The Angus heritage group at the centre of a major funding row have said they hope the controversy can be laid to rest with a positive outcome.
After lodging a bid for a £5,000 grant for the first book on the life and work of Montrose-born sculptor William Lamb, dedicated volunteers who promote his work and help run a home-town studio were shocked with a rejection which labelled the scheme an “ego project”.
A second bid to secure funding foundered at the final full meeting of Angus Council before the summer recess when local authority leader Iain Gaul further enraged the Friends of William Lamb group by suggesting the most common association locals would make with the name would be in relation to a flavour of curry.
The Friends group and Montrose Heritage Trust have pledged that the autumn launch will go ahead as planned, including a special event at the Royal Scottish Academy.
As the Lamb studio in Market Street prepares to open to 2013 visitors tomorrow, The Courier can reveal the heritage fans are leading efforts to repair the damage to the relationship between the groups and the council.
Friends chairwoman Kitty Ritchie said the group’s latest annual meeting had discussed the recent controversy and how to “build bridges” with the local authority.
The way forward will include an open letter to Mr Gaul and other leading council figures inviting them to visit the studio over the coming weeks and learn more about a son of the county described as one of the nation’s leading 20th century sculptors.
“We are committed to working in partnership with Angus Council, as we have done for many years now,” she said.
A joint marketing strategy is one of the areas the Friends will be looking to develop, after criticism of the low visitors numbers to the studio was raised during the full council’s discussion of the grant bid.
“We want to move on from what has happened over the grant application,” added Mrs Ritchie.
“The book will be launched and it was not the Friends or Montrose Heritage Trust who were slighted by the comments made, but William Lamb and that is what hurt everyone who appreciates his work so much.
“At the end of the day you have to remember that number crunching is sometimes not the be all and end all so it is not just about the number of people who visit the studio. Visitors to any area want an experience and in Montrose I would say that the experience they get is being able to enjoy the wonderful works in what could probably be described as the sculpture town of Scotland.”
She added: “There are many, many people who enjoy art and the achievements of Lamb who was probably the only sculptor to show in the three major cities of Paris, London and Edinburgh in one year should be celebrated as much as possible.
“The Friends of William Lamb have done so much to promote Lamb and maybe Angus Council could do a bit more to promote this valuable cultural asset,” she said.