Artists Walking Group
A series of six monthly artist-led walks funded by Scottish Union Learning in the Highlands & Islands; for members to meet up in person and enjoy good company in a safe environment. We are getting out and about, moving around, walking, talking, thinking, and having some time out from our studios, offices, screens and chairs! These walks are open to all members and supported by a series of online presentations from the artists leading the walks, so please tune in even if you can't attend the walk!
APRIL // Mary Bourne & Lynne Strachan
Walk #1 Saturday 30 April
Cabrach, Moray
Artist Mary Bourne, took us into The Cabrach - a remote upland area just on the Moray side of the border with Aberdeenshire. Mary and Lynne have been walking and researching this area since 2020 as part of their collaborative project Cabrach Reconnections.
On the 19th April Mary’s delivered an online presentation about Cabrach Reconnections, titled ‘How to run a successful rural arts project’ along with Virginia Hutchison who shared her project Stories of Radical Landownership in North Lewis. Members can watch her presentation in learning resource area.
MAY // Richard Bracken
Richard's creative practice is fed by an ongoing, personal exploration of land and is a response to place, ecology, culture and memory. He typically works across a range of disciplines including casting and mould-making, photography, printmaking and drawing. He was artist-in-residence at Abriachan Forest Trust for The Radical Land project in 2020/21. Richard's Website
Artist’s Lunchtime Lecture Thursday 19 May, 12 - 12:45pm
Online via Zoom - Register Here
Walk #2 Thursday 26 May, 10am - 12noon
Abriachan Forest Trust (near Loch Ness), Inverness-shire, IV3 8LB
JUNE // Gill Russell
Gill Russell is an artist interested in places of 'significance’ and how they resonate in a wider context. She works across a range of forms and media, including installation, audio, mapping, drawing, poems and texts. Walking is often key to her exploration. Gill's Website
Artist’s Lunchtime Lecture Friday 10 June, 12 - 12:45pm
Online via Zoom - Register Here
Walk #3 Friday 26 August, 11am - 1pm NEW RESCHEDULED DATE
Glenkindie, Lumsden, Aberdeenshire
JULY // Raghnaid Sandilands
Raghnaid Sandilands is a creative ethnologist and a Gaelic speaker working in Strathairn, on the south side of Loch Ness. She worked on Sorley MacLean’s archive and as a Gaelic Manuscripts curator at the National Library and a Gaelic teacher before coming north again. She is a freelance translator and animateur of lively gatherings in the local hall and allotments. Raghnaid's Website
Raghnaid was a speaker on our recent Gaelic Visual Arts course and members can watch her presentation in learning resource area.
Walk #4 Sunday 10 July, 1 - 3pm NEW DATE
Farr Community Hall, Strathnairn, Inverness-shire
AUGUST // Lise Olsen
Lise Olsen is a Scottish-based artist who works in-between a sphere of space and the sonic. Her work aspires to uncover the traces of what’s hidden and reveal ephemeral moments using stories, sounds, and images. Walking is an essential part of her process in delivering a platform for social participation and shared experiences. She believes walking is an opportunity to focus our attention on liminal moments in time. Her art practice involves facilitating community sound projects, sound walking events, and creating immersive sound compositions. Lise is a Ph.D. candidate in Sonic Arts at the University of Aberdeen, where she’s doing practice-based research on the in-between experiences happening when listening to immersive soundscapes. In July 2021, Lise became the artist in residence for The Moray Way Association; her work involves walking the 100-mile long circular route, collecting stories from the community, and defining liminal experiences within a dramatic Scottish landscape. Lise's Website
Artist’s Lunchtime Lecture Thursday 11 August, 12 - 12:45pm
Online via Zoom - Register Here
Walk #5 Saturday 20th August, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Lossiemouth, Moray - twilight walk, bare foot on the beach. Lise will guide us through a short active listening exercise.
SEPTEMBER // Artist TBC
Walk #6
Orkney (mainland) … more info coming shortly on this one!
To Book //
Zoom registration for each online events above. To receive meeting instructions for the walks members can sign up via the Google Form in the last newsletter or email [email protected]
