A variety of summer arts workshops are held during the school holidays. Taigh Chearsabhagh works with Motiv8 the CnES summer workshop programme, to deliver activities in every area across the Uists & Barra. Workshops are also held at Community events such as the Games and Shows to promote the centre's work.

Barra Activities Week 2005 was a great success, Kirstin McLean led Drama workshops, Peter Maniam of YDance led dance workshops and Joan Robertson led arts workshops with primary & secondary pupils on the Isle of Barra.

The Travelling Gallery visited the Uists & Barra in June, with an exciting exhibition called "Still Life".

Poet, Kenneth Steven visited every 1st year pupil in the Uists & Barra (Paible, Sgoil Lionacleit, Daliburgh & Castlebay Schools) - during May as part of a Creative Writing Project. The children are going to make their own books involving papermaking & bookbinding.

Sally Thompson, led fun feltmaking workshops with Daliburgh & Paible pupils in May.

An Environmental Art Project for young people in S3+, was held during the Spring 2005 break. 6 young people aged between 14 & 17 took part, learning to use digital photography and digital imaging techniques to look at their environment with new eyes.

The course leader was Janie Nicoll, a Glasgow based visual artist. In order to gather visual information in the form of digital photographs, the week's activities included outdoor excursions, escorted by; Mary Harman from SNH, Janie Nicoll and Joan Robertson, Arts Education Officer. Unfortunately due to high winds the boat trip had to be cancelled so instead they explored the habitats of the main islands of North & South Uist. These included moorland & eastern seashore areas such as Loch Sgiport, and western areas such as the beach at Scolpaig and the machair at Balranald. The group also visited the Hut of the Shadows on the shore at Lochmaddy and in addition to this, the unusual habitats for the Uists of, Langass Forrest and the wooded area in Loch Aineaort.

The participants then spent time learning how to manipulate the images, using computer software at Sgoil Lionacliet. The group individually created collaged pictures that showed their own unique view of the world.

An exhibition of the exciting images the young people created, were on display at Benbecula Airport in October 2005. Thanks to Benbecula Airport, MacLennan Bros & Creagorry Motors for their support.

In April Iochdar Primary School began a new Biodiversity & Art Project linking the school, Taigh Chearsabhagh and the Biodiveristy Officer at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. A series of workshops were held whereby pupils were taken out of the school to visit a variety of habitats in the vicinity of the school. The pupils were accompanied by Bill Neill, local naturalist and artist and focused on the different plants, animals and insects in each habitat.

Tim Chalk, an Edinburgh based artist, was commissioned to design & make the art piece in collaboration with the school pupils & staff. Each of the pupils from primary 3 - 7 was given a piece of clay (10cm x 10cm) to work with and supported by itinerant art teacher Michael Gilfeddar and locally based artist Louis Le Sueur, they made pieces reflecting the habitats they had seen during the earlier workshop sessions. The pupils in primaries 1 & 2 helped to take a cast of the sand patterns on the beach & took imprints of plants & flowers in the clay. These tiles were then put together by Tim and cast in an acrylic resin.

Flora MacDonald & Pauline Prior-Pitt, local writers, also worked with the pupils to create poems about the environment they had visited. These were incorporated into the final artwork. The completed artwork was unveiled at the end of term assembly on 30 June 2005.

Creative Woodturning workshops were held during the February break with Steve Husband.

Gaelic medium arts & crafts workshops were held in conjunction with the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Gaelic Youth Worker as part of Paible School's after school club in the spring of 2005 and again in October with "Oigirdh Uibhist" a gaelic medium youth group based at Sgoil Lionacleit.

The Arts Education Officer is happy to support youth groups in whichever way she can. Arts workshops have been delivered to Guides, Brownies and Rainbows, Carinish & Iochdar Youth Clubs, Craoileagan Eubhal & Dunskellar and Sradagan Stoneybridge & Daliburgh, either at Taigh Chearsabhagh or wherever they meet. Please let us know if your group would like to take part in an arts workshop.

Projects funded by Leader+, Scottish Natural Heritage, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar & Forward Scotland.