Output details

Towards an Exhibition of Highland Art

This paper defined for the first time the historical and present art of the Scottish Gàidhealtachd, by proposing, in detailed outline from prehistory to contemporary art how a comprehensive exhibition of such work could be curated. An output from the AHRC-funded project ‘Window to the West: Towards a Redefinition of the Visual within Gaelic Scotland’ (PI Macdonald, joint project with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, University of the Highlands and Islands, 2005-2011, £543K), the paper was the basis of an application that led to the exhibition (c. 250 exhibits) ‘Uinneag Dhan Àird an Iar: Ath-lorg Ealain na Gàidhealtachd/Window to the West: the Rediscovery of Highland Art,’ at City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Nov.2010–March.2011 (The Scotsman 23/11/2010: ‘this potent but hitherto invisible living legacy’; The Times 21/12/2010: ‘groundbreaking’; half-hour feature on BBC Radio nan Gaidheal, broadcast 11/01/2011; attendance over 23,000; educational outreach at all levels from primary to HE). This output informed Macdonald’s keynote presentation (A Highland Art: Reclaiming the Visual for the Gàidhealtachd,) at ‘State of The Art: Visual Tradition And Innovation In The Highlands And Islands Of Scotland. / Staid Na h-Ealain: Leanailteachd Agus Ùrachadh Lèirsinneach Air Gàidhealtachd na h-Alba,’ at the National Galleries of Scotland, June 2010. It was developed further in ‘Reflections on the neglect of the Visual Art of the Scottish Gàidhealtachd’ which identified visual art as a new dimension of Celtic Studies at the biennial Celtic studies conference, Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig 6, University of Aberdeen, August 2010. This output provided the starting point for the Visual Art Section of the Open University’s ‘Gaelic in Modern Scotland’ iBook and weblink launched at the Scottish Parliament on 13/09/2011. It laid the basis for Macdonald’s advice to Scottish Government Agencies Creative Scotland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig re the visual aspect of Gaelic Language Plans (see Gaelic Language Act, 2005).