Shetland Arts, alongside Shetland Islands Council, commissioned an artist to conduct a community consultation around what the community would like a memorial to look like here in Shetland. From that, 5 artists were then commissioned to work across Shetland responding to it. They worked across art forms, and often with collaborators and community input. There were a further 4 artists commissioned to capture this process into a film and a book. The film and book will become Shetland’s COVID memorial. The film can be found via the QR code above; the book will be distributed across Shetland in public spaces shortly.
Heather Christie
This exhibition showcases one of the artists’, Heather Christie, processes during the project.
She says: "Living on an island in Shetland during the pandemic and particularly during periods of lockdown was difficult. There were strict rules about using the ferry to get to the mainland, so islanders were very isolated, especially if family members were on mainland Shetland, or further away. Bressay residents made the best use of the island that they could. Community organisations and individuals also continued to work towards the wellbeing of the island as a whole."
Heather's project, ‘A Guide to Self-care in Bressay’, aimed to enable Bressay residents to share and document experiences of looking after their wellbeing on the island during lockdown, to map those experiences and create something positive that could carry on into the future.
Established groups were involved, including the Wednesday Social Club (a dementia friendly space for elderly and isolated Bressay residents), Bressay’s Craft Group and Bressay Under 5’s, as well as individual adults and young people. Conversation sessions were held and stories were gathered. Those who took part were very keen to share their experiences and held space for others to share theirs. Using these stories, Heather created a map, a leaflet and an exhibition (held at Speldiburn Community Hub) as ways to share these experiences and activities. This exhibition gives a flavour of the stories and processes involved.
