Hidden stories, iconic storytellers and new voices will all be celebrated as part of the Perth and Kinross Year of Stories 2022.
Scotland’s Year of Stories spotlights, celebrates and promotes the wealth of stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland.
The programme launched on March 18 with a ‘Find Your Foremothers’ workshop, which was held in the Soutar Theatre of the AK Bell Library.
Local history expert Dr Nicola Small helped uncover family stories and guiding people to discover their past.
Year of Stories, supported by Perth and Kinross Council and EventScotland, will then continue throughout 2022 with a series of events aimed at the whole family.
All information and stories will be uploaded online as the year progresses.
In April the Soutar Festival of Words, run by Culture Perth and Kinross, will celebrate the Scots language with a three-day celebration of readings, performances and conversations with writers, poets and storytellers from Scotland and across the globe.
This year the Soutar Festival will be a blended programme of digital events and live performances from venues and outdoor locations across Perth and Kinross.
The Perth and Kinross Year of Stories will continue with free storytelling sessions, telling tales from the objects in the new museum, taking place at libraries across the region.
On May 20-22 the Birnam Book Festival returns, dedicated to books and readers and taking place at Birnam Arts Centre.
June will also see a large-scale music event that will bring together stories from the musical past of Perth in conjunction with the new City Hall Museum.
There will also be live music from the era, and a chance to include tales of when Perth was a hub for new and established bands.
Throughout the year community groups and artists are working together on a project, Raise the Roof.
Community groups will choose a woman to celebrate and, over the next six months, each group will research her and work with an artist or maker to tell that woman’s story as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
The project aims to inspire new stories, in communities across Perth and Kinross, to be shared.
The artists, who are from across Perth and Kinross, work in a variety of different ways, from painting to glass art, mosaic, and ceramics, as well as traditional storytelling.
The maker will work with the group to teach them a new skill and the group will learn more about the craft, as well as the history of our area.
Each of the stories will then be displayed on the hoardings at the Perth City Hall site.
Raise the Roof will culminate in wire sculptures being created by artist Vanessa Lawrence, to represent each of the women and their stories.
These life-size creations will have a plaque that explains the story in both English and in Gaelic and will create a trail across Perth and Kinross for visitors and residents during the summer of 2022.
The statues will come together at the Royal National Mód in October, Scotland’s biggest Gaelic festival which lasts for 10 days and includes music, poetry and storytelling.
The same month the Black Watch Museum will host authors on October 1-2, concentrating on books of wartime stories, war poetry, the military and military history.
Bookmark in Blairgowrie will also celebrate its 10th birthday with a full programme of excellent author events.
Public programme manager of Perth and Kinross Council Anna Day said: “We are delighted to be a part of the Year of Stories with a full programme that highlights the amazing stories from our area. Stories enrich our sense of place and belonging and help us shape the future.”
VisitScotland’s director of events Paul Bush OBE said: “We are delighted to be supporting Perth and Kinross’ Year of Stories. Scotland is the perfect stage for exploring our cultural heritage and this programme of events will celebrate the Year of Stories 2022, shining a spotlight on the region and encouraging people to discover untold stories of the women of Perth and Kinross.”
To find out about Perth and Kinross’ Year of Stories events, visit the Perth City website.
