A week-long Cèilidh with artists from Pakistan and Skye/Lochalsh is exploring how traditional practices of gathering and storytelling can help distant communities address shared global challenges.
Image: (The Mehfil-Cèilidh team meet with Lochalsh junior pipe band on Skye-Lochalsh this week | credit Magnus Graham) More images
Artists from both countries are gathering in Skye and Lochalsh this week to explore ideas about practices of art and gathering. They are coming together as part of a global project called Mehfil-Cèilidh, delivered by Atlas Arts with support from the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants.
At the heart of the project lies the bringing together of two cultural traditions: 'Mehfil', an Urdu and Hindi term for gatherings centred around music, poetry, and art, and 'Cèilidh', the Gàidhlig word for "visit" or informal social gathering. The project brings together these two traditions of gathering and storytelling and has already revealed that communities thousands of miles apart face similar challenges in maintaining cultural practices and community spaces, along with a feeling that face-to-face togetherness is slowly disappearing.
The collaboration began when five Scottish artists travelled to Pakistan in April. There, they worked with community groups and university projects, experienced local arts and conservation spaces including a women's woodworking cooperative and participated in family gatherings that demonstrated what the traditions of Mehfil and Cèilidh mean in practice.
Malcolm Mackenzie, one of the conveners of the project and an artist from Skye/Lochalsh said the Pakistan visit revealed unexpected similarities:
“The project we conceived built on ideas that aligned closely with other projects I have been part of in Skye and Lochalsh that explore how communities come together. Whether in Pakistan or in Skye, people feel that we're not getting together in the same ways we would have in the past. Netflix, social media and availability of community spaces - all competition for social connection and community.
While the communities in Scotland and Pakistan live very different lives, they share similar challenges around preserving traditional ways of gathering.
"Both our communities face challenges around preserving cultural identity amid rapid change. We both have different challenges, but the solutions might be similar. The return exchange to Skye and Lochalsh is a chance for us to explore that together and reflect on our experiences, drawing on memory, tradition, and imagination to create spaces for connection. I hope this project helps all of us feel more confident about the value of gathering, whether in Urdu, Gaelic or English, and gives us meaningful ways to connect our individual practices with our shared commitment to community."
Images L-R: Hector Mackie brings the Bagpipes to Islamabad, Pakistan, and the Scottish group visiting projects in Rawalpindi and Lahore. More images
Now, the delegation from Pakistan, including arts industry professional Muhammad Ibrahim of Save Cultural Heritage Group in Islamabad, and Dr. Sadia Seed from Quaid-i-Azam University, are spending five days in the Highlands exploring these shared themes through workshops and community gatherings.
The Cèilidh on Skye and Lochalsh has been shaped in collaboration with the local community and suggestion boxes have been placed around the area, inviting locals and visitors to contribute. The group will come together for creative workshops, foraging, boat trips, with visits to museums and village halls.
The project demonstrates that allowing time for artists to come together in this way is an increasingly rare and radical act, showing how creativity and culture can create a sense of belonging and build community across different cultures and generations.
The programme runs until this weekend, with some activities open for locals to join.
Speaking about how the project came about, Ainslee Roddick, Artistic Director, Atlas Arts said: “Mehfil-Cèilidh has evolved from friendships developed over many years - including Hector and Ibrahim’s, ours and Malcolm’s - and from things we’ve been learning together about the challenges of making space and time to gather. The project brings together creative people who’ll undoubtedly work together on new things, but it's also about learning from the past, and exploring what we want from our work and communities in the future.”
A collaborative book featuring contributions from all participants will be started next week along with a shared embroidered calico sheet that will travel between the communities, accumulating drawings, writings and responses over time. Malcolm Mackenzie emphasises that the real artwork goes beyond creative products: "We're creating a living sculpture of sorts, a moment that exists together with community. The ripples of that might come out down the line - two musicians might meet for the first time, one from Pakistan, one from Scotland, and then they might collaborate, but that is part of a process that starts when we come together.”
Image: Suggestion box in Plockton, Skye, for the Mefil-Cèilidh arts exchange. Credit: Malcolm McKenzie
Norah Campbell, Head of Arts, British Council Scotland, also speaks about the project: "This project beautifully demonstrates how creativity can build bridges between communities across continents. The Mehfil-Cèilidh exchange is a great example of cultural diplomacy at a local level and shows how international collaborations can offer fresh perspectives on local challenges while inspiring connections between global communities. We are really looking forward to seeing where this connection heads in the future."
The International Collaboration grants continue the British Council’s work to foster connection, understanding, and trust between the UK and the world through education and the arts. To find out more about British Council Scotland’s work in, visit https://scotland.britishcouncil.org/or follow on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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