A major arts summer programme has been launched to celebrate Moray’s rich culture, heritage and environment – including a visit from a giant sea goddess.
Source To Sea, presented by Findhorn Bay Arts, will be set in rural and coastal towns and villages along the Moray Firth coastline from this month until September.
It will offer kinetic floating artworks, interactive installations, poetry performance and music, as well as a visit from Scotland’s largest puppet, STORM, a 10m tall folklore giant made real.
The huge creature, created by Edinburgh-based Vision Mechanics will stride into Burghead on Saturday September 11. She has eyes the colour of oyster shells, with hair of thick strands of kelp and a voice like the chorus of the waves.
STORM will walk into Burghead and “gaze down upon both the beauty and the mess strewn at her feet”. You can also catch STORM on Sunday September 12 in Nairn as part of the Nairn Book and Arts Festival.
The puppet debuted at Celtic Connections in 2020 and is touring Scotland’s coastal communities as part of the Year of Coasts and Waters.
Kresanna Aigner, Findhorn Bay Arts’s creative director, said: “We are so delighted to finally be able to announce details of Source to Sea, our long-awaited celebration of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 20/21.
Source to Sea funding will help re-open cultural sector
“With something for all ages to enjoy, Source to Sea is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and appreciate Moray’s rich culture, heritage, and environment.”
Scotland’s Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said Holyrood was helping the programme by providing £27,000 in funding to Findhorn Bay Arts.
She said: “This funding will help towards the re-opening of our cultural sector, a vital part of our recovery from the pandemic and ensures that local organisations, businesses and artists are at the heart of it.”
In July and August, naturalist expert Eleanor Foster from local environmental education charity, Wild Things and Findhorn Bay Arts’ artist Rachael Forbes will offer walks along the coasts to tell about the rich and varied ecology, geological history, landscapes and diverse wildlife of Moray’s coast.
They will bring about a deep sensory awareness to the sounds, sights, and smells around you, with walks at Spey Bay, Garmouth, Findhorn, Culbin, Burghead and Cummingston.
Artist Mark Zygadlo’s WaterOrgan, a colourful kinetic artwork, will float on the River Findhorn next to Logie Steading from Saturday July 24 to Saturday 31 July and then at Findhorn Bay near the pier on Sunday August 1. You can also hear the artist in conversation with local environmental and conservation experts on Thursday 29 July on the River Findhorn.
Beautiful images of Moray’s landscape
From Friday August 6 to Sunday August 8, Findhorn Bay Arts’ artists-in-residence, Coleman & Hodges, present an evocative interactive installation of images and sound from Moray and including Cullen, Burghead, Forres and Elgin.
This marks the culmination of their residency with Findhorn Bay Arts. Over winter, the artists worked with 75 local residents across Moray to install pinhole cameras in their houses and gardens, each of which took a single long exposure image over four months. These beautiful images capture both the landscape and the sun’s journey across the sky as the Earth turns. There will be accompanying audio of the participants’ thoughts and feelings during that time.
On Sunday September 12, performance art company Oceanallover presents Ecdysis (In Vivo), an hour-long visual poetry performance and music event involving dancers, musicians, and sculptural costumes. Oceanallover will be on a walkabout as part of the Nairn Book and Arts Festival the day before, visit www.nairnfestival.co.uk for more information.
To see the full programme of events, buy tickets and register for some of the free events visit: www.findhornbayarts.com