMo thing this year but I’m aiming to do it in December instead. Giving myself the general target of writing between 500-1,500 words per day on my current writing project. Slightly hoping that putting this here will hold me somewhat accountable! ✍️✍️ #writersky

Today’s baking achievement: pretzels with honey mustard sauce 😋

Currently looking for opportunities in public humanities or similar. If anybody has any ideas or recs please do get in touch 🙏 Sadly I don’t seem to be eligible for New Generation Thinkers as I’m not based at a research institution 😔

I'm loving how the Archbishop of Paris currently has Macron captive in Notre Dame and is boring him to tears with endless explanation of relics

STV asked me what I would say to those who question the value of the arts and why it deserves funding. Well…

🚨Exciting news 🚨 Tonight I’ll be on STV Spotlight discussing the arts funding crisis in Scotland!! Tune in at 10.40pm to hear from artists and organisations who are advocating for change 📺✊

Officially in my Christmas era.

Chatting/ranting about arts funding on my Substack again. This time it’s about systemic inequity and why so many loud voices went quiet the moment Creative Scotland reinstated the Open Fund. 👀 #writersky #artsky #fundingsky open.substack.com/pub/theartfu...

Snowed in at Gleneagles…do not send help 😂❄️📸

Funding rejections be like… #fundingsky #artsky