Boats, bridges, people, pages
PAM speaks to Katharine Barrington at Atlas Arts about Making Publics Press
Katharine Barrington is Publishing and Programme Coordinator at Atlas Arts. Find out more about Making Publics Press and Atlas Arts.
Making Publics Press in Dunvegan Hall, photo by Murdo MacGillivray
PAM:
Hi Katharine! Thank you so much for speaking to us about the work you do at Atlas Arts with the Making Publics Press (MPP)!
We have found it is rare to access self publishing facilities or workshops with equipment to make and experiment with publications, and publishing can be a mysterious process.
Can you tell us a wee bit about MPP and how it came about?
KB:
ATLAS is an organisation that works across Skye, Raasay and Lochalsh, a vast area connected by boat, bridge, Gàidhlig, shared stories, culture and communities. Yet while these things connect us, they are not fixed, much like the weather—a mist that settles in Ardvasar will have lifted before the Ord Road End. In each township, parish, school and hall, you will find different people, voices and ways of doing things. Our office is in Portree. We are a small team, working with artists and supporting across residencies, commissions, research, making and trying to be part of things that already exist in a supportive and sustainable way.
This is where the Making Publics Press comes in and the publishing side of ATLAS. As connected to each other as we might be through culture, future hopes and shared histories, there are challenges now to how we can get together and access resources. There is little (maybe none) in the way of accessible studio spaces, open access to creative tools or equipment like a kiln or printing press. Most of those that have a studio practice and have access to a studio or equipment have found a way privately to do so or it's so precariously perched on a bale of hay in a shed that it cannot be sustained.
We are building a good library of kit and open source equipment like the community cinema kit, publishing studio and audio recording equipment. It's sort of a way of paying attention to what's already going on in our local area and supporting that. Having kit here rather than someone having to travel all the way to Inverness/ Glasgow can mean the difference between a project getting off the ground or not. Of course there is already a really cool history here of traveling kit in Skye, Mrs Weir in the 70s used to travel around the schools with a pop up swimming pool so we are just building on what's gone before and of course the history of self publishing is strong here but I will chat more about that later on...
PAM:
We know that the press is portable—what kind of spaces and communities has this meant it has made its way to?
KB:
Yes, it is very portable, fits neatly(ish) in the boot of a Renault Clio. It has been up to the UHI [University of the Highlands and Islands] in North Uist and down to Bute to be part of a workshop with CHARTS. It is important it can go off and be run by other folk too without us, so it can be set up in a Village Hall for a couple of months, or set up in a shed as a community document their boat build through collectively making a publication. Locally it has spent as much time in village Halls and Schools as it has the office and joined in at numerous events from the SAU [Scottish Artist’s Union] at the Sabhal Mor Ostaig to the Hopeful Futures event in WASPS Inverness and the publications made on it have travelled to Lewis, Australia, Canada… and beyond.
Making Publics Press in North Uist, photo by ATLAS Arts
PAM:
Can you tell us about some of the publications that local writers and artists have produced with MPP? We would love to know more about their work and share it with our readers.
How has the MPP been used by artists commissioned by Atlas? What role does it have within Atlas as an arts organisation?
KB:
The MPP seems to catch on with lots of folk who work with us even if making a publication has not been part of their practice before, it’s an amazing way to hold research and archive a project that can sit alongside the work and be shared far and wide. Calum MacKinnon Ferguson who was one of our Tobar and Dualchais artists made A’cunntadh an uspag to show photographs of the fleeting installations he made and present the research he did throughout his residency.
In just the last few months there's been four artists using the press all making their own books. An Àrd Bheithe by Angela NicIllebhràighe, Hold Fast by Katharine Macfarlane, Glimero by Rebecca Teulon-Rose and Lines and Tangles by Caroline Dear. All live here in Skye and have creative practices; some of the books have gone off to exhibitions in Lewis, been made collectively in workshops, had a book launch—and today as I write one is part of a reading at the Scottish Poetry Library.
If I were to describe what has gone into making each book I would be here forever. They are so good, so different and individual. I think the best thing to say is come in and visit our growing library or get in touch to buy a copy and I can send one out.
PAM:
We’d love to know more about what you find most exciting about MPP?
KB:
I find it so exciting that it is here! As someone who grew up in Skye in the 80s the narrative was that you should leave to make a go of things. Thankfully people just did stuff anyway but you didn’t shout about it—and fundamentally the resources to get some projects off the ground were far away. The Making Publics Press means there is a way to make that is creatively of this place here, quickly and affordably. It is sociable, sustainable and I love the openness of it all— you can be unselfconscious and test out ideas on a whim. Readers, please, please get in touch if you would like to chat about how we set it all up or if you would like the MPP to come visit you for a bit!
PAM:
And lastly, what’s happening next with the press? (any upcoming dates or new publications afoot?)
KB:
Well, in a lot of respects I am not sure what's coming up, it depends on what folk are making and that is the beauty of it. A lot of the time it sort of programmes itself, people come to us through word of mouth or from seeing what their Uncle has made on it. However, that said, there is a new annual publication Marion launching on 21 December. Marion's intention is to be a place for writing, visual art and creative contributions mostly from Skye, Raasay and Lochalsh with and we hope, a place for a good sense of humour. Keep your eyes out for the open call coming soon.
It will also be at Buain, a Gaelic Arts gathering in Kilmuir Hall this September and the National Library of Scotland as part of their exhibition titled Rain, so hopefully if you get a chance to have a go sometime soon!
PAM:
Thank you Katharine!