Remembering Together is a nationwide project commissioned by Greenspace Scotland that seeks to give each of Scotland’s local authorities their own way to remember and mark their experiences of the pandemic with the creation of varied and highly imaginative schemes that include ideas as diverse as a new Scottish dance; a labyrinth; tree planting and sound walks.
As part of that project, Scottish Borders Remembering Together commissioned artists Katherina Radeva and Alister Lownie, whose award-winning work in the charity Two Destination Language focusses on identity and community through art, to work with hundreds of Borders folk over an 18 month period to develop the idea and design a new tartan.
During the process, many people spoke about Borders landscapes: the sea, rivers, lochs and reservoirs; the brilliant skies of 2020’s spring and summer; and the brightness of gorse, broom, heather and forests. There were also references to the uniforms of health and care workers, the masks and warning signs of the pandemic. The design draws on colour combinations selected by contributors and incorporates a reference to the five localities of the Borders with many participants wanting the tartan to be something that joins people across the whole region.
The final design was voted for by folk living in the Borders at the end of 2023. On 31st May, fittingly in the custom built space made for the Scottish Tapestry in Galashiels, a small crowd sat in the Discovery Centre part of the fine building to witness the unveiling of the new Borders Together tartan.
Kat and Alister, whose statement clothing, while in contrast with the earnest and sober tone of the speech, chimed with the impactful tartan, signalling new perspectives ahead.
The solemn speech, that they shared line by line, included refrains such as ‘So many had it worse’ and ‘What is the colour of [grief, sorrow, love, hope…] ?,’ giving the sense of a performance piece rather than a formal oration. The latter was a question posed to residents on the road to the tartan’s creation but it was made clear that while the meanings of the chosen colours are rooted in the Borders and its inhabitants they, like any work of art, are open to interpretation.
Jenny Smith of Borders Care Voice and Diane Scott of Greenspace Scotland also took the mic before the bright new tartan was toasted by the assembled audience with either a fine glass of whisky from Borders Distillery or an equally fine apple juice.
Piper Alan Henry played grand renditions of the James Scott Skinner lament Hector the Hero and later in proceedings, the cheerier Bonnie Lass o Fyvie and Killiecrankie.
Two gentle songs from Hawick based singer Miwa Nagato-Apthorp with her black guitar were another bonus to the event.
The new tartan, a fitting tribute to textile history of the Borders, is to be delivered to community spaces in the Borders, the first of which will be the Borders General Hospital and a documentary by photographer Tom Swift about the creation of the tartan is in the pipeline.
More information of the selected groups from across Scottish Borders can be found here https://www.twodestinationlanguage.com/rtb
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 