Who We Are.
Photo credit: PocketSquare Photography
Clifftop Projects exists to bring high quality artistic activity to people across West Dunbartonshire. We specialise in working with a wide age range of participants in dance, visual arts and other art forms believing that creativity has no age limit!
We are LGBTQ+ friendly, disability friendly & do not tolerate discrimination of any kind.
Lottie Barker (SHE/HEr)
Artistic Director
I am a producer and creative arts facilitator based in Dumbarton. I started up Clifftop Projects in April 2020 to better engage with my local community in West Dunbartonshire and ensure equal access to the arts.
I’ve danced my whole life with both my mum and grandma being dance teachers. I began assisting with teaching at an early age and completed my Teaching Training with the British Ballet Organisation achieving Distinction in Level 5 in 2016.
I began working as a producer with Scottish Dance Theatre’s education department whilst I was still at University- I ran their Great Big Dance Show with community groups from across Scotland for three years. Since then I have had a varied career in the arts working with organisations such as Arts 4 Dementia, the British Ballet Organisation, Dance House Glasgow, Joan Cleville Dance, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Scottish Ballet, Scottish Dance Theatre and Hydra Arts. As a producer and community arts facilitator, I enjoy ensuring that the arts can be accessible for all and am passionate about working with those with barriers or perceived barriers to participation.
AMY Clark (She/her)
Company Producer
I am a creative producer and performance-maker, originally from West Cumbria, now living and working in Scotland. I trained at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and hold a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Performance Practice. As a producer, I specialise in community-led work, and really enjoy working with artists, communities and organisations, putting all the things in place to bring their creative vision to life. I love to collaborate and come together with other creative minds.
Alongside my role with Clifftops, I also work as Programmes Developer for Everyone Here, and as a freelance producer supporting artists make their work happen. I also work as an artist in theatre and performance, creating live performances that are experimental, a little bit absurd and funny.
Across all of my work, I am committed to ethical collaboration, inclusive working environments, and making sure there’s space for people to have fun! I believe art in all its forms has the power for people to connect, imagine things differently and spark conversations. This belief is at the core of the work I create and the work I produce.
Outside of work, you could probably find me reading a book, exploring somewhere new in nature or tending to a (growing) houseplant collection…
megan beattie (She/her)
youngstart manager
My career over the past 11 years has been dedicated to supporting young people across the third and public sectors, helping them build confidence, access new opportunities, and navigate complex life challenges. In 2024, I decided I wanted to combine my youth work and community background with a HND in Contemporary Art, and as an artist I have had experience working with Rutherglen 900 and with the Commonwealth Games. In the past, I have sung countless Bookbug songs, delivered after school clubs, taught ceilidh dancing (with varying degrees of success!), and helped young people direct films about climate change, amongst many other things.
In my spare time, I like to go on adventures – whether that’s in my front garden buried in a book or on a plane going somewhere I’ve never been before (mostly to try all the food I can!!). I like to practice ecstatic dance, cycle, make big sculptures from nature and sounds, and forage.
Wherever and whoever I am with, building a sense of belonging and community I sthe most important thing for me. Art is so important to not only bring folk together but also celebrate our differences - however messy, tidy, wild, spiky, loud, quiet, crazy, neat – it’s all important.
Youth Voices
Youth Voices is the title for all our Youth Advisory work which takes many forms from facilitated forums and events to drop in activities that allow us to access what young people in our community think, feel and need. If you are interested in helping shape the future of Clifftop Projects and are under 25 get in touch with lottie@clifftopprojects.co.uk
Board of Directors
oli higham
Oli (he/him) is a church pastor with a background in community arts, youth work and community development. He is based within Dumbarton and alongside leading a church and managing The Phoenix (a community centre run by the church where Clifftop Projects deliver some of their work) works within the fields of visual arts and spoken word.
He enjoys board games, comic books and spray-paint. He is also a former TV chef, regularly smashes his head off low door frames, and can speak Romanian very badly.
Maeve Dixon
Maeve (she/her) is Arts Development Officer for West Dunbartonshire Council. She has a background in heritage and the arts and is a practising artist. She enjoys playing and wants to encourage everyone to never stop playing!
She has a Pokemon loving son and has worked in West Dunbartonshire for 14 years.
Katie McGroarty
Katie (she/her) is an artist originally from the Vale of Leven in West Dunbartonshire. She studied in Edinburgh and achieved a BA(hons) in Intermedia (Fine Art) from the Edinburgh college of Art at the University of Edinburgh, before completing an MFA in Art and Humanities at DJCAD in 2022. After her MFA at DJCAD, Katie joined the operational committee of Generator Projects, predominantly working in policy, on the community space, the public library as well as public outreach.
In January of 2024, she founded the Dundee Artists Database due to lack of visibility for artists in Dundee, since then Katie has begun research into setting up other databases to assist artists throughout Scotland.