Shielin-bough is a collaborative, inter-institutional project between The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) and the University of Lapland, supported financially by the Scottish Government’s Arctic Connections Fund and the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland.
By Gina Wall, Programme Director, The Glasgow School of Art and Timo Jokela, Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design, UArctic Chair in Arctic Art, Design and Culture, Professor, University of Lapland.
More information:
https://www.shielinbough.co.uk/
Within the project, we have developed learning, teaching, and research outputs focused on shelter, food, and storytelling in Scottish and Finnish culture. This thematic scope has allowed for the examination of Arctic and near-Arctic ecocultures in the spirit and values of UArctic: bridging the past and present, traditional knowledge and contemporary practices. Shielin-bough is a good example of the approach of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Art and Design to bringing sustainability-focused research, art, and education into practice across northern and Arctic regions.
The project has culminated in a live build at the GSA Highlands and Islands campus. The building is directly inspired by the cultures of the shieling and laavu, and an important element of the live build is that it was student-led from the outset. The structure was created in collaboration, based on sharing participants’ skills and diverse intercultural experiences. Our project was also interdisciplinary, with students joining from a range of educational programmes at various levels in fine art, art education, design innovation, and architecture in Finland and Scotland.