While we can’t travel…

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Ute Amann-Seidel

Bringing a bit of Scotland and creativity to your home

In these strange and difficult times where we are in lockdown and unable to travel or enjoy exhibitions and events, you may feel in need of a dose of Scotland and creative inspiration. I’ve started curating collections of resources you might be interested in. This page is a work in progress and I’ll add to them as I go along – if you know of an interesting resource Scotland-loving creatives might enjoy please drop me a line.

Online exhibitions

Projectroom 2020 – funded by Art North magazine, Projectroom2020.org is a collaborative online gallery project devised to support artists in Scotland in showing work during the public health crisis: https://projectroom2020.org/

The first artist to be shown in the Main Gallery is Wild at Art tutor Gemma Petrie, who is based in Portmahomack on the North East coast where her painting shortbreaks take place.

Explore the collections of the Scottish National Galleries – you can explore and search the collections of the Scottish National Gallery, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Modern One, Modern Two, Duff House, Paxton House, and even works that are in storage: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/

The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) of Arts and Architecture‘s annual exhibition will soon be available online here: https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/

Edinburgh University’s School of History, Classics and Archaeology offers an online exhibition: Artisans And Craft-Production In Nineteenth-Century Scotland. It is themed in five sections; Handmade and Design, Vernacular and Place, Portraits, Workshops, and Trades and Communities: https://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/history/news-events/news-and-events-archive/news-events-2016/online-exhibition

An Talla Solais Gallery in Ullapool has opened an exhibition Landscape of Place. The central theme of the exhibition is the discourse between the landscape of the north of Scotland and the experience of being both part of it and at one within it, giving rise to a sense of place within the world: https://www.antallasolais.org/landscape-of-place-online-exhibition

National Museums Scotland -Experience the treasures of four National Museums Scotland from your own home via the Google Arts and Culture programme, which offers you the chance to see more than 20,000 historic objects at National Museum of Scotland, National Museum of Flight, National War Museum and the National Museum of Rural Life: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/national-museum-of-scotland

Art in Healthcare does is provides top quality curated Scottish and Scotland-themed artworks for display in hospitals and other healthcare settings. The Art in Healthcare Collection is extensive and can be explored online: https://www.artinhealthcare.org.uk/collection.php

Sounds of Scotland

Nevis Ensemble – Some of you might already have happened to enjoy impromptu performances by members of this energetic street orchestra on your travels in Scotland. The Nevis Ensemble have made it their mission to make music accessible for everyone, everywhere. They have several projects on the go to bring music to people in lockdown all over the world: https://nevisensemble.org/

Scotland Online – Livestream events featuring Scotland’s thriving traditional arts: https://scotlandonline.org/

Finding gigs via Twitter – there are some incredible online gigs going on. You can follow along with hashtags like #COVIDceilidh and #scotlandsbigsession on Twitter for details of many of them. https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVIDCeilidh?src=hashtag_click / https://twitter.com/hashtag/scotlandsbigsession?src=hashtag_click

Scotpodcast – explore a wealth of traditional music gems on this podcast series. The tunes are all free to listen to but you’ll get the chance to support the Scottish traditional music scene: https://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/scotpodcast/.

Chamber Music Scotland did a series of #StreamingHomeConcerts which you can watch on their YouTube channel. Follow Chamber Music Scotland on Twitter for details of how to tune into future shows! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXK4x-mr11oOR7kptn7o4Pw https://twitter.com/chambermusicsct/status/1243117561115561984

Live Music Now Scotland supports talented young professional musicians in performing/training opportunities while taking inspirational live music experiences to a wide audience: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCegFmstasVO3Sel-p5hk7aw/videos

And, of course, Runrig’s Loch Lomond

Scottish textiles

Dovecot studio – you can take a virtual tour of this world-renowned tapestry studio in Edinburgh: https://dovecotstudios.com/visit/tour

The making of Harris Tweed:

BBC Coast: Harris Tweed – excerpt from a programme on Harris Tweed:

Creativity in times of lockdown

Watercolour sketching demo with Leo du Feu – Wild at Art tutor Leo du Feu also works for Art in Healthcare in Edinburgh. ROOM FOR ART is a series of visual arts workshops delivered by artists throughout Edinburgh using a social prescribing approach and occupational therapy supported model of 1:1s. In this 30 min video he explains the basics of watercolour sketching and talks about his approach. Grab a coffee and enjoy the video! (Leo is the tutor for our Magical Orkney art experience in September 2021):

Painting eggs and birds in watercolour – not just for Easter! – Wild at Art tutor Leo du Feu encourages you to appreciate the beauty of bird eggs and explore their patterns through some simple exercises: https://landscapeartnaturebirds.blogspot.com/2020/04/art-idea-easter-eggs-birds.html

Art in the Time of Self-Quarantine – A Sketch A Day. A few of our wonderful Wild at Art customers – and now friends – in the US and Canada have set up a Facebook group for sharing the artwork they’re producing during lockdown. The group is private but they welcome new members. You can join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/208000227277211/

Artist Louise Bourgeois on How Solitude Enriches Creative Work – “You are born alone. You die alone. The value of the space in between is trust and love.” https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/04/15/louise-bourgeois-solitude/

Isolation Art School – check out this Instagram initiative for free lessons, projects and tips on getting creative: https://www.instagram.com/isolationartschool/

Scenes for Survival – short digital artworks created by leading Scottish theatre and screen talent. Created by the National Theatre of Scotland in association with Scotland’s leading theatre venues and companies: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08d89xn (not sure if the link will work outside the UK…?)

Explore our beautiful locations

This is Scotland!: https://youtu.be/FlG6tbYaA88

See Scotland’s islands from above:

A guide to the weather in Scotland:

Orkney

Orkney – beautiful all year round:

Wild at Art tutor Leo du Feu’s journal from his first visit to Orkney – A September Trip to Orkney . Leo is the tutor for our Magical Orkney painting holiday in September 2021 – find out more

Orkney visitor guide – a selection of visitor guides and information leaflets about the islands: https://www.orkney.com/plan/visitor-guides

Discover Stromness, the base location for our Orkney art experiences:

Orkney archaeology – at the site of a colossal complex that predates Stonehenge, archaeologists have discovered Neolithic art, pottery, and several carved stones that are extremely rare:

Hebrides

The magical isle of Iona by drone:

Lewis Trilogy – if you are looking for reading material about Lewis & Harris in the Outer Hebrides check out Peter May’s crime novels set in the islands: Blackhouse / Lewis Man / Chessmen: https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/see-and-do/culture-and-heritage/peter-may-lewis-trilogy

Another book we can recommend is Madeleine Bunting’s Love of Country. You can find a review here.

Glasgow

Mackintosh at the Willow – for Mackintosh fans Willow Tea Rooms have published a series of blogposts telling some of the history around the life and art of Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh and Charles Rennie Mackintosh: https://www.mackintoshatthewillow.com/blog/

Scottish & Celtic heritage

Scottish Storytelling Centre – listen to some ancient tales. The page also includes a link to their YouTube channel: https://tracscotland.org/resources/scotlands-stories-online-teaching-resource/

CeltScot Videos – a YouTube channel where you can find music, storytelling , lectures and more related to Celtic and Scottish Studies: https://www.youtube.com/user/CeltScotVideos/featured

Scottish Gaelic language explained:

How to wear an 18th century plaid properly 🙂

Scotlands Places – this archive site lets you search three national databases to access historical resources relating to places throughout Scotland: https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/

Have a peek inside

Historic Scotland audio guides – Historic Scotland are making a series of audio guides available, which can be enjoyed via the web, with no need for downloading. Be transported back to court life at Stirling Castle, hear the familiar voices of Ian Rankin, George RR Martin and Saoirse Ronan at Edinburgh Castle, explore Iona Abbey or listen to the beautiful voices of Glasgow Cathedral’s choir: access audio guides here

Look inside the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and see some of their staff’s favourite features:

Take a virtual tour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen’s official residence in Scotland: https://www.royal.uk/virtual-tours-palace-holyroodhouse

Snippet about Falkland Palace‘s sunken treasure: