ATLAS Arts presents a full cultural, coastal arts programme this September
14 – 24 September 2017, Bayfield, Portree, Isle of Skye
Coming up next week in the island of Skye in the Hebrides, ATLAS Arts, is presenting a wealth of events from a highly innovative food arts showcase in Portree, titled CLIMAVORE: On Tidal Zones working in partnership with Cooking Sections acclaimed artists Daniel Fernández Pascual & Alon Schwabe; Richard Skelton’s Eilean Fuinn sound installation at Scorrybreac Boat House, and newly released film “Eglantine” by Margaret Salmon at the Aros Centre.
Emma Nicolson, ATLAS Arts Director, said: “We are seeing a great deal of interest in our coastal themed arts events programme. This will be the first interactive tidal production for us and we are delighted to see the CLIMAVORE installation now being built at Bayfield in preparation for next week’s launch.
“Daniel and Alon of Cooking Sections have developed this very creative and engaging endeavour meeting with a wide variety of people around the Island, including chefs, fishermen and local interest groups, to gain a better understanding of the different perspectives on the sustainability of the aquaculture industry around Skye.
“We are also thrilled to be working with *ten local restaurants who will be including some of the produce in their daily menus, taking the essence of CLIMAVORE to diners across the island.”
The CLIMAVORE: On Tidal Zones preview event will take place on the coast at Bayfield, Portree next Thursday, and will consist of an interactive installation that will react with the tides on the changing coastline of Portree. The installation will be activated by Cooking Sections in collaboration with researchers, anthropologists, and residents of the island to share their experience with their audience.
Each day at low tide, the installation emerges above the sea and functions as a dining table, with free tastings of recipes featuring ocean purifiers: seaweeds, oysters, clams and mussels. At high tide, the installation works as an underwater oyster table.
Cooking Sections artistic duo noted: “Using food and geopolitics to investigate forms of social environmental transformation, we were struck by the extent of Skye’s coast spanning over 400 miles long and the changing historical connections the inhabitants of the island, had to the waters surrounding them.
“Skye with its rich history of food production and consumption, and the well-established culture of tourism is going through an accelerated environmental transformation where efficiency and cost-benefit paradigms are predicting the future landscape. CLIMAVORE seeks to establish a conversation with fishermen, bivalve farmers and seaweed growers to think of other informed ways of eating, in light of climate change, ocean acidification and pollution.”
Two further complementary art works linked to the coastline include Richard Skelton’s evocative and meditative Eilean Fuinn sound installation inspired by the tradition of the Scottish Piobaireachd (bagpipes) drone and suggesting the sea and land are “endlessly singing to each other” at Scorrybreac Boathouse and Margaret Salmon’s film “Eglantine” an enchanting account of a young girl’s real and fantastical night time adventure in a remote forest.
CLIMAVORE: On Tidal Zones will launch with a preview event on the 14th September 2017 and will run until the 24th September. Over the opening weekend 15th to 17th September, the installation will form the central element to discussions between Cooking Sections and, researchers, anthropologists, and residents of the island.
This project has been commissioned by ATLAS Arts and supported by The Pebble Trust, Outset Scotland, Creative Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. For more information please visit: www.atlasarts.org