Annual Report - 2020

The past year, in spite of so much in the world grinding to a halt as a result of Covid, was nevertheless a very busy time for the SFMA.

Annual Report - 2020

The past year, in spite of so much in the world grinding to a halt as a result of Covid, was nevertheless a very busy time for the SFMA. It started with continuing work on the project to form a new SFMA brand and logo which is now happily complete and the logo has pride of place on this website and in all our publicity material. It is also available to all members for use in connection with their own promotion.

Then followed the long-awaited process of refreshing the Association’s website which is now well-progressed and due to go live shortly. The updated framework provides a much easier to use content management system to enable members to populate and edit their own pages. It also gives a cleaner, modernised platform for articles and news items and we encourage all members to submit articles and news items as often as possible to keep the site content fresh and current. Once it is live, the old website will be taken offline but the content will remain available should it be needed.

Covid scuppered just about everyone’s plans for exhibitions which certainly took a heavy toll on the creative sector. The committee began the year looking forward to presenting a chair-themed exhibition only to have to shelve those plans as it became apparent that it would not be possible. This was very disappointing for all especially as a good deal of interest in the show had already been expressed. In the Autumn, a late opportunity to exhibit in March/April 2021 at City Arts Centre in Edinburgh emerged as their planned exhibit at that time had been cancelled. With 6 months to run before the date, it seemed at least possible that Covid would be brought under control and that venues would again be able to open to the public albeit with some restrictions on numbers. Alas, as it turned out, this was also not to be following a Covid escalation and a consequent further lockdown announcement.

Rather than cancel the show altogether, a decision was taken to continue with the exhibition but shift the format to a wholly virtual event. At the time of writing, plans for this are speedily being drawn up to be able to pull together all the digital imagery and content to produce the show which will then be hosted during the same period on the City Arts Centre website and permanently on our own. While this is a steep challenge, we are looking forward to an exciting show!

Looking to the future, a broader strategy which emerged in 2019 was formulated with the aim of raising the SFMA profile and widening appeal to members current and new. As well as the projects outlined above, this strategy entails re-engaging with partners such as ASHS and Scottish Forestry to identify ways in which we can collaborate more closely to further our common aims. Talks on that collaboration are already happening and more news will follow as things develop. We hope also to put the SFMA in a position to capitalise on the Scottish Government’s drive to stimulate the rural economy which is so closely linked to what we do as designers and makers. We believe, in spite of all the challenges, this journey will make the coming years an exciting and hopefully ever more fruitful time to be part of the SFMA.

Finally, we would like wish everyone the best of luck for the year ahead!