New multi-media and arts centre for Shetland

A new multi-media and arts centre, Mareel, is scheduled to open on Shetland in 2010. The Shetland Arts Development Agency (SADA), which is leading the project, hopes that the new facility will become a world-class centre for the creative industries and international creativity, and be “a creative hub… for our very special creative community”.

The building will comprise a 300-seat auditorium, as well as rehearsal space, a recording studio and digital media production suite, and a digital cinema. However, Gwilym Gibbons, Director of SADA, said that “Mareel is about more than the building… it’s about stimulating the Shetland economy.” An Economic Impact Study, commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, suggests that 52 new jobs could be created, and that the project would have positive effects on population and the retention of young people, while raising the profile of Shetland internationally.