Scottish Government Culture Minister Michael Russell has sent a filmed message of support to the first ever Atlantic Islands Festival and Geopoetics Summer School to be held on the Isle of Luing in Argyll from 4 to 11 July 2009.

In the message which is to be shown at the Festival on Sunday 5 July he says: “It’s wonderful to see the people of different west coast islands coming together to create such a varied programme and to take an interest in something which is central to their lives. It promises to be a tremendous week of events and builds on my own interest in geopoetics.”

“These Festivals help us to recognise and celebrate the rich and distinctive cultures of Scotland’s island communities and they contribute to shaping the broader national identity.”

He continued: “We have a shared passion for the arts, for the natural and built heritage, and for Scotland’s landscapes and that’s at the very centre of what geopoetics actually is. Meaning and truth are at the heart of this Festival, my best wishes for its success.”

Highlights of the Festival include the premiere on Wednesday 8 July of the Atlantic Islands Suite, a new musical and poetry composition by composer Mark Sheridan and poet Norman Bissell which will also feature outstanding traditional musicians Margaret Bennett, Aidan O’ Rourke and Lori Watson. The leading Gaelic singer and folklorist Margaret Bennett will be presenting her own concert performance on Monday 6 July and ace fiddler Aidan O’Rourke of Blazin’ Fiddles and Lau fame will also perform a new concert set of his own on Tuesday 7 July.

A slate sculpture competition will be another first, not only for Luing but anywhere in the world, and the inaugural world champion and runners up will receive signed prints by the artist Richard Childs who is staging an exhibition of his work in Cullipool Hall throughout the Festival. The artist Richard Ashrowan will also be presenting two hi-definition short films Lament and Fingal’s Cave which explore the geopoetics of two distinct Scottish landscapes, followed by a Q&A discussion on Friday 10 July, and the film-maker Andy Crabb will open the Festival on 4 July with a showing of his film Argyll’s Atlantic Islands.

The week also offers a lively series of informative talks and discussions on how the Atlantic Islands, visual arts, writing and geology can be illuminated by an understanding of geopoetics, guided walks on Atlantic plant and bird life, an Atlantic Food Showcase with whisky tasting of island malts presented by Oban Distillery, and a boat trip to Holy Isle, one of the Garvellach islands, where Saint Brendan founded a monastic settlement.

Emerging writers like Peter Urpeth, Anne Scott, Jim Ferguson, Graham Hardie and Jamie Whittle will also feature and there will be workshops in storytelling, theatre skills, Tai Chi and Celtic Artwork, and children's workshops in Gaelic song and drama. The emphasis of the Festival will be very much on creative expression of the natural elements which make the Atlantic Islands so special and on leaving a lasting legacy of creative skills amongst the islanders and others who take part.

The Festival will also provide a launching pad for the longer term project of the Isle of Luing Community Trust to build an Atlantic Islands Centre on Luing which will showcase the natural and human heritage of all the islands and provide an arts centre and café/restaurant for the community. The Trust is supporting the Festival and has already received development funding for the Centre from the Big Lottery Fund and Argyll and the Islands LEADER.

It’s a Festival that’s breaking new ground in linking culture, communities and the natural world and is attracting a lot of interest. Full details of events and how to book are on the website www.atlanticislandsfestival.com.

For further information and comment contact Norman Bissell at 01852 314322, email normanbissell@btinternet.com.

Issued by the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics, Director, Norman Bissell, Mo Dhachaidh, 51 Cullipool, Isle of Luing, Argyll PA34 4UB.