HAWICK IN COMMON

Alchemy Film & Arts are delighted to announce an ambitious new film project focusing on Hawick’s heritage after landing £182k of National Lottery funding.

Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Hawick In Common is a two-year creative programme of activity exploring the histories, cultures and heritages of Hawick through the creative lens of film.

The announcement of the project follows the thirteenth edition of our annual film festival in April, through which we brought £325,000 into Hawick’s local economy.

The project will manifest across the following distinct strands:

• a two-year programme of public engagement events and activities exploring Hawick’s heritage through film- and arts-based methods; 

• an 18-month community filmmaking and creative mentorship programme; 

• a skills development and training programme focusing on the researching and preserving of social histories and alternative archives through film and film-adjacent means;

• the establishment of a steering group to inform the project’s direction and schedule of events;

• the production of a new feature film about Hawick and its centuries-old Common Riding traditions. 

‘We’re delighted to launch Hawick In Common, an ambitious two-year programme that will engage our town’s diverse communities to look at Hawick’s histories through creative means,’ Alchemy’s Director Rachael Disbury told press this week.

Rachael continued: ‘Receiving a grant of this scale from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver such an ambitious programme is testament not only to the potential of film in creatively activating heritages, but also to Alchemy’s methods and priorities in collaborating with diverse communities to engage with local histories through film.

‘Thanks to National Lottery players, the grant also allows Alchemy to continue providing jobs and creative opportunities for people in our town and region.’