An exciting freelance opportunity, great for your CV, has arisen to work for a month invigilating an exhibition, which is the first of its kind in the UK.

The exhibition is of digital jewellery and interactive craft objects at Shetland Arts’ Bonhoga Gallery from 29 May – 27 June 2010. The show will solely feature the work of three UK based makers at the forefront of research in this emerging area, combining contemporary craft with new technology: Hazel White, Jayne Wallace and Sarah Kettley.

The exhibition will showcase objects or wearable pieces which contain interactive technology allowing the wearer/ user to interface with others. The work has stemmed from residencies carried out in Shetland by White and Wallace during 2009, alongside an interactive performance piece, ‘Ensemble’, created by Kettley. The exhibition is part of Shetland Arts’ wider ‘Portage’ project, elements of which are funded through the Scottish Arts Council, Shetland Arts and Newcastle University. There are two further ‘Portage’ exhibitions at Bonhoga during 2010, featuring international contemporary jewellery and textiles: ‘Portage: finger symbols’ (August – September) and ‘Textiles: extremes of scale’ (October – November).

White’s work for ‘Portage*: crossing points’ is directly related to Shetland’s diaspora whilst Wallace’s explores life for women on Shetland whose partners work at sea. Wallace’s and Kettley’s planned works revolve around exploring connections and interactions between people across distance, real or psychological.

The exhibition is also part of the ‘Power of Place’ programme of activities throughout 2010 (www.powerofplace.co.uk) and coincides with Shetland‘s ‘Hamefarin’ (homecoming) celebrations from 13 – 27 June 2010 when Shetlanders from all around the world are welcomed back to their home islands. (See http://www.shetlandhamefarin.com for further detail.)

*‘Portage’:              

1. The carrying or transporting of something.
2. A charge made for carrying or transporting something.
3. The carrying of boats or cargo across land from one waterway to another or around an unnavigable section of a waterway.
4. An overland route used when transporting a boat or its cargo from one waterway to another. (Dictionary definitions)

‘most portages are the result of elevation changes, either changes in elevation from one body of water to another, or changes in elevation of the land between.’ (Wikipedia)

Click on Opportunities for more detail on the Gallery Invigilator contract and an application pack.

The plan is for the roof and walls to be fitted late May/ early June. The site will then appear quite as the focus of the activity will move indoors.

The very cold weather and deep snow in recent weeks has led to some delays but we are still on target for a Spring 2011 opening. You may have heard people talking or seen news that the project is over budget too. It’s not! We are on budget. We are spending our contingency and that is worrying a few people but we are doing what we can to ensure that we maintain our contingency at 2% of remaining spend.  The contingency is there to deal with those unknowns that appear within a project of this scale. I am confident that we will deliver this project on time and on budget. It’s very exciting to see the venue really taking shape: doors and windows (holes), floors and walls all appearing day by day.

The focus here at Shetland Arts is very much gearing up to operating the venue in 2011. Its not long now. I will try and get some close up images of the site uploaded in the next few days so you can share out excitement.

The evening begins with a performance by local dancers who will have been working for a week with two of Dance Ihayami’s dancers, learning a short Indian classical dance sequence.  The show also includes live music from local Shetland musicians to which Dance Ihayami has created new choreographies, combining lively traditional music with the rhythmic and energetic footwork of the Bharatanatyam.

In Thrayaa Dance Ihayami explore the power of the three principles of creation, sustenance and destruction through rhythmic footwork and beautiful hand gestures.

Dance Ihayami is the first cross-cultural professional dance company of its kind in Scotland, dedicated to the art of Indian classical dance and its rich complexity of rhythm, posture, gesture and expression.  The company was founded by dancer and choreographer Priya Shrikumar, with a mission to enrich the Scottish national repertoire of dance, and to create opportunities for artists from culturally diverse communities.

The dances have their roots in the ancient classical dance forms that were performed by South Indian temple dancers dating back over 3000 years.  Today, the company’s dancers hail from Scotland, Israel, Ireland, India, New Zealand and England and bring a truly multinational dimension to every performance.

Dance Ihayami offers a unique cultural experience that transcends national boundaries.  Its repertoire of scintillating dances blends traditional South Indian dance with contemporary music from around the world to create an enthralling spectacle.

The performance at the town hall starts at 7.30 and tickets prices £8/£6 (concessions) can be bought from Shetland box office on 01595 745555.

13 MARCH – 11 APRIL 2010   PREVIEW FRIDAY 12 MARCH 7.30PM

The next exhibition showing at Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale is a mixed show by the winners of the 2009 Shetland Open Art Exhibition.  Shetland Arts decided to reward the winners of the Open by giving them, not only the £100 prizes donated by the show’s sponsors, but another £100 towards preparing work for a joint exhibition in the gallery.  This show entitled V features the work of the five winners.  Ross Fulton won Baker Tilley’s prize for the best newcomer, Peter Biehl won Vaila Fine Arts’ award for the best painting or drawing, Dave Donaldson was the successful photography winner for the prize donated by Millgaet Media and Hilary Seatter won the John Goudie prize for best print.  Shetland Arts and Crafts gave the prize for best craft piece and this was won by Ruth Fisher.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 13 March and runs until 11 April.  The exhibition preview is on Friday 12 March at 7.30pm and everyone is welcome.

Artist and retired art teacher Peter Biehl is an originally from Copenhagen and now lives in Shetland.  He trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Copenhagen and spent most of his working life in Denmark.  ‘Shetland with its perpetual poetical nonchalance has been an inevitable challenge to my art since I paid the remote islands a visit over fifteen years ago,’ said the artist who has based his exhibition pieces on his studies of Shetland ponies.  ‘Past and present converge in my mind and challenge the borders of my fragile and material world.’

Hilary Seatter, who is studying Art and Design at Shetland College, describes her work -

‘My ‘printed paintings’ are individual works of art; the screens were destroyed after printing.  As a textile designer I have taken my work forward into fabrics offering a unique opportunity to enjoy Shetland landscapes within the home.’  Her work is juxta positioned being framed and hung as fabric lengths.

Growing up on a croft in rural Shetland Ruth Fisher frequently crafted playthings from the natural and unwanted materials she found.  She has continued this into adult life.  ‘My sculptures are mostly carved and crafted from wood and I embellish and detail using rusted metal, worn leather, bones and skins.  My tools may have become a little more sophisticated than those of my childhood (except for my old pocket knife) but the joy of searching for and creating something unique from discarded objects remains the same.’

Dave Donaldson is a professional photographer based in Shetland whose work covers Press, Editorial and Landscape photography that has appeared in international, regional and local publications.  Dave has lived in Shetland for the past fourteen years after moving from London.  He studied Scientific Illustration and worked in the exhibition industry for a number of years before deciding to jump on the 07:00 from Kings Cross to board the North boat finally arriving at the island he now calls home.

Recent graduate, Ross Fulton, is currently traveling the world so will unfortunately be unable to attend the preview of his show.  ‘I paint in a detailed, realist style to encourage the viewer to look closely at something they would pay little attention to when encountered first hand.  For the same reason I paint on a small scale to draw the viewer in.’ His subject matter will make you look at pallets in a totally new way.

Work in the exhibition is for sale and this is an opportunity for visitors to Bonhoga to purchase work by five Shetland artists each with their own distinctive style.

Mary Smith, Bonhoga Gallery’s Curator, said ‘I hope everyone who visits this exhibition will enjoy the show as much as I have.  It is an interesting selection of work that will appeal to Shetland residents and visitors and an opportunity to purchase work from both established and emerging artists.’

Bonhoga Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 10.30 – 4.30 and on Sundays from noon to 4.30. 

Further information:  Mary Smith 01595743737

The latest exhibition in the Bonhoga Touring Exhibition Programme has now been installed at Sumburgh Airport where it can been seen until June.

Shetland Through a Plastic Lens is a series of photographs by Shetland based photographer Emily Sharp. Working primarily with medium format film Emily’s work is a reaction to the ‘perfection’ of the digital image, with none of her images manipulated in any way.  Inspired by Victorian and early colour photography, she aims to convey feelings, emotions and moods through her photographs. 

The pictures in this exhibition were taken in Bressay, Foula and Unst during 2009 and were shot with a ‘Diana’ camera. Using 120 film – producing large negatives – the ‘Diana’ has a lens made entirely of plastic, giving the images a painterly, dream-like quality with characteristic vignetting around the edges. 

‘The Diana perfectly compliments the magic of the Shetland landscape’, explains Emily, ‘it creates an atmosphere that is both mystical and alluring’.

‘Diana’ cameras were originally made in the 1960s in Hong Kong and soon became a cult classic among art photographers who were attracted to them because of the unpredictable, unique, low resolution images they produced.

View more images

Photographs are for sale and can be purchased by contacting the gallery on (01595) 745750 or bonhoga@shetlandarts.org

The response to the competition to design and create a ring was phenomenal, with over 70 entries from children between the ages of 5 and 14 from throughout the Isles. The brief asked for imagination and thinking outside the boundaries of convention. Jane Matthews, who organised the competition said, ‘I have been bowled over by the fantastic array of entries. There is humour, beauty, creativity and inspiration in spades and it really makes a fantastic show that should inspire us all. I am grateful to the teachers who embraced the project in the classroom’.

One winner was picked from each of the two age categories (5-11 and 12-18) and a further ‘highly commended’ prize was awarded because the standard was so high. The winners were Alfred Holt (11) of Uyeasound Primary School, Aidan Sim (13) from the Anderson High and Ross Johnson (12) of Mid Yell Junior High (Highly Commended). Each received a Shetland Arts gift token.

Look out for the forthcoming egg decorating competition at Bonhoga later this month…

Mirrie Dancers continues with Lace Labs, wherein knitters are producing designs for the interior light works at Mareel, and there will be an exhibition of their progress at Bonhoga Gallery from 3rd July 1st to August.

The performance, which will also feature an input from local musicians, will take place in Lerwick Town Hall.  To register interest in participation or for further details, contact Emily Sharp at Shetland Arts on 01595 743843

The art work for “Small Expectations” was created by Douglas Robertson who will also launch the book at the Bedales Gallery in Hampshire where he is holding a private viewing of “The Net Mender” his latest exhibition of specially commissioned box constructions and drawings, which includes the original art work for the book. Douglas is himself no stranger to Shetland having exhibited and run workshops here in the past. Nor is he a stranger to collaborating with poets, having worked with, amongst others, Jen Hadfield, Christine de Luca, Andrew Phillip and Kevin MacNeil. Speaking about the launch he said, “I thought Donald’s idea of the simultaneous event and readings was an excellent way to launch the book, particularly as it will include superb readers and singers from several islands. I am very pleased and privileged to be able to play a part in the launch by exhibiting the original cover artwork as part of my exhibition”

As well as the launch of “Small Expectations”, the event will also be a celebration of the languages of the Islands of Scotland’s edge and will feature readings in Gaelic, Shetland Dialect and Orkney Dialect, by writers such as Myles Campbell from Skye, Morag MacInnes from Orkney, John Murray from Lewis and James Sinclair from Lerwick. The launch will include a performance by Donald Anderson of two songs co-written with Donald S Murray. There will also be Gaelic songs contributed by Ryno Morrison and the renowned traditional Gaelic singer, Mairi Smith.

Murray will read a selection of poems and stories from “Small Expectations”, his fourth book, which has already garnered some excellent reviews and has been hailed by no less a commentator than James Robertson (author of “The Testament of Gideon Mack” and “The Fanatic”), as “…fine, assured writing, full of contradictions, dichotomies and ironies.”

Speaking about the launch, Mr Murray from the Port of Ness in the Butt of Lewis, now a resident of Shetland said, “ I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to launch this book in so many places at once, and I would especially like to thank the UHI and especially the technical staff of Shetland College, The Millennium Institute in Inverness, Lewis Castle College in Stornoway, Orkney College in Kirkwall and Sabhal Mor Ostaig in Skye for their support. I think that it is great that people from different areas around the edges of Scotland, who nevertheless have so much in common in terms of their experiences and culture should be enabled in coming together to celebrate both their commonality and their diversity.”