This Is Who We Are – opportunity for Rothesay, Campbeltown, Calgary, Tobermory and Lismore

The organisers of the This Is Who We Are exhibition are making contact with places in Canada sharing these names. This means that both the Scottish and Canadian places will be featured in the evolving exhibition – if they want to get involved.

The interest is huge. Rothesay in New Brunswick came straight back at the organisers with an instant response. It is very enthusiastic about being involved and interestingly, next year – 2010 – is its 150th anniversary. Good connections made between the two Rothesays now could lead to exciting developments for both next year. For Argyll is already on to this and will be covering what happens next.

Campbellton (slightly different spelling) is also in New Brunswick. Lismore, as mentioned in the feature article on This Is Who We Are, is in Nova Scotia. The organisers are making contacts there at the moment. Calgary – the massive oil and gas metropolis – is in Alberta and is already involved in the project. Tobermory is in Ontario, on the Bruce Peninsula and is a lakeside resort with a very active scuba diving community.

What happens is that people in both communities simply take photographs representing their own lives in their own place. Sequences from both communities are then exhibited in the visual conversation that is This Is Who We Are. Suddenly we are no longer strange to each other. We have the sort of knowledge that enables us to go on to renew, make and develop our own contacts, individually and as communities.

This project extends everyone’s reach and its consequences can be enduring if the opportunities are seized with interest on both sides.

SO – Rothesay, Campeltown, Lismore, Tobermory and Calgary, over to you. The organisers have asked us to pass on a direct invitation to you to become a part of this.

You don’t even need a central organisation – although community groups and community councils can get organised collectively and get the images rolling in. Individuals in these four communities can start taking photographs on their own initiative now. In both cases -  email your images direct to Graeme Murdoch at: graeme@culturalconnectscotland.com

If there are other communities in Argyll and the Islands who are aware of places in Canada that share their name – email that information to Graeme and Harry at the email address above.

And you may want to know about the image accompanying this article – it’s the neat logo for Cultural Connect Scotland, Graeme and Harry’s organisation that is creating this project. (If you click on the link above, you’ll see how this image works live and how it says what it means.)

The project will over time, be extended to other parts of the world with Scottish connections. We understand that New Zealand may be the next target – so if you know that your community has a counterpart there, start taking your photographs now and let the organisers know.