Delegates and speakers at the Highlands and Islands Visual Arts Gathering in Ullapool on November 13 and 14 will be given the opportunity to air their opinions and ideas through the unlikely medium of artistic underwear.

Asking the question ‘ What’s pants about the visual arts in the Highlands and Islands?’ will be artist Sarah Barnes, who is from Inverness and is a recent graduate of the Edinburgh College of Art, where she developed her love of pattern, passion for colour and quirky sense of humour. She has exhibited in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and New York. As ‘Inverness is Pants’ this artwork was part of the very successful ‘Imagining the Centre’ project whereby 14 Highland artists took over the Old Town area of Inverness for a day to present an alternative vision of the ‘Capital of the Highlands’.

The Visual Arts Gathering is being organised by HI~Arts, the arts development agency for the Highlands and Islands, and it is already attracting artists, artsworkers, and gallery curators and manager from as far afield as Mull and Shetland.

The packed two-day programme will feature a range of presentations and discussions which will be picking up on the issues raised by Georgina Coburn’s new ‘Five Challenges’ report on the current state of the visual arts in the Highlands and Islands. Topics to be covered will include ‘the town as gallery’, based on Deveron Arts’ work in Huntly, the links between the visual arts and heritage, through the experiences of Mount Stuart in Bute, and Timespan in Helmsdale, and the benefits of open studio trails, with contributions from, among others, Highland Open Studios and Visual Arts Sutherland. The Gathering will also look at how Dumfries and Galloway has developed a successful long-term programme of support for artists.

The Gathering, being hosted by the Macphail Centre in Ullapool, is being funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Arts Council and is free to participants. It is set to be one of the largest gathering of artists ever held in the Highlands and Islands.

Booking for the Highlands and Islands Visual Arts Gathering is available online at http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/visualarts  or by phoning 01463 717091.

A full programme for the Gathering (subject to possible last minute changes) is also downloadable from http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/visualarts

The “Five Challenges" Visual Arts report is available online at http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/HI-Arts-Visual-Arts/HI-Arts-Five_Challenges_Visual_Arts_report_2006-final.pdf , and printed copies can also be requested through the HI~Arts office.