I’m very pleased to announce another thoroughly interesting Scottish arts project I’ve just started working on.
There seems to be no shortage of these just now, what with all the various VisitScotland Homecoming strands and the national years of creative and natural Scotland – all neatly leading up to next year’s big Indy Ref of course. It’s certainly an interesting time to be living and working in Scotland.
Infinite Scotland is another Creative Services Scotland project (the same folk who brought us the Boy and the Bunnet) supported by Creative Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage. It charts the influence of Scotland’s diverse landscape and geography on its vibrant cultural life, and indeed, vice versa.
On the back of a successful live touring show earlier in the year, Infinite Scotland launched both a website and Iphone App that share some of Scotland’s best natural assets, wildlife, artworks, songs and stories.
Starting with submissions curated across 6 different geographical areas of Scotland, including photos and description from award-winning National Geographic wildlife photographer Laurie Campbell, the site reflects the country’s broad range of environmental riches. It has now been rolled out to the populous to add to it and truly demonstrate the virtually infinite number of treasures to celebrate.
Get on the app – and then on the map
You can add your own finds either through the website or via the App, using any photos you may have taken on your travels, or audio or video footage if you prefer, and leave a wee note to say something about what it means to you and why it should be added to the map. It’s a bit like a virtual time capsule of our natural / cultural heritage today.
What to submit?
The App is completely free, you can download it via the itunes Store and submit whatever you see fit. This could be a great bit of environmental art you’ve recently stumbled across in your own backyard, a little-known cave, glen or burn that gave rise to a literary or folklore legend, a photo of a building that adds something to the surrounding landscape or maybe just a simple place name with some cultural resonance.
Get up in our socials
I’ll be running a 2 month social media campaign to drive traffic to the site and encourage downloads, so do look out for us on twitter, facebook and vimeo and get chatting to us. Of course we’ll be more than happy to share your own art work and environmental projects too. 🙂
Have a quick squizz at the show trailer video for now, where Blythe Duffy and Kenny Taylor explain the project, the show and its wider aims.
So now you know about it, make sure you get involved, get the App and start making submissions we can all look back on with pride for many years to come.
To echo the incredulous words of the great poet Hugh MacDiarmid: ‘Scotland small? Our multiform, infinite Scotland small?’
While the country gears up for its possible post-Independence future, let’s show the world just how infinite we are shall we?
Got an equally interesting arts outreach project to roll out nationally? Who you gonna call? Nope, not Ghostbusters….