Following work undertaken on the ‘Law, Arts & Island Resilience’ project, Susan Brind and Monica Laiseca (GSA) invited visual artists living on Scottish islands to apply for a Residency and Commission responding to the development of Scotland’s first ever National Islands Plan. The selected artist, Saoirse Higgins, joined the consultation team on a number of events taking place on different islands in the summer of 2019. Higgins has produced new work based on this experience for her exhibition at Pier Arts Centre, Orkney.
Monica Laiseca, Susan Brind, (The Glasgow School of Art), Islands Team (Scottish Government)
Saoirse Higgins, the artist selected to be National Islands Plan – Embedded Artist, is based on Papa Westray; a small island in Orkney with a population of 88 people. She brings an environmental focus to her work as well as extensive experience of working in community settings. Her work is directly focused on environmental concerns and the sustainability of island life. In addition to undertaking this commission, Saoirse recently completed her PhD research by practice under the title, ‘Survival tools for the Anthropocene’.
Commission funded by Scottish Government.
Reading Landscape 