Island artists collaborate on #EvenHereEvenNow campaign to highlight cultural contributions

Images clockwise from top left, Kathryn Gordon of Shetland Arts, with 'Even' banner made by artist Jane Matthews; 'Here' leaf textile by Andrew Eaton-Lewis on shoreline of Aird Uig, 'Now' wool sculpture by AJ Stockwell on the coast of North Uist, photo by Tara Drummie, stone 'Even' sculpture outside Mareel.

Island artists have collaborated on a campaign highlighting their “vital contribution” to Scotland’s cultural landscape.

The #EvenHereEvenNow campaign aims to amplify island voices amid the national culture funding debate.

It follows major financial cuts, which have rocked the sector, leading to protests.

The campaign seeks to build on the work of Even Here, Even Now, a 2024 manifesto supported by Shetland Arts and created by artists in Shetland, Orkney, Uist, Lewis.

The manifesto highlights how island artists play a vital role in the social cohesion of rural communities as well preserving island-specific traditional skills.

Now, the campaign aims to further develop that work by providing a platform for island artists to share their stories.

It will feature a series of events designed by four artist advocates, including Jane Matthews from Shetland.

Kathryn Gordon, of Shetland Arts, who managed the manifesto project, said it summed up the “spirit, resilience and creativity that define our island arts communities”.

“This manifesto is about change and ensuring that island arts thrive and contribute fully to our cultural landscape.”

Other Shetland artists involved in the project include Helen Robertson and Barry Nisbet.

Communications lead for the campaign Andrew Eaton-Lewis said surviving as an artist was “increasingly precarious”.

“With this campaign we are highlighting the additional challenges facing artists living in rural island communities through the stories of artists living in the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland,” he added.

“It is a call for recognition of the value of culture in parts of Scotland that are often left out of the national conversation, but where artists are often deeply embedded in the communities they live in, making a vital contribution to those communities – even here, even now – in a way that deserves wider recognition and support.”