July 2005 Feature: Visual Arts Sutherland

IT HAS LONG BEEN recognised that the particular geography and low population of the Scottish Highland represent particular challenges for the creative industries. This is especially true in relation to the visual arts, although in recent years much has changed and improved with more funding and better exhibiting venues.

The historical reasons for the paucity of visual culture and thinking in the Highlands are complex, but can in part be explained by the a religious legacy which denied the visual as a valid artistic form: music and the word were the favoured media of expression.

Stenton by Wendy Sutherland.

If the Highland topography presents logistical and practical complexities for the visual artist, then this is no more so than in Sutherland where vast distances, sparse population and a meagre transport infrastructure mean that communication between artists themselves and exposure to a viewing public are particularly difficult. The small number of exhibiting spaces alone proves this point.

Recognising these particular challenges, Roxana Meechan, Arts Development Officer for Sutherland, who has held her post since 2002 helped to initiate the founding of Visual Arts Sutherland (VASu) – a group of around twenty artists based in the county whose aim is to promote their work and bring it to the wider community as part of an educational remit.

Meechan comments that “It is of particular importance to the economic development of the area to support this entrepreneurial and creative group of people who run their own art businesses.”

It seems only a matter of time before the visual arts in particular play a greater role in the creative and economic life of Sutherland.

With such goals in mind, tapestry maker Joan Baxter, with the help of a small committee which includes textile artist Rachel Skene as well as the painter Wendy Sutherland, initiated an Open Studio Trail – a pilot project which ran throughout June this year.

Bowl by Martina Macleod-Gartler.

The aim was to make artists’ work more accessible to a viewing and buying public and increase awareness of the artists’ activities. Skene comments that the scheme “…has great potential but its true benefit and role will only be proved over time…. I think the scope for increased marketing and the benefits this can bring to the local economy are very relevant and of considerable importance.”

Meechan adds that “the pilot went really well … all of the artists learnt something about marketing and promoting their work and about networking and doing things collaboratively … it has been an exercise in learning by doing.”

Joan Baxter, committee chair, says that “the open trail was a good start and gives us something to build on”. Other artists concur. Mark Edwards, an artist and illustrator based in Tongue says that “although the immediate benefits in terms of sales have been difficult to gauge – it has been a quiet season generally so far – the opportunity to be in touch with other artists and to be part of group has been helpful. I will certainly take part in future events if given the chance. Similar initiatives in Orkney and Skye have proved that this can work”

Martina Macleod-Gartler, a potter based in Balnakeil near Durness, agrees: “Although I did not notice any significant increase in sales the pilot project was useful in that it spurred me to collect images of my work and to write about it succinctly for the promotional material. We now have the beginnings of a network which can be built upon in future years”.

Orkney Stones 4 by Joan Baxter.

The increasing use of information technology also means that information can be disseminated and absorbed more readily, an important aspect of future developments. Linked by an email and web infrastructure these artists can take their message to a wider audience. It seems only a matter of time before the visual arts in particular play a greater role in the creative and economic life of Sutherland.

© Giles Sutherland, 2005

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