Isles’ international artists on display
A NORWEGIAN photographer based in Shetland will have her selection of portraits of international artists living in the isles put on display over the next year.
Anita Orheim’s exhibition Moving Through Borders has opened at Sumburgh airport’s departure lounge as part of the Bonhoga Gallery touring exhibition.
It will remain at the airport until late November before transferring to Lerwick’s Peerie Shop Café, and the leisure centres in Whalsay, Unst and Yell for three months each.
Orheim came to Shetland College five years ago as part of an exchange scheme, having already studied with award-winning Norwegian photographer Paul Bernhard in Bergen.
She never left, and last year was awarded Shetland Arts’ visual artist of the year award to help produce the current exhibition of work.
She said the show was “a celebration of the variety of creative international artists in Shetland”, though admitted she could have gone on for years expanding the exhibition with more portraits.
“People have been very keen to participate and they have willingly shared their experiences of why they came to Shetland,” she said.
“The common ground between all the artists I have met is that they feel drawn to Shetland, a lot of them came here on holidays or were just going to stay for a while and ending up settling here.
“Many also share the fact that if they are away from Shetland too long they get really home sick and miss the bare open landscape with the sea and sky that makes them breathe and the silence and the sound of waves and the wind that fuels their creative powers.
“My aim is to get people to see all these wonderful creative people that are living here and also give them some credit for the important work they are doing by moving from a foreign country and to start their own business here to help the local economy in Shetland.”
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