Two writers in residence and an artist have been appointed as part of the community arts project recently launched at Inverness Airport.

Writers Janet MacInnes and Liz Niven were identified through the Scottish Book Trust while tapestry weaver Joan Baxter will be working at the airport terminal in October and November.

The Inverness Airport arts initiative is a development of the airport’s gateway project and is principally funded by the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Fund with additional funding from Arts and Business New Partners, Inverness and Nairn Enterprise, The Highland Council and Writers In Scotland.

Janet MacInnes, who wrote a column in the Inverness Courier for 10 years and lives in Alness, will be concentrating on working with pupils from Nairn Academy and Ardersier Primary. School children will visit Inverness Airport to get a feeling for air travel and its importance to the area. They will then be helped to produce creative pieces of writing based on flight.

The work will be collated into an anthology to be included in a booklet later in the project. Passengers passing through Inverness Airport will be offered the anthology free of charge.

Liz Niven, who lives in Dumfries where she was a writer in residence with the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association for three years, has been appointed as the project’s travelling writer in residence.

Liz will draw upon her experience as a freelance writer and author of several published poetry books to encourage local communities around each of the 10 airports managed by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited to get involved in creative writing.

Liz’s tour of the region’s airports is being generously supported by Loganair and Highland Airways. The airlines are providing air travel for Liz to visit each of the 10 Highland and Islands destinations. She will run creative writing workshops with local community groups and round off her tour with a piece of writing based on her experiences of the people she has met and the places she has visited.

Liz begins her tour with three days at Inverness Airport, starting on October 18. On October 21 she will fly to Stornoway and then proceed to the other eight airports, concluding her journey on November 18.

Meanwhile, weaver Joan Baxter will be based at Inverness Airport. Joan is a tapestry weaver whose work is influenced by landscapes and the histories or mythologies associated with landscapes.

Her focus will be to produce a piece of art that will be permanently exhibited within the terminal building at Inverness Airport. She will liaise with staff and passengers to gather ideas for the tapestry and will also be encouraging them to get involved and use the loom, which will be set up in the terminal.

Joan is based in the terminal from October 13 for one week and then for two further weeks in November.

Caroline Storey, HIAL's arts project co-ordinator, said: "We had some excellent proposals tendered for all of the artists’ positions and the three that won were of a very high standard. Staff at Inverness Airport were involved in the selection process, which will hopefully ensure their continued support for the project. This unique initiative will offer anyone passing through the 10 airports and local communities the chance to get involved in art and creative writing."

Jenny Attalla, literature officer for the Scottish Arts Council commented: "This is a fantastic project and one that the Scottish Arts Council is delighted to be involved in.  Not only does it involve the local community but the project sees art and creativity taking place in the most unlikely of places. Travel often involves long periods of contemplation as well as experiences that broaden the mind. This project will see these ideas and thoughts being captured on the written page. I am looking forward to seeing what this project produces."

Barclay Price, director of Arts & Business Scotland added: "Our New Partners funding encourages business to become more involved and creative in supporting the arts. During the Highland Festival, for example, Highlands & Islands Airports hosted the touring production of 'The Wedding' at its Inverness terminal and broadcast poetry over the intercom system. It is hugely encouraging that HIAL have now taken sponsorship to the next level with the initiation of their own project, drawing in the whole community from staff to schools."

ENDS