EXPLAINED: The origins of Inverness's Gathering Place at the River Ness
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Five years ago today, Highland Council revealed its plans for the Gathering Place in Inverness.
Not without controversy in the time since, the piece of public art at River Ness has attracted attention.
It has obviously had its supporters – it wouldn't have been built if it didn't – but it also had its critics, with thousands supporting a campaign for it not to be installed.
Opening on October 7, 2021, it was designed as an amphitheatre with curved walls on either side of the River Ness near Bught Park.
It came after artists Sans façon and OSA unveiled their new concept for the Gathering Place – the centrepiece of the River Ness Public Art project – on May 24, 2018.
The artwork, then entitled ‘My Ness’, was to provide a focal point for people to gather, linger and enjoy an area of great natural beauty in the centre of the city.
Elements on both banks were said to ‘frame’ the river, "incorporating an elegant walkway, seating area and viewing point projecting over the water between the existing trees," according to the council.
The design was developed through extensive consultation with those who know, use and love the river, stated the local authority – with the natural beauty of the river and the anglers who animate it, taking centre stage.
In autumn 2017, the artists set up a large screen in Inverness Railway Station to show a specially commissioned film of the river and invited people to come and share their stories, views and reminiscences.
It was said that the anglers’ close relationship with the river helped the artists to understand its changing character and to create a design that would facilitate others connecting more closely with it.
Tristan Surtees, of Sans façon, said at the time: “The work aims to complement the river and people’s relationship to it, to frame and invite others to appreciate it.
“A thin ribbon of stone frames the Ness, starting as an access, becoming a path to run along for a child, a bench for reading a book, a viewing point up and down the river, a back-rest for looking across it. In its upstream portion it weaves through the trees and bushes to offer a unique view up the river or back to the castle and cathedral.”
Back then Councillor Isabelle MacKenzie, chairwoman of the council's Inverness City Arts Working Group, said: “It is pleasing to see how the artwork ‘My Ness’ embraces both sides of the river and I am confident that it will enhance the location and be very well received by everyone.”
The River Ness Public Art Project was funded by Creative Scotland, Inverness Common Good Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Highland Council.
