Cromarty Arts Trust is gearing up for two exciting new residency opportunities happening later this month. They will be waving goodbye to a Highland based artist off on a month long residency to Macedonia whilst simultaneously welcoming a recent Glasgow School of Art Graduate who has been awarded the first Cromarty Student Residency.
Hanna Tuulikki graduated earlier this year from Glasgow School of Art. She was amongst fifteen graduates nominated for this award by their own art schools from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art in Dundee, Glasgow School of Art and Edinburgh College of Art.
Alison McMenemy from the Highland Print Studio who was one of the judges said “Hanna’s submission caught our imagination by being innovative, fresh and vibrant. We think she will love Cromarty and its people and get a lot out of being here.”
Her work incorporates various forms of performance, video and sound installation, CD publications and drawing in order to explore music as part of the wider environmental sound-scape.
“I am really looking forward to coming to Cromarty and to spending time exploring and researching the local environment - the landscape, wildlife, history and people - in order to make work that stems directly from it. “ Hanna declared.
Meanwhile Lewis based Jon Macleod is also packing his bags for a new experience. Earlier this year he was awarded the newly instigated Macedonian Residency award dubbed the Highlander’s Revenge (with kind permission from Bruce Macgregor!). Applications were invited from all over the Highlands and Islands from visual artists and the selection panel met in May.
“We have hosted a good number of residencies in Cromarty over the past 12 years and most of the artists have been from the central belt or from England. We wanted to create an opportunity specifically for a Highland artist to go abroad and have a similarly rich experience. Jon’s submission impressed the judges by the quality of his work and the thought that he had put into his submission” noted Trustee Bryan Beattie.
Jon’s residency will be hosted by Macedonian artist Sergej Andreevski and his wife Irena who were invited to Cromarty last summer by the Trust with their children and who left a lasting impression on the community. On his return he will bring some of his work in progress to Cromarty for a mini-exhibition and an informal public talk about his experience.
Whilst Jon is there he will be working with an Iraqi artist who now lives in America and Jon is looking forward to the cultural melting pot that will ensue!
“I am also looking forward to the culture shock of Macedonia, the food, language, customs, maybe event the humour being different. It’s especially exciting to go to a country I know so little about and one that it would be difficult to travel to remote parts of without the aid of local people. Just now on Lewis we have been fishing for herring, haymaking and bringing in the peats and I’m speculating about the seasonal activities of rural Macedonia and all they may entail!”
Robert Livingston director of HI~Arts added “At HI~Arts we are delighted to be able to assist (through funding provided to us by Highlands and Islands Enterprise) a project which aims to build long-term international links for artists based in the Highlands and Islands. The ‘Highlanders’ Revenge’ will also be, we hope, ‘The Highlanders’ Opportunity’!
