Marie Lewis is leaving SEALL on 17 Deember to start a new adventure as a freelance producer.
Marie joined SEALL in October 2016 and took over as Creative Director from Duncan MacInnes three years later.
Over the past two years, Marie has successfully guided the organisation through what has been a most difficult phase, not only for SEALL but for Scotland’s cultural sector and our communities in particular.
Through her leadership and vision, she has turned challenge into opportunity and, during lockdown, pivoted SEALL’s focus towards how best we could serve the people of the local communities.
Marie said: “In November 2019 I was delighted and excited to be leading SEALL into its 4th decade. Little did I know what was around the corner!”
In 2020, during the first lockdown, the SEALL@Home project was rolled-out across the region to safely deliver performing arts events online to some of the most lonely and isolated members of the communities and offered local musicians a chance to continue showcasing their talents with paid performance opportunities. The Small Halls Festival, celebrating St Andrew’s Day, was delivered entirely online, giving access to one of Scotland’s most cherished winter festivals of traditonal music to not only local audiences but to people from across the world. With creative learning at her heart, she ensured all schoolchildren in Skye and Raasay continue to be exposed to expert tuition from some of Scotland’s most prominent musicians.
In 2021, with Marie at the helm, SEALL took a brave step towards putting on in-person events and produced a safe and highly successful outdoor programme over the summer at Armadale Castle. She has grown the SEALL team, providing a raft of new job and performance opportunities to local people.
This year, SEALL also became one of 26 Scottish cultural organisations to be part of the national Culture Collective, a £6million Scotland-wide initiative enabling creative practitioners, organisations and communities to come together and create a positive difference towards recovery from Covid-19.
Although Marie will not see some of these projects come to fruition, it is her dedication that has laid the foundations for a positive future for culture in Skye, Raasay and Lochalsh.
Marie added: “The past 20 months have been challenging and also incredibly rewarding. I am proud of SEALL’s resilience and the programmes we have created and adapted in extraordinary circumstances.
“I am off to pastures new, leaving SEALL in a great place with a fantastic team, and I very much look forward to seeing what SEALL does in the next decade or two. I would also like to thank everyone who supported me, and who continue to support SEALL’s work.”
Marie’s legacy is an assurance that SEALL has not only survived through adversity but has thrived, with the strength to go forward into the future.
We wish Marie all the very best in anything she turns her hand to and we will all miss her very much.