Scran had a great time meeting the educators at Jupiter Artland on Wednesday, and we hope to work with them in the future on projects with schools and colleges.
An outdoor sculpture park hosting site-specific works by internationally-renowned artists including Cornelia Parker, Andy Goldsworthy, Marc Quinn and Antony Gormley, Jupiter Artland is set in the grounds of Bonnington House just on the western outskirts of Edinburgh, owned since 1999 by Robert and Nicky Wilson. Their ambition to open a sculpture park rather like Ian Hamilton Finlay‘s “Little Sparta” was realised in 2010, and each year since then, new artists have been invited to create sculptures that are inspire by, and relate to, the gardens and grounds of Bonnington House. There are now 24 permanent outdoor sculptures on display, and covered gallery spaces in the courtyard host temporary exhibitions each year.
We currently host images of many of the artworks at Jupiter Artland on Scran, ideal for study pre- or post-visit, and there is a possibility we may host more images in the future. In the meantime, the grounds of Jupiter Artland are open until the end of September 2015, and will reopen next May with new artworks.
Images of artworks at Jupiter Artland by Anish Kapoor, Ian Hamilton Finlay and Cornelia Parker © Andrew James Licensor www.scran.ac.uk
You may have read our blog post last week Empowering Communities in Cyprus? Well look what we found at the back of the Scran linen cupboard! It’s a piece of Cypriot lace in the form of a table mat, from around 1935. This beautiful sample forms part of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) collections shared via Scran.
The Needlework Development Scheme was set up in 1934 to encourage greater interest in embroidery and to raise the standard of design. Financed anonymously by J & P Coats, the intention was also to form a collection of British and foreign embroideries to which colleges of art and other institutions could have access. The aim was never to have a representative collection but rather to collect items purely on the quality of their design. A series of four embroidery experts were employed to oversee the collection and their international outlook is clearly represented in the collection.
In 1961 the Scheme was disbanded and its collection of over 3500 pieces of historic and contemporary needlework was dispersed to various museums and art colleges in Britain. The Royal Scottish Museum acquired 213 pieces and an exhibition was held in 1965 to show this magnificent gift.
Image © National Museums Scotland. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk.
A fascinating insight into the lives of Scottish Borders folk in the last century comes to Scran.
This series of interviews and sound recordings collected by local historian, retired teacher and author, Ian Landles, between the 1960s and 2010 was originally started in order to preserve the memories of local men who had fought in World War One and is a great complement to existing material on Scran about the conflict. However, the archive also offers a rich seam of oral testimonies from local women as well as men and covers themes including the Hawick Common Riding, poetry and music, farming life and mill life and the original Border railways. Many of the interviewees speak in the local dialect of Border Scots known as ‘Teri Talk’ which gives the recordings great linguistic significance.
The collection of 150 tapes was donated to the Scottish Borders Council Archives at the Heritage Hub in Hawick by Ian Landles in 2014. Digitisation of the interviews was carried out by Tobar an Dualchais with financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Ian Landles Collection is also being made available through Scran in the form of segmented interviews with full summaries. Some transcripts are also available. Interviewees who talk about their life in the Scottish Borders include:
There will be regular new uploads to the site from the collection so do keep your eye out. We’ll keep you posted from our end.
Image © Scottish Motor Museum Trust, Alvis 1920s. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk
Recently we’ve been getting to grips with the kite aerial photography kits provided by Dr. John Wells of the Scottish National Aerial Photography Scheme (SNAPS). As you can see we visited Tantallon Castle for a practice flight. We were quite pleased with our results & the potential for learning.
We are planning on piloting this activity with schools over 2015/16, so if you are interested please contact us & lets’s go fly a kite!
We believe exploring the aerial photography collections on Scran, in combination with the active learning involved in kite aerial photography, could lead to all sorts of creative learning.
For example, studying aerial photography can support the following Curriculum for Excellence experiences & outcomes within Social Studies.
- describe the major characteristic features of Scotland’s landscape and explain how these were formed (SOC 2-07a)
- discuss the environmental impact of human activity (SOC 2-08a)
- explain how the physical environment influences the ways in which people use land by comparing the local area with a contrasting area (SOC 2-13a)
- use knowledge of a historical period to interpret the evidence and present an informed view (SOC 3-01a)
- compare settlement and economic activity in two contrasting landscapes (SOC 3-13a)
- explain the impact of processes which form and shape landscapes on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond (SOC 3-07a)
- evaluate the changes which have taken place in an industry and debate their impact (SOC 4-05b)
- discuss the sustainability of key natural resources (SOC 4-08a)
Salisbury Crags Holyrood Park
- assess the impact of developments in transport infrastructure in a selected area (SOC 4-09b)
- describe and assess the impact of human activity on an area (SOC 4-10a)
- explain the development of the main features of an urban area and evaluate the implications for the society involved (SOC 4-10b)
Hot off the press, the Scranalogue has arrived. We are delighted to share what’s happening at Scran via our brand new blog. Keep up to date with new content arriving in our many collections, for example we’ve some great new oral histories about Falkirk during World War One.
See what we’re up to in the field trialling Kite Aerial Photography thanks to Scottish National Aerial Photography Scheme, SNAPS
Meet us in person, we’ll be busy exhibiting and supporting events throughout autumn 2015, starting with the Scottish Learning Festival quickly followed by Doors Open Day in Edinburgh.
Image © Scottish Maritime Museum. Wireless News from SS Athenia, 1933. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk
