80 artists to gather at Eden Court to explore how shift to renewable energy impacts communities
Around 80 artists, curators and other art world players will gather in Inverness to explore how the shift to renewable energy is affecting communities - and how the creative industry can respond.
‘The Grid’ is the title of the Scottish Contemporary Art Network (SCAN) 2025 summit, being held at Eden Court on May 13.
“Each year we focus on a pressing concern that artists feel a responsibility to investigate,” explained Lydia Honeybone, SCAN programme lead.
“It’s about trying to understand what’s happening in a nuanced way, from a variety of perspectives. The event will be about energy and environmental issues, but it will also be about power more broadly.”
They added: “Inverness and the oil industry is at the forefront of the move to net zero, and we recognise it’s at the forefront of many concerns.
“We understand there are difficult issues here: we all want green infrastructure but when it’s on your doorstep, it can feel a bit different. Some of the big companies involved don’t take local views into account, and there’s some greenwashing happening as well.”
The British-Barbadian visual artist, writer and researcher Harvey Dimond will be among the speakers:
Filmmaker Maria de Lima, whose ‘The Map of Affections’ will also be shown as part of the day, said she hoped the day would raise questions and prompt conversations.
“My film isn’t about solutions, it’s about making interesting provocations,” she said.
Her film explores an exchange event held on the Isle of Skye in 2022 in which community activist in Scotland met representatives of indigenous communities from Brazil.
“What comes through is a kind of sense in which loss of connection with the land is often taken lightly, but the depth to which it affects you can lead to crises, especially around mental health,” she said.
Another film, Offshore by Hazel Falck, gives space for workers from the offshore gas and oil industry to reflect on how their voices and knowledge could be better used in the renewable energy industry, and how they and their communities can prepare for a changed future.
The day-long event, funded by Creative Scotland and the Paul Mellon Centre, also includes a project to map artist-led activities in the Highlands, and a birding session led by members of the Inverness branch of the Feminist Bird Club.
The symposium will close with a broadcast of Maria Fusco’s audio work Master Rock, an experimental drama recorded ten years ago inside Cruachan Power Station, almost a mile beneath a reservoir on one of west Scotland’s highest mountains, Ben Cruachan.
The audio piece tells the story of the hollowing out of the mountain by explosive experts to make the immense chamber that now houses the power station.
The piece, commissioned by Artangel and BBC Radio 4, will be shared in Eden Court’s granite chapel, and tickets can be booked separately for those not attending the main event.
