The new An Lanntair (Gaelic for ‘lantern’) winked into light in Stornoway in the Western Isles last night (29 September 2005), with a private viewing of the inaugural exhibition. As the ambitious building opened, Dr John Smith, Chairman of An Lanntair told of his emotions ‘I feel a mixture of relief and satisfaction that we stuck with the project and an overwhelming feeling of excitement for the community who are so fortunate to now have such a fantastic arts facility.’ Asked about his hopes for the building, Dr Smith said ‘My hope is that it will be used by the people of the community. That the programme of activities, both the exhibitions and events will meet their expectations and will cater to as wide a range of interest as possible.’

The building has been funded witch the help of a significant Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Award, Jim Tough, Director of Arts at the Scottish Arts Council said: ‘An Lanntair is an ambitious project which the Scottish Arts Council is proud to support. The impressive building will cater for a wide range of arts activity on the isles, providing a high quality venue for professional productions while also serving community arts activities. The building plays a key role in the Scottish Arts Council’s Gaelic arts policy and creates an arts beacon on the edge of Europe which competes with any other in Scotland and beyond. ‘

This is a common feeling from all involved in the project. Ian Stephen, curator of the opening exhibition called the Sail loft feels ‘Its quite a responsibility to be the opening show, I’m very aware of the effort that the board and staff have put into it. Its important to remember it’s an arts centre not just a gallery, that implies one box and to begin with the idea here is bigger than that.’

The opportunities that the new An Lanntair offers is generating a lot of excitement with the people that have seen the facility so far. Local artist Moira Maclean said ‘I think it’s a brilliant opportunity to realise an idea I’ve had for ages, because the space is so big, to do something really ambitious.’ Roddy Murray, An Lanntair’s director also felt that the opening show had to ‘Be of the Gaidhealtachd and it had to test the new space. A show we couldn’t otherwise have had.”

The other artists involved in the inaugural exhibition opening, funded by the Highlands & Islands Preservation Trust, are two established Scandinavian artists Mikko Paakkola from Finland and Carina Fihn from Sweden. Carina views are clear ‘I think it’s fantastic. We saw it for the first time from the sea; it’s like a lighthouse, it’s beautiful. As an artist it’s perfect, it’s not like a museum or an art gallery, you maybe come for a coffee. I think it’ll be a place to meet. Young people will love it.’ As she commented ‘It’s very unusual that a small place like this has a big ‘culture house’, that’s what we call a place like this in Sweden.’

The public will get their first chance to get into their new ‘culture house’ today and as Alex Macdonald, An Lanntair’s programme officer highlights ‘The possibilities that the new building brings to the island will be explored over the next few months and the programme will expand as we discover what we can do. You’re getting an experience that’s equal if not better, than the mainland. A quality night out’. The next landmark for the venue is its opening event on the 7th and 8th of October, when the auditorium will showcase a specially commissioned play from the Traverse Theatre.’ I was a beautiful day’ written by Lewis writer Iain F MacLeod. The play was specially commissioned by the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, to open the new An Lanntair arts centre in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, before embarking on a tour throughout Scotland. Hot on the heels of this Scottish premiere, will be the National Mod when a number of key events will take place in the building. Exciting times for the Outer Hebrides.