Thousands of events celebrating Highland culture will take place in villages, towns and cities across the Highlands during ‘Highland 2007 – Scotland’s year of Highland culture’ which kicks off with a Highland Street Party in Inverness on 12 January.

Any cultural celebration would not be complete without craft and there is a myriad of different exhibitions and projects taking place. 

On 13 January the newly refurbished Inverness Museum and Art Gallery opens to the public showing ‘Fonn‘s Duthchas: Land and Legacy’.  This national touring exhibition for Highland 2007 is a collaboration between the National Museums Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. 

Providing a fresh modern showcase for Highland culture that reflects the roots, values and cultural heritage of a creative and freethinking people, Fonn ‘s Duthchas, which is funded the Scottish Executive,  promotes a celebration of the heritage and creativity of a society which continues to contribute so significantly to the cultural identity of Scotland.

‘Duthchas – the Legacy’ is a satellite of Fonn‘s Duthchas.  This mini-exhibition focuses on the Highlands as they are today through the work of Highland makers who are re-interpreting the heritage to create iconic Highland objects for the 21st century using traditional materials and techniques.

The Royal Observatory in Edinburgh is working with the Highland Council’s Exhibitions Unit on an SAC Partners-funded project to discover a new constellation for 2007. The project, called The Highland Constellation, brings together science, art and literature in an artists’ residency project in which a writer, an environmental artist/maker and a craft bookbinder will work together with schools across the Highlands.

Pupils will select significant dates from Highland history which will be plotted by the astronomers in light years from the earth to identify possible stars for the constellation, one from each of the eight Highland areas. The writer will work on the stories (real or fictional) of the dates/stars with the pupils; the environmental artist/maker will map/interpret it on the earth and the bookbinder will create a book of the constellation incorporating the stories, the artwork, and starmaps.

The Six Cities Design Festival takes place throughout the six cities of Scotland from the 17 May until the 3 June and as part of the Inverness programme they will be showcasing the work of makers that demonstrate particularly strong elements of creative design. There will also be a specially designed room set completely furnished and decorated using Highlands and Islands craft makers.

One of the major events of Highland 2007 is ‘Big Willow: The Story of the Stones Sgeulachdan nan Clachan’.  As the finale for the deconstruction of Patrick Dougherty’s wonderful sculpture that was created at Brahan during May 2006, the Scottish Basketmakers Circle will be hosting an evening of music, performance and fire on the 26 May 2007 called Big Willow. World renowned musicians, Blazin Fiddles are collaborating with the circus and performance group, te Pooka to create a specially commissioned performance that will be a fitting end to the project. Tickets are available now from www.thebooth.co.uk and are limited. 

Analach, an initiative aimed at raising the profile and standard of work created in the Highlands and Islands, launches in 2007.  Highland makers are being asked to re-interpret the traditional crafts and icons of the Highland and Islands, and this newly commissioned work will be launched in June/July and showcased throughout the Highlands and beyond.  Selected makers will then be asked to create a limited edition collection that will be available for sale from 2008 onwards.

The final exhibition for the Craft Residencies in the Highlands project will take place in the Autumn/Winter of 2007. ‘Over the Hills….’ is the culmination of three years of Highland residencies that have produced some very exciting work, changed makers lives and enthused and inspired hundreds of children, teachers and the public.  

This is just a selection of the events happening in 2007 – for the latest news check our news stories and events listings. 

Fonn‘s Duthchas: Land and Legacy’ is on at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery from 13 January to 17 March 2007.  It visits Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow from 6 April to10 June 2007, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh from 29 June to 2 September 2007 and Museum nan Eilean, Stornoway from 21 September to 1 December 2007.

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