A public art installation will be on display outside Newhailes House in Musselburgh from 17 September 2021 and free tickets will be available later today.
Wild in Art, the team behind Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail, has brought the piece called Gratitude to life to thank NHS staff and all key workers for their work over the last year and a half.
The artwork comprises 51 sculptures all designed by well known artists and designers including the Scottish fashion designer, Pam Hogg, sculptural artist Andrew Logan, British fashion and textile designer Kitty Joseph, one of the UK’s leading ceramic artists, Kate Malone and the project’s creative ambassador Dame Zandra Rhodes.
The work will feature real-life stories and poems about key workers recorded by identifiable voices such as KT Tunstall, Christopher Eccleston, Julie Hesmondhalgh, John Thomson, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Shobna Gulati and Adil Ray. Plus Downtown Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), and Sarah Parish.
The exhibit is free to visit and the sculptures will be auctioned after nationwide tour to raise funds for NHS Charities Together.
Scottish fashion legend and designer Pam Hogg said: “I’m honoured to have been asked to design one of the sculptures for this incredible Gratitude project to express immense appreciation for key workers of our NHS and beyond. It’s a fantastic opportunity for artists and designers across Britain to show acknowledgment and give thanks through their work. As a travelling exhibition Im glad to say it will be on view in many wonderful locations including Newhailes House in Edinburgh”
Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-founder of Wild in Art said: “Gratitude is set to be a beautiful and striking tribute which celebrates the incredible courage and dedication of the UK’s NHS staff and all key workers and supports the vital work of NHS Charities Together. We are delighted to be taking our tour to Edinburgh, after months of hard work from artists across the UK, who have dedicated their time and creativity to help us produce an installation which reflects our endless Gratitude for the care and kindness that all key workers have provided.”
Claire Grant, Operations Manager Edinburgh, National Trust for Scotland said: “Newhailes is absolutely delighted to play a small part in this incredible tribute to the NHS. We are so excited to welcome these extraordinary pieces of art.”
To give visitors plenty of time and space to observe the installation, there will be dedicated time slots available to visit the site, therefore an allocated number of free tickets for the general public will be available to reserve.
Tickets for Gratitude’s first public opening in Scotland at Newhailes House and Gardens will be available from 10am on 27th August on the official Gratitude website www.thisisgratitude.co.uk.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
