Dozens of museums and galleries up and down the country will be staging special events this bank holiday weekend during the industry’s fourth annual “Show Scotland” celebrations, created to encourage people to make better use of their cultural centres.
Kilmartin House Museum, near Lochgilphead, is waiving entrance fees on May 2 for the launch of Ruaraidh Mac, an exhibition about a medieval warrior from the area who was buried in the graveyard and “brought back to life” by Glassary Primary. The school has fewer than 30 pupils who took part in the museum project - led by a descendent of Ruaraidh Mac - which included research into the warrior’s life and the creation of a sculpture. Visitors on a Graveyard Tour will see a world-class collection of medieval grave slabs and find out what the symbols on them mean.
Pupils from Uyeasound Primary in Unst in Shetland have been involved in Shelties at Home, about the history of Shetland ponies, being staged at Unst Heritage Centre.
Dumfries Museum is putting on a “Yarnbombing” event. Yarnbombing is, apparently, a form of graffiti - done with knitting instead of spray paint (Google it). Click Talk, a group of knitters and crocheters who regularly meet at the museum, have been working on a “garden” of flowers, vegetables and animals to illustrate the art of yarnbombing - and to show that knitting and crocheting can be cool.
Although the majority of Show Scotland events are suitable for the family, Beyond Drag at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow on Saturday night is a strictly 16-plus entertainment, free but ticketed.
www.showscotland.com
www.kilmartin.org.
