More than 100 artists, creative practitioners, cultural organisations, and community representatives from across the region have come together for the Highlands’ first Cultural Assembly.
The aim of the Assembly is to create a stronger, collective voice for the sector and provide a platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing and collective action.
One of its key priorities will be helping to shape new arts and cultural strategy for the Highlands.
Established as a permanent cultural forum and a legacy of Beò! 2029, the Inverness-Highland UK City of Culture bid, the Assembly is designed to outlive the bid process and support the long-term development of cultural life across the region.
Representatives travelled from across the Highland Council area, including Caithness, Sutherland, Skye, Lochaber, Badenoch, Nairn and Ross-shire, to take part in the gathering at the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness, on Wednesday 16 September.
Following an opening performance by Gaelic poet Ceitidh Campbell, attendees took part in a series of quick form visual presentations showcasing the breadth and diversity of cultural activity taking place across the Highlands. The presentations were followed by open discussions exploring the future of arts and culture in the region.
Fiona Dalgetty, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Fèis Rois, who convened the first Assembly, said: "My hope for the Assembly is that it becomes a civic ceilidh: a space where knowledge is shared, ideas emerge, connections are made and everyone leaves feeling they have not only contributed, but have been heard.
"The atmosphere throughout the day was overwhelmingly positive. It felt like a genuine gathering of cultural voices from across the Highlands. The agenda was set by the room, and everyone had the opportunity to raise the issues that mattered most to them.
"We want this to become a democratic forum for cultural life in the Highlands. There was a real appetite from attendees to work together, strengthen relationships and find creative solutions to the opportunities and challenges facing our communities."
Leader of The Highland Council, Cllr Raymond Bremner, who opened the Assembly, said: “Our culture is not something that sits apart from everyday life. It is part of our DNA, woven through the people, places, languages and traditions of the Highlands.
" As a Council, we recognise that culture, health and wellbeing, community, place-making and economic development are closely linked. The Cultural Assembly demonstrated the strength of our cultural identity and how important it is that we create the conditions for creativity, connection and culture to thrive.
"This is the beginning of a conversation about the sector's hopes and ambitions, the opportunities and challenges it faces, and what we can do collectively to strengthen our approach.”
Key themes emerging from the discussions included the need for investment in cultural spaces and infrastructure, stronger collaboration and resource-sharing across the region, and better support for young people to access, shape and lead cultural activity.
The assembly featured presentations from:
- Kirsten Body, Circus Artspace
- Mark McKenzie (musician), Kouncil Cuts
- Sarah Lashley, Flow Country World Heritage Site
- Richard Bracken (artist), Room 13
- Mya Chemonges-Murzynowska, African Caribbean Asian and Mixed Heritage Association (ACAMHA)
- Derek Brown/Bryan Beattie, Highland Council/Beò! 2029
- Giuila Gregnanin, Timespan
- Fiona Dalgetty, Fèis Rois
- Joseph Peach (musician), Culture Counts
- Claire Mackay, The Touring Network
- Eilidh MacKenzie and Katharine Macfarlane, ATLAS Arts
Organisers will now review the discussions and identify priorities for the assembly moving forward, alongside ongoing work around Beò! 2029, the Inverness-Highland UK City of Culture bid. The bid team, supported by the Council, has submitted its final application and will find out in October if Inverness-Highland has been shortlisted.
As the only Scottish entry in the competition and the first in its history to represent both a city and wider region, Beò! 2029 showcases the Highlands as place of living culture - ancient and modern, rooted in the region’s people, place, language, landscape and creativity.
The bid highlights the richness and diversity of culture across Inverness and the Highlands, while demonstrating the vital role culture plays in supporting thriving, resilient and sustainable urban, rural, coastal and island communities.
It sets out how cultural investment can help address challenges such as depopulation, increase participation, strengthen wellbeing and build confidence in the region as a place to live, work, study and create.