Installations in rural Scotland scoop top art awards

New public artworks in the Hebrides, Helensburgh and John OGroats have emerged as winners of the prestigious 2016 Art in Public Places Awards. Picture: Contributed

A series of “highly creative” and “thought-provoking” sculptures and installations scattered throughout rural Scotland has scooped prestigious awards designed to celebrate public art.

The works, which range from outdoor museums to striking compositions cast in bronze, have won this year’s Art in Public Places prizes. The contest, organised by the Saltire Society, aims to show how arts and crafts can complement Scotland’s built and natural environment.

One work in Helensburgh, called The Outdoor Museum, comprises of an outdoor display of historic artefacts compiled by local residents and community groups, alongside a series of specially commissioned artworks by artists Lesley Carruthers, Kate Ive, and Chris Coleman-Smith.

The three winning projects each receive a share of a total prize fund of Â£4000, part-funded by Creative Scotland. Picture: Contributed

The exhibit was the joint winner of the permanent award category alongside the Nomadic Boulders of John O’Groats, a group of three sculptures which incorporates builders that were washed up on a nearby beach. They were created by Dundee-based artists Matthew Dalziel and Louise Scullion. The winner of the inaugural temporary art category of the awards was a piece called Are you Locationalised?, created by former Glasgow School of Art graduates Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan.

The work spanned Skye and North Uist with a series of outdoor structures on both islands and a photographic exhibition on North Uist.

Professor Leslie Mitchell, convener of the judging panel for the awards, said the standard of entries had been high.

He said: “We saw a huge variety of highly creative and thought-provoking entries to this year’s awards. The standard of entries was uniformly very high and choosing the overall winners was a real challenge for the judging panel.

“I commend all entrants for the artwork they have created and the many ways in which each piece has enriched the surrounding environment where it has been exhibited.”