Coming Home, the Runrig Exhibition opened on Friday 1st June 2007. The exhibition is due to run till December but it is hoped that it might get a chance to go on tour to other venues throughout the year and possibly beyond.
The exhibition covers three distinct areas of band history; the early years (1973-1986) playing round the islands of Skye and the Outer Isles, the Donnie / Chrysalis era (1986 -1997) when the scale of operation reached a higher level with crossover popular appeal and when the international dimension became part of the picture and finally the remarkable regeneration of the band as it moved into the Bruce era, 1997 till the present day.
The band story is told on wall displays, separated into year by year accounts and there is an hour long DVD playing continuously. Artefacts include Malcolm's first Runrig guitar - The CD recovered from the wreckage of the Columbia Space Shuttle and Rory's first musical instrument, an accordion given to his father by parents of Sgt. Sandy McIntyre at the end of the Second World War. Sandy, a keen accordion player, was Rory's father's best friend, and he lost his life in action. Sandy's parents handed the accordion over to Rory's father on the understanding that if he ever had a son himself, he could he pass on the instrument. The rest is (Runrig) history.
Taigh Chearsabhagh manager, Norman Macleod stated, 'This exhibition will showcase the work of the band over the past 34 years and will create a focus for local people, fans and visitors alike. The band has such strong links with North Uist, personally and musically and a project like this is long overdue. We're really excited about it.'
