WHALE Arts is proud to announce an artwork of local children by Leanne Blair commissioned by the organisation as part of their 2017-2018 Heritage Lottery project Wester Hailes: Your Story, Our Story has been long-listed for the Scottish Portrait Awards.
Today the long-list of 60 finalists, 30 fine artists and 30 photographers, has been selected for the Scottish Portrait Awards Exhibition in November 2018, at the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh.
Leanne’s artwork was produced after a series of workshops with young people exploring photography and portraiture at WHALE Arts and incorporates imagery from Prospect Community Housing’s archive of The Sentinel newspaper, in addition to written text by the children involved.
Leanne Blair says:
This series was inspired by the young people of Wester Hailes; celebrating their diverse cultural heritage and sense of place within the community today. Acrylic and watercolour paint is used in an expressive way on top of the photographic images to illustrate the vibrancy of Wester Hailes and the children’s experiences. Key pieces of text have been recreated from the young people’s written responses with pencil and Letraset.
Meghan Bidwell, Arts Engagement Manager (Adults), WHALE Arts says:
I am delighted Leanne’s triptych has been selected for the second annual Scottish Portrait Awards long-list. We are looking forward to the exhibition, which will be an incredible opportunity for the young people involved to see their portraits exhibited at Scottish Arts Club. Thank you to the Heritage Lottery and National Lottery players for supporting this commission.
