Leaving Home exhibitions celebrate Highland Homecoming
Two exhibitions which focus on emigration and immigration open on Saturday (19 September) at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery as part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations.
Curated by Highland Council Museums, the exhibition “Leaving Home” celebrates the diversity of stories of Highland Homecoming. The exhibition explores the stories of three Highlanders from Nethy Bridge, Skye and Inverness. It investigates their hopes and fears for the future. Empty rooms symbolise the thousands who left the Highlands over the past century. The exhibition also looks at some of the propaganda produced to encourage migration.
A tandem exhibition, “Leaving Home – Portraits of Emigration”, is produced in collaboration with recent immigrants to the Highlands. It explores the contemporary stories of people who have come to the Highlands to work and create a home here. This is achieved through looking at the faces of modern immigration and the idea of 'home' through Inverness-based professional photographer Ewen Weatherspoon's striking photographs, and the possessions and voices of new Highlanders. People come to live in Inverness from all over the world and this exhibition investigates one part of that story.
An outreach programme and information for schools has been created to complement the exhibitions.
Provost Jimmy Gray, Chairman of The Highland Council’s City of Inverness Committee said: “The exhibitions provide a window into what it felt like to emigrate and give us a glimpse of the human side of what we are celebrating in Highland Homecoming. We can observe the lives of some people who left home to go to all parts of the world and we can see the contribution of those who have come to the Highlands to make their homes here.”
The exhibitions are created by The Highland Council and funded by the Council’s Highland Culture Programme and Museums Galleries Scotland.
“Leaving Home” and “Leaving Home – Portraits of Emigration” are on show at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery from 19 September to 31 October 2009. The venue is open Mondays to Saturdays from 10am to 5 pm. Admission is free.
For further information contact: Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Castle Wynd, Inverness on tel 01463 237114 http://www.inverness.highland.museum/