P.E.I.'s Scottish connection celebrated in worldwide art effort

One of the world's largest community art projects is coming to P.E.I. in October, and part of it was made right here.

It's a gigantic tapestry made up of hundreds of panels, and five of the panels tell stories about this province, sewn by Island stitchers.

That's because it's all about Scotland, and the Scottish people spread around the world.

It's called the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry, the idea of a heritage group in Scotland who wanted to celebrate the influence of their country worldwide.

Stuart McFarlane from Tweedbank, Scotland, knows all about the project, and joined Angela Walker on CBC Mainstreet to explain what the group was thinking when they started in 2012.

"How about if we contact the wider Scottish community, and let's look at maps, and let's identify countries and make contact with what we'd call the Scottish diaspora," said McFarlane, "meaning scattering, those Scots that have been scattered all over the world."

They certainly have scattered far and wide, and eventually the project identified communities in over 30 different countries.

Scottish impact on P.E.I.

Scottish cultural groups were contacted in each place, and asked if they would like to contribute to the tapestry. "And give them the opportunity to tell them their own stories about how Scots have made an impact in their own communities," said McFarlane.

Eventually, 305 panels were decided on for the tapestry. "It's a unique way of telling how Scots have really made an impact overseas," he said.

The local Scottish groups were able to pick the stories they wanted to tell, and that included five from P.E.I.

They are the landing of the Glenalladale Settlers in 1772, one depicting the building of a pioneer's first house, a panel to honour the Scots involved in Confederation, one titled Keep The Faith, recognizing 300 Catholic Highlanders who arrived in 1772, and a final one called The Landing.

"It shows two Highlanders bringing ashore their belongings beneath the red cliffs on the north coast of what is referred to as St. Jean's Island, of course renamed as Prince Edward Island in 1798," said McFarlane. "So that captures the early arrival of Scots, Scots that were very much of a working class background."

Island stitched

All the stories were submitted to Scottish artist Andrew Crummy, who drew the individual panel designs, which were then sent back to the local groups to do the needlework.

"The stitchers within P.E.I., they got together on Aug. 21, 2013, to start the stitching process," said McFarlane. "And at that exact same time, other communities from various parts of the world were also starting the job of stitching and creating these images."

After it all came together, it was assembled back in Scotland for unveiling and exhibitions there, followed by tours to various countries involved.

This year, the tapestry panels have made it to North America, and will soon arrive in P.E.I. The display will be in the concourse at the Confederation Centre of the Arts from October 8 - 22.

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