An art project that hopes to uncover Glasgow's secret "Da Vinci Code" were among the winners of the annual Creative Scotland awards last night.

May Miles Thomas, the film-maker who made award-winning films One Life Stand and Solid Air, was awarded one of the 10 £30,000 prizes for her plan to make The Devil's Plantation, which will examine the "secret geometry and ancient paths" of Glasgow.

Ms Miles Thomas said the final work, initially to be a website but which may spin off into film and other media, will be a mix of the conspiracy of the Da Vinci Code and a mystery story which will also encompass the eeriness of the Blair Witch Project movie.

"Glasgow we think of as this great industrial city but it is such an old city. This will look into the hidden secrets about its history, the hidden tracks that lie across it: it will be like a Da Vinci Code for Glaswegians," she said.

"I have been looking at the idea of ley lines' and have read accounts that the city is laid out along them in a geometric pattern. There is another idea that its layout reflects in some way the seasons of the moon.

"That idea stems from pre-Iron Age Glasgow, so I will be investigating all these ideas, how the city was built and re-built, and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary."

Ms Miles Thomas, who is based in Edinburgh, joined the other winners - Peter Arnott, playwright, Glasgow; Linda Cracknell, writer, Aberfeldy, Perthshire; Jonathan Falla, writer, Cupar, Fife; Henry Coombes, film-maker and visual artist, Glasgow; Kenny Hunter, visual artist, Glasgow; Ross Sinclair, visual artist, Kilcreggan, Argyll; John Maxwell Geddes, composer, Glasgow; Tom Pow, poet and writer, Dumfries; and Simon Yuill, artist and programmer, Glasgow, for the award ceremony at Prestonfield House, Edinburgh.

Every year, the SAC gives the awards to established artists for ideas for projects which they would otherwise not have been able to perform or afford.

Mr Pow's work will look at the prospect of the declining population of Europe.

"In 30 years, Europe will lose close to one third of its population, the greatest demographic change since the Black Death," he said. "The CSA award allows me to travel to some of the areas most affected, to reflect on the changes and to write poems and prose based on these experiences."

Richard Holloway, chairman of the new joint board of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, said: "The Creative Scotland Awards are an important element in the adventurous development of the arts. The range of projects selected for this year's awards shows the depth and width of creative talent in our nation and gives us a glorious opportunity to celebrate its richness and diversity."

Patricia Ferguson, the Culture Minister, said: "These awards serve to recognise and nurture Scotland's future creative talent."

Jonathan Mills, director of Edinburgh International Festival and chairman of the Creative Scotland Awards panel, said: "I am keenly aware of the importance arts can play in Scotland's future as a nation. It is at the heart of the festival's role to present the best of Scotland's art to the world alongside the world's best brought here, and the development and support of our artists is crucial to this.

"It has been a great honour to chair the Creative Scotland Awards panel and I wish all the winning artists the best with their projects."

Projects that won the prizes May Miles Thomas Will create The Devil's Plantation, an interactive project which unravels Glasgow's "secret geometry". Tom Pow Will produce Dying Villages, poems and prose pieces which will explore the phenomenon of dying villages across Europe.

l Linda Cracknell Will write a collection of "journey-essays"

recounting a series of treks and walks in wild landscapes. Peter Arnott Will write a trilogy of plays based around the idea of the end of the world.

l Henry Coombes Will work on a feature-length film script called Little Dog Boy and produce a short film project called Coleus in Clay. Jonathan Falla Will write a book called Wooden Baby, a novel about war from the perspective of Michel de Montaigne, the French essayist. Kenny Hunter Will make a large sculpture which depicts the "monster within the Scottish psyche". John Maxwell Geddes Will write music for a professional ensemble inspired by new work with young people in music workshops. Simon Yuill Will develop a "social network" through an internet-based network of personal exchanges between communities in the Highlands. Ross Sinclair Will create a series of portraits based on 300 years of popular music in Scotland.