Working the Tweed opens in the Gallery at  Harestanes Countryside Visitor Centre on Wednesday October 9th.

Download an eflyer here Working The Tweed at Harestanes Countryside Visitor Centre

It’s sometimes easy to forget just how much the Tweed and its rivers define our region and so it’s particularly appropriate that these four artists have chosen such a fundamental subject for their creative investigations.   Harestanes Centre Manager Michael Scott.

Assisted by  Tweed Forum and Southern Uplands Partnership and supported by the Scottish Borders LEADER programme, Working the Tweed has been exploring some of the lesser known aspects of the Tweed and its tributaries; from re-meandering to fish-tagging.

‘The biggest surprise for me has been discovering the extent to which we have produced and created so many aspects of the so-called ‘natural’ environment. James Wyness

Information gathered though field visits and riverside meetings with scientists and river specialists has provided the material from which the project room work has been created , encompassing drawing, film, sound and textiles. The project room is about bringing a creative process and a different perspective to specialist knowledge.

“There is a huge wealth of knowledge about the river to draw on. My task has been to find creative ways to show some of the complexities of the river system. It’s been a playful process too, even getting educated about diggers and the difference between a front loader and an excavator.” Kate Foster

‘Cryptic Digger’ Collage, watercolour and pencil by Kate Foster Credit: Kate Foster and Forestry Commission.

Working the Tweed is a collaborative endeavour.

The joy of working on a group project is that you arrive at ideas collectively that you would  never arrive at on your own.  Claire Pencak

Public events and activities like Knowing your River, Riverside Meetings with artists and river specialists and the Tweed Sessions have generated conversations all over the region around the river and what it means to people. This focus on social and public engagement has had a major impact on the direction of the project and it is represented  through the River Way drawings made by people over the summer and the voices of people on sound recordings.

 It has been a privilege to learn from people doing different kinds of work around the River Tweed and understand how the Borders is shaped and interconnected by the river catchment. It’s made me see the region in a new way.  Jules Horne

Working the Tweed  runs  from October 9th to October 31st.

The Gallery is open daily from 10am – 5pm at Harestanes Visitor Centre, near Ancrum, Scottish Borders, TD8 6UQ

Harestanes Countryside Visitor Centre  is part of Scottish Borders Museums and Galleries Service. The centre holds a Gold Award for Green Tourism and is a VisitScotland 4-star attraction.