News & Reviews

This page lets you know what is new in the museum or what events or exhibitions are coming up. It also lets you see what has been happening over the past year.

Aimisir 's Arainneachd

(Elements & Environment)

deirdre nelson residency

january - april 2008

Taigh Chearsabhagh is very pleased to welcome the artist Deirdre Nelson to Uist for a four-month creative residency in interpretation of local culture. Deirdre will work on the Aimisir 's Arainneachd (Elements and Environment) project which is supported by funding from the Scottish Museums Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The main purpose of the residency is to use the Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath collection of artefacts, photographs and oral recordings as a starting point to produce a new and exciting exhibition for our museum space.

Deirdre showed her previous exhibition 'Apron (n) bartender' in Taigh Chearsabhagh in 2003 and has since worked on various arts and heritage projects around the world. She examines social and domestic history through her own unique and often humorous style, using traditional craft skills such as needlework and knitting alongside contemporary techniques to create beautiful and engaging art works.

Whilst in Uist Deirdre is particularly keen to involve the community at all stages of the residency and would welcome any information or stories about the heritage of the area. She also hopes to work with local schools and get the children involved in using the CEUT Collections and producing their own artwork.

Funding for New Heritage Project
Taigh Chearsabhagh & Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath have now secured funding for a new Heritage Project which will run until January 2007. The theme of this project, which will employ a Heritage Officer, will be 'Our Relationship with the Land and Sea'.

Funding has been received from; The Foyle Foundation, Leader +, Crofting Communities Development Scheme & Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Ward Funds. Funding has also been received from Scottish Natural Heritage for an exhibition about Lochmaddy Bay.

Up and Coming Exhibitions

Calanas - Working with wool
Now extended until 20 May
This exciting exhibition by Flora MacDonald tells the story of wool from washing and dying through to the finished products.

Lochmaddy Bay Exhibition
Opens Wednesday 14 June
An exhibition to celebrate the Lochmaddy Bay Marine Special Area of Conservation, which is on Taigh Chearsabhagh's doorstep. Funding for this exhibition has been received from Scottish Natural Heritage.

Hebridean Young Curators
It is hoped to open this exhibition in Museum nan Eilean in Sgoil Lionacleit on Thursday 6 July. More information shortly.

Reviews

Old New Scotland
A Trans-Atlantic traveling exhibition of oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and etchings by Nova Scotia artist Anna Syperek was on show in Taigh Chearsabhagh museum from 3 October to 4 November 2005. 'Old New Scotland' explored the landscape and settlement of the rural Gaelic area of Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. The images in the show were a celebration of the people who left from the islands and westcoast of Scotland either voluntarily or at the time of the Clearances, and their spirit and culture as seen in the landscape of New Scotland. The exhibition was accompanied by a number of special interpretive panels, in both English and Gaelic, with a brief history or anecdote about some of the places or persons represented. Included in some of the panels were excerpts from "At My Mother's Door" a book by Cape Breton poet Joyce Rankin who has strong Uist connections. The artist and her husband Peter Murphy and two friends visited Uist for the opening and Anna gave a very interesting talk about her work.

"Our people were exiled from another place, while the bards wrote with longing love in an ancient language.
And we send our children to be exiled from this one. Sometimes they wake in the night
With the pain from an amputated language and a phantom homeland"
Joyce Rankin from 'At My Mother's Door'

Carn Chearsabhagh Exhibition III
Three local schools volunteered to be involved in the third and final phase of the Carn Chearsabhagh museum exhibition. Each group was asked to choose a historical site near their school which interested them

• Carinish School - Teampull na Trionaid / Trinity Temple
• Paible School - An t-Udal / Udal Archaeological Dig Area
• Sgoil Lionacleit - Borve Castle, St Columba's Temple & Nunton

Each group started to research their chosen site by looking at books, the internet or by talking to local people. Each group also made a trip to see the sites, many had never been to see them before. With the help of Taigh Chearsabhagh staff and their teachers they then produced work for the exhibition in various media; video, clay, interactive worksheets, pop-up book.

To see photographs from this final Phase click HERE.
To find out a little about Phase 1 of the project click HERE and for Phase 2 click HERE

Carn Chearsabhagh Project shortlisted for Museum of the Year
Taigh Chearsabhagh was proud to be shortlisted into the final 10 for the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year 2005. It was felt to be an achievement that we were the only Scottish museum shortlisted. We also polled 68% on the 24hour museum readers poll!!

The Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year, the largest single arts prize in the UK, is a £100,000 award given annually to one museum or gallery, large or small, anywhere in the UK.

To find out more information about this please see www.thegulbenkianprize.org.uk

Gifts from our past (Peoples Collection 2)
A new exhibition based on the collections of two local men was on show until the end of February. Fergus Granville and Donald MacAulay are both interested in the local archaeology of North UIst and over many years have collected archaeological 'finds' from the island. These items come from Viking, Roman and Celtic times, amongst others.

Doctors & Factors- until 8 Oct
A new exhibition curated by CEUT and the Museum Officer with information, photographs and artefacts related to the factors who have run North Uist Estate and the doctors who have served this community over the years was on show in Gallery 2. Both were always well respected in the community and were a part of every families life.

A room set was created on the doctor side with artefacts loaned by Dr John MacLeod - this includes an amputation kit, maternity kit, surgery chair from his father's time, plus the grandmother clock which Berneray community presnted to his father and mother in the 1930's to show their appreciation for all their work. Information was also included on district nurses and Lochmaddy Hospital.

A talk by Dr John MacLeod, retired GP, and George MacDonald, present factor of North UIst Estate, took place at the opening of the exhibition. Everyone who attended felt this really added to the exhibition as they provided lots of new information.

An Leabhar Mor - The Great Book of Gaelic
3 July to 7 August
Leabhar Mòr na Gàidhlig ("The Great Book of Gaelic") is "a major contemporary artwork, a 21st century 'Book of Kells' that brings together the work of more than 200 visual artists, poets and calligraphers from Scotland and Ireland." See more click HERE

The official launch was on Sat 10 July. The Irish Consul in Scotland, Connor O' Riordan, opened the show in Taigh Chearsabhagh while there were simultanious launches in the seven other venues which could be seen by video link. Seàn Ò Curraoin, one of the Irish based poets, also attended and read his peom 'Mo Shinsear' and Boyd Robertson, senior Gaelic Lecturer in Jordonhill College, read some of the local poems from the book.

Goular
A new exhibition by two local artists which creates a link between art and history. Anne Rabbits and Laura Donkers have worked and studies an abondoned house in Goular in Tigharry on the west side of North Uist. From the belongings that were left by the previous owners and the decor from a past generation they have created prints and paintings which they hoope reflects the feeling of the house. Objects and artefacts from the house will be brought into the gallery and will be disdalyed alongside the paintings and will be accompanied by recordings of local people talking about the house in years gone by. The exhibition will be in Gallery 2 throughout the month of June.

Balranald Exhibition
A new exhibition based on the Balranald district of North Uist is on show in Gallery 2 from 6 March until the end of April. This exhibition is based on Comann Eachdraidh artefacts and photographs and also on Balranald Estate papers. Morag Murray, from paiblesgarry, opened the exhibition and told how her father had been one of the land raiders who re-claimed the land in 1921 from the landlord of the time - Ronald Macdonald or Raghnaill Mor as he was known. Balrandl got it's name from another Ronald MacDonald who lived at balranld in the late 1300's and was the son of Gorrie and the grandson of the 1st Lord of the Isles.

The Exhibition also reveals the stories of the land raids, Seasaidh Bhaile Raghnaill's tale of elopement, local poetry and clan history.

Museum Outreach Seminar
This event took place on Thursday 18 March. It looked critically at the content of museums' outreach activities in rural communities and investigated methods of delivery used by arts and heritage organisations. Visiting speakers were; Kirsty Kennedy from Shetland Museum Service, Catherine Gilles from the MacDougall Collection in Oban, Christine McLean from the National Museum of Scotland. Local Speakers were; Mary Norton and Sheena Stewart from Grimsay Community Association, Dana MacPhee from Museum nan Eilean and Caitriona MacCuish from Carn Chearsabhagh. Debbie Jackson from GEM Scotland was also on hand to help out and answer any questions.

'People's Collection' Exhibition
Everyone collects something. Some people collect stamps or coins or china dolls. Others collect books or train sets or shells. Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, collect old objects from North Uist some of which are on show in the museum. To compliment that exhibition a new exhibition was shown in Gallery 2 in November 2003 based on items collected by two local people; collection of letters found on the shores of Heisker by Calum John Morrison from Grimsay;and also the collection held by John MacDonald, Osmanville, Lochmaddy of glass and clay bottles of every make and shape which he has found on the beaches of North Uist.

'Linn nan Each - the Era of the Horse'
A new exhibition based on horse artefacts from the Comann Eachdraidh stored collection was on show in Gallery 2 during September and October. This showed how horses were used in every aspect of life here on the islands in the past; crofting, transport, military, crossing the ford, horse shows & markets and by the doctor.

A life-sized model horse propved to be a great success and was very popular with the old and young.The cart, donated to CEUT by John MacAulay (Crossroads) was over 100 years old and had a very impressive history.There were also many harnesses and also lots of photographs.

The exhibition opened with a story-telling session with contributions from - Donald John MacDonald, Norman Johnson, Alick MacAulay, John MacAulay & Steffi Neugebauer.

'Croitearachd - A Crofting Life'
A photographic exhibition called 'Croitearachd - A Crofting Life' was on show in Gallery 2 during the month of August. This included photographs by Robert Adam & Paul Haley taken in the 1930's alongside photos taken in 2000 by Gus Wylie. This showed many of the crofting techniques that are sadly now being replaced by machines and new methods.

'50's, 60's & 70's Exhibition'
This was a fun exciting exhibition about the 50's, 60's & 70's which was set up in the museum from February until the end of May. This exhibition looked at what life was like on the islands during these decades and also at what was happening in the wider world. This was a chance to look back nostalgically or to learn about a time you would have loved to have experienced. Many school groups took the opportunity to visit TC while this exhibition was showing and as well as learning about how the washing and ironing was done before electricity arrived, they also loved the chance to dress up in retro clothes.

St Kilda Relieved
This exhibition, which was on loan from Museum nan Eilean, was based on a photographic album donated by Miss Sheila Taylor. The photos were taken by her father Dr Charles Taylor in 1912 when the Daily Mirror undertook a mercy mission to take urgent supplies to the starving islanders.

Lochmaddy 1600 - 1995
This exhibition was in Gallery 2 during January 2003. It was another chance for people to see the exhibition which was first on show in Taigh Chearsabhagh 7 years ago. The exhibition told the story of the village of Lochmaddy through historical accounts and personal memories. A book based on the exhibition was published by CEUT in 1996.

Schools Exhibition
A new exhibition from the Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath collection opened in Taigh Chearsabhagh on Saturday 16 November 2002. The exhibition was based on the theme of North Uist Schools past and present. There were old school desks with slates and chalk. School dinner containers - remember the smell of school custard? There were also many many photos from the old to the very recent. Many people came to see themselves or their families photo in the exhibition.

Photograph Collection Day
Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath held a photograph collection day on Saturday 23 November. About 140 photographs were copied that day and will be added to the collection. Thank you to everyone who helped out on the day and who brought along photos.

Further information about any of the exhibitions from:
Caitriona MacCuish, Carn Chearsabhagh Project, Taigh Chearsabhagh,
Tel: 01876 500295, e-mail: caitriona@taigh-chearsabhagh.org