Whisky distillery is taking local art to heart

A Scotch whisky distillery is putting artists living near it to put their talents in the frame.

Under the skilful guidance of Orkney-based artist, Sheena Graham-George, Highland Park has partnered with 11 amateur artists to celebrate and share the extraordinary creative talent that flourishes in the island community.

They have now created the first Highland Park Art Experience.

Sheena has been running art classes in Orkney for 17 years now and her outdoor classes, in particular, have proved immensely popular.

Earlier this year, Highland Park invited to her to run a course for her students at the Highland Park distillery and she was delighted to take up the challenge.

Over an eight-week period, Sheena’s 11-strong group investigated the physical landscape of the distillery, examining different industrial perspectives and experimenting with different mediums to see which materials and interpretations suited particular subject matters.

The artists are Liz Allen, Elspeth Beaton, Roger Davies, Mac Dodge, Sally Hallam, Christine Harcus, Bev Henderson, Liz Lea, Christine Muir, Jean Skinner and Sue Ward.

Despite the challenges of the winter weather, the team created over 30 unique and stunning pieces of visual art that Sheena has now curated for an exhibition at the distillery.

A Highland Park spokesman said: ‘For many of the artists, this is their first public exhibition and we’re delighted to provide an opportunity for their work to be seen and enjoyed by the thousands of visitors we welcome to the distillery over the busy summer months.’

From the end of July and for a period of around eight weeks, at least one piece of work from each artist will be exhibited at the newly opened visitor experience store at 58 Albert Street.

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