Deveron Projects is a socially engaged arts organisation based in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It works at the intersection of art, community, and place, fostering collaborations between international artists and local residents. By balancing local impact with global artistic exchange, Deveron Projects has built strong community links while addressing pressing social and environmental issues. 

Huntly’s neighbouring moorland, the Cabrach, will soon be occupied by the largest onshore windfarm in the UK. Deveron Projects’ latest initiative, LAND, is a three-year arts-led community engagement programme exploring energy transition and land justice in this context. The programme will work with communities to bridge conflicting ideologies and significant socio-economic differences by holding space for deliberation, exchange of experience and opinion, and exploring regenerative local solutions. By adopting a ‘50/50’ approach—balancing local impact with global artistic exchange—Deveron Projects builds strong community links while addressing pressing social and environmental issues. 

The Foundation is supporting Deveron Projects with a grant of £88,829 over three years. Our funding enables the development of community-led approaches to the climate crisis, empowering citizens through creative engagement. The LAND project aligns with our goal of using community-focused participatory arts and climate projects to drive action and influence systemic change. The funding will support an artist residency, community-led events and the creation of the ‘Huntly Grid’ strategy – a local energy alternative designed by and for the community. Deveron Projects was previously shortlisted for our 2021 Award for Civic Arts Organisations in recognition of its local-global Artist in Residence policy. 

LAND addresses the socio-economic and political dimensions of a green energy transition in rural Scotland. Through artist residencies and collaborative programming, the project brings together local voices, policymakers and global partners to explore alternative energy solutions that serve the needs of communities, not corporations. A Scotland-based artist-in-residence will work with local energy movements, developing creative interventions that acknowledge polarisation, bridge ideological divides and reimagine energy sovereignty. The programme also includes public events over three years, fostering dialogue among participants to strengthen community cohesion and engagement. The Common Land Group, comprising local experts, will lead the initiative, ensuring that the project remains community-driven and impactful. 

Starting in April 2025, LAND contributes to Huntly’s transition towards a more just and sustainable energy future. The project aims to empower local communities to influence policy, increased public awareness of energy ownership and support the emergence of a community-driven energy movement. By working in partnership with local and international organisations—including Huntly Development Trust, the North East Scotland Climate Action Network and grassroots groups in Palestine, Mexico and South Africa—Deveron Projects fosters cross-sector collaboration and shared learning. 

Deveron Projects’ approach will demonstrate how arts-led community engagement could help create the social conditions necessary for a rapid transition to clean energy. By engaging communities in decision-making around energy sovereignty and infrastructure, the LAND project builds local capacity for grassroots energy solutions. The Huntly Grid strategy—developed in collaboration with community leaders and energy experts—offers a replicable model for community-led energy transitions that is highly relevant to the UK Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.