Highland children project their meaning of Homecoming

Artwork of around 80 children from 17 Highland schools will be projected onto the outside of Eden Court Theatre, Inverness this weekend (Sunday 25th January) to celebrate Homecoming Scotland 2009.

Images featured in the projection have been selected from hundreds of entries into the Virtual Galleries Project titled ‘What is home to you?’.

Organised by The Highland Council, the £7,000 project is funded by the Council’s Highland 2007 Legacy Programme and the Scottish Arts Council Cultural Coordinators in Scottish Schools Programme. The project is also supported by Eden Court Theatre and Highland Council’s team of Cultural Co-ordinators.

Pupils from schools throughout the Highlands were invited to enter an art and design competition last year to depict what “home” meant to them.

Visual artist Graeme Roger of the theatre and multi-arts company ‘Wildbird’ worked with Highland Council’s Arts Links Officer Lynn Johnson to transfer the chosen pupils’ designs into digital formats.

Councillor Bill Fernie, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee said: “This has been a fantastic way to capture the imagination of our young people throughout the Highlands. Not only is the Virtual Galleries project helping to raise awareness of Homecoming Scotland 2009 it has helped to develop artistic and cultural creativity among our schools.”

Lynn Johnson said: “We deliberately kept the definition of ‘home’ as wide open as possible to encourage free thinking among the pupils. The results have been fantastic ranging from paintings and drawings of places and people, to favourite toys and items that are personal to the artist.”

The exhibition will be shown, through virtual galleries at community events and in schools, in different parts of the Highlands throughout 2009 as part of The Highland Council's Homecoming celebrations.

Pupils whose designs were chosen for the virtual gallery by a panel of judges included:

• Caithness
South Primary School, Wick (Michelle Mackay, Adam Bremner and Kyle Mackay);
Reay Primary School (Lewis Kennedy, Michelle Mackay, Samantha Barry, and Courtney McIvor);

• Skye and Lochalsh
Plockton Primary School (Brighde Rankin, Amelia Dobson, Matthew Grimmer, James MacLeod and Megan MacLeod);
Portree Primary School (Calum Williams, Jennifer MacKinnon, Jenny Macleod, Caitlin Maclean, and Rona Fay Nicolson)

• Lochaber
Arisaig Primary School (Sula Michie, Hazel Moss, Wallace Dempster, Michael Mason, Eddie Benfield);

• Badenoch and Strathspey
Grantown Grammar School (Jenna Mackie, Lucinda Milne, Paige Mitchell, Jodie Mann, Caye Lisondra, Muriel Sutherland, Anna Brown, Caitlin Reid, Hannah Bourquin, Shannon Grey, Sasha McMahon, Sophie Ramos and Bethany Wilson);
Grantown Primary School (Samie Gray, Dominique Barth, Amelia McAuly-Brand, Jodie Sandiford, Isla McLennan, Tess Westbroook, Ronan Paton, Erin Samuels, Gavin Donaldson, Stuart Falconer, and Emily Sullivan);

• Inverness
Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis (Marianna MacLean, Iona Philip, Lois Macleod);
Culloden Academy (Amy Kinghorn, Ashleigh Gribben, Caitlin Stroud, Carla Hutchison, Hannah Munro, Sarah Innes);
Kilchuimen Academy (Lucy MacGillivray, Cameron Edwards, Megan Sidebottom, Angus Blakey);
Kilchuimen Primary School (Lisa Henderson, Taylor Mcdonald, Rosie Stoddart, Lisa Henderson, and Connor Bowcott, Jessica Drinkwater, Eirinn Harkness, Aileigh Hodgson);

• Ross and Cromarty
Applecross Primary School (Emilly Kilbride, Daniel Walker, John Edwards);
Bridgend Primary School (James Wilson, Eilidh Munro);
Gairloch High School (Katrina Port);
Scoraig Primary School (Sam Hamilton, Alex Grey, Ruairidh Sherrington); and
Lochcarron Primary School (Liam Arnott, Callum Flanagan, Emma  Ross, Nadia Fenton, Molly MacCallum, Mairi Dynan).

For further information please contact: Lynn Johnson, Arts Links Officer, Education Culture and Sport, The Highland Council, Eden Court, Bishop's Road, Inverness IV3 5SA  tel: 01463 239841 e-mail: lynn.johnson@highland.gov.uk