Iconic Artists in Iconic Places Highland based projects revealed

23rd November 2012

Three exciting new creative collaborations get the green light today as Museums Galleries Scotland reveal the successful applicants for Iconic Artists in Iconic Places grants.

The funding enables The Scottish Fisheries Museum, Timespan and Gairloch Heritage Museum to work with acclaimed artists who will draw inspiration from their collections and the history of their local communities. The projects will all culminate in exceptional and moving events in 2013.

Timespan in Helmsdale will augment their ‘Translocation 1813 – 2013’ programme of events which marks the 200th anniversary of the Kildonan Clearances. Canadian-Scottish artist Anthony Schrag has been commissioned to explore the emotive themes associated with the Kildonan Riots which preceded the Clearances in January 1813. Schrag is developing a residency inspired by that fraught period of the community’s history right through to the present day understanding of conflicts and cultural identity. Through the medium of art, the trauma, grievances, threat and intimidation of the Riots and Clearances will be explored in a safe, humorous and dynamic manner.

Anna Vermehren, Timespan Director, said, “Iconic Artists in Iconic places project gives us the opportunity to meaningfully link the past with the present. We are looking forward to working with Anthony Schrag in his quest to investigate the Kildonan Riots of spring 1813, and ask questions about how these events have affected our identity today.”

Gairloch Heritage Museum is relishing the prospect of hosting their first artist in residence for which applications are currently being invited. They are offering an artist the opportunity to work with them from January to April 2013 and gain inspiration from the area’s complex history, culture and stunning natural environment as reflected in their collections. The residency will culminate in a community event next summer.

Janet MacLean, Curator at Gairloch Heritage Museum, said, “We would like to thank Museum Galleries Scotland, Creative Scotland and The Highland Council for funding this project. We are very pleased to be offered the opportunity to host an Artist in Residence and look forward to receiving a lot of interesting and diverse applications.”

The Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther has devised an inspirational way to reacquaint their community with its heritage by creating installations in unusual venues. Next March, their ‘Home from the Sea’ project will temporarily re-site objects from the museum’s collection to nearby houses and streets which have historical links with the men and women of the fishing industry. Working from the extensive photographic collections of the museum, documentary photographer Sean Dooley and filmmaker Tim Fitzpatrick will create connections between past and present day inhabitants.

Joanne Orr, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland, said, “Scotland’s museum collections offer authentic and emotive sources of inspiration for so many. By enabling these collaborations between artists and museums, Iconic Artists in Iconic Places funding is forging real connections between communities, museums and their collections across the country.”

Iconic Artists in Iconic Places is a collaborative project by Museums Galleries Scotland and Creative Scotland that enables artists to cast a new perspective on museum collections, historic sites, and Scotland’s intangible cultural heritage, also known as living culture.

The funding amounts being awarded are Gairloch Heritage Museum £9,450; Timespan £5,850; and The Scottish Fisheries Museum receive £10,967.

Part of the Year of Creative Scotland, Iconic Artists in Iconic Places it is funded by Creative Futures, a Creative Scotland programme of artists’ residencies and related activities.

Venu Dhupa, Director of Creative Development at Creative Scotland said “We are proud to have invested through our Creative Futures residency programme, in such a creative and mutually beneficial partnership with Museums Galleries Scotland. Exciting partnerships are being developed by bringing Scottish artists and museums together through Iconic Artists in Iconic Places, allowing each to work alongside and become inspired from the other. Another fantastic initiative taking place in this Year of Creative Scotland 2012.”

More Information
Museums Galleries Scotland is currently undergoing the transition to become the National Development Body for the sector in Scotland.

Creative Futures is a Creative Scotland talent development initiative, introduced with the purpose of promoting the professional connectivity and ambitions of Scotland’s creative organisations and practitioners. Creative Futures seeks to do this by investing in a range of residencies and other developmental activities for creative individuals and organisations; and by investing in related investigative activities, which help to ‘see the future differently’.

About the Year of Creative Scotland 2012: The Year of Creative Scotland began on January 1, 2012 and is a chance to showcase, celebrate and promote Scotland’s cultural and creative strengths on a world stage. Through a dynamic and exciting year-long programme of activity celebrating our world-class events, festivals, culture and heritage, the year puts Scotland’s culture and creativity in the international spotlight with a focus on cultural tourism and developing the events industry and creative sector in Scotland. More information about the programme can be found at: www.visitscotland.com/creative