Visual arts school exchange project to be exhibited at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
The visual arts exchange project, An Cuan Sgìth / The Little Minch, will be exhibited at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig from 14th May and will run until 25th June 2018. An Cuan Sgith is a two year visual arts exchange project between young people from Bun-sgoil Shlèite, Skye and Bun-sgoil Bhaile a’ Mhanaich, Benbecula. The pupils worked with professional artists Julie Brook, Kate Macdonald and Kath MacLeod (Arts Development Officer SMO) through the medium of Gaelic, led by Lasair Ealain and supported by Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.
The aim of the project is to inspire and empower young people to draw their own environment, working with professional artists to encourage their individual forms of expression and a greater understanding of where they live.
After a series of drawing and painting workshops in their own landscapes the children from Bun-sgoil Shlèite visited the pupils in Benbecula for 3 days, enabling the children to work together with the artists in different sites, share evening activities through Gaelic and make new friends. At the end of the visit the Balivanich pupils made the ferry journey across to Skye over An Cuan Sgìth (The Little Minch) drawing on the ferry with the Skye pupils and their teachers. Subsequently each group learnt how to create compositions of specific areas of their landscape based on a number of their sketchbook drawings, enabling the children to collaborate and work together on large scale charcoal drawings.
The sketchbooks, framed A1 drawings, large scale charcoal compositions and a film of the project form the exhibition that express their artistic and physical journey. The work has already been shown in Taigh Chearsabhagh, North Uist and it is hoped that it will go on to exhibit in Inverness later in the year.
The project has been funded by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Western Isles Council, Lasair Ealain and Young Films.
An Cuan Sgìth 15 May- 25 June 2018, Atrium, ACC, SMO
Preview – Monday 14 May (6.30pm, Atrium, ACC, SMO) followed by family Cèilidh (7.30 -9pm An Talla Mòr)
