Co-curator – Heather Kiernan

A retired epidemiologist with degrees in medicine and public health from the University of Toronto and Cambridge, Heather began a second career as a free -lance writer and editor of intellectual and cultural history. More recently she co-edited Woodlanders a project conceived and developed by Reforesting Scotland to promote its vision for a restored landscape supporting a woodland culture together with being a co-curator of the RBGE’s exhibition From Another Kingdom: The Amazing World of Fungi.

A Christian pacifist, Heather has been a lifelong peace activist involved in both the Catholic Worker and Plowshares movement. She is also deeply committed to our stewardship to care for the earth and the poor and to the Global Catholic Climate Movement. Heather’s many loves include gardening, the arts, cooking and sharing ideas with friends. She lives in the Scottish Borders with her Japanese husband, Shoji, two cats, seven hens, and a hedgehog family surrounded by a mini bird sanctuary.

Curator – Iliyana Nedkova

As an independent curator, producer and writer, Iliyana explores the relationship between public art, activism and creative practices. Her current research interests focus on peacebuilding and the arts, environmental humanities, artists’ moving image culture, women artists, literature in translation and artists’ residencies.

Iliyana’s current curatorial projects include We Refuse to be Scapegoats – a solo exhibition by Pam Skelton at P21 Gallery, London; Groundwork for Embedded Arts Practice – curatorial residency at Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella; Screen.dance – Scotland’s Festival of Dance on Screen at Citymoves Dance Agency, Aberdeen; Hidden Letters – poetry activism, typography and urban gardens interventions at St John’s Church, Edinburgh; Thistles, Sunflowers and Dreamscapes  – a solo exhibition by Diana Savova at Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, and Windows, Screens and Gardens – a hybrid exhibition by artists-in-residence at Abbeyhill Primary School, Edinburgh.

Recently, Iliyana undertook associate curatorships at Horsecross Arts, Perth; Moray House School of Education and Sport, the University of Edinburgh; New Media Scotland; Stills Centre for Photography, Edinburgh; ARC Projects, Edinburgh and Sofia; Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, Liverpool; Soros Centre for the Arts, Sofia; and Video Data Bank, Chicago and New York.

Iliyana holds a MPhil in Curating Contemporary Art from Liverpool John Moores University and a MLitt in English and American Studies, as well as in History and Theory of Culture from the University of Sofia. Iliyana is a board member of Colony of Artists, Friends of Pskov and Traditional Dance Forum Scotland. She has also served as the Honorary Cultural Attaché at the Consulate of the Republic of Bulgaria in Scotland.

https://iliyananedkova.wordpress.com

Janis Hart

Janis Hart is an Edinburgh-based artist, designer and filmmaker who graduated in Fine Art and Theatre Design from the Slade School of Art, University of London. Her freelance artistic practice includes site-specific installations and stage designs for theatre, dance and opera productions, as well as leading contemporary art and drama workshops.

She has undertaken artistic residences at Plymouth Theatre Royal, Worcester Swan Theatre, Derby Playhouse, Theatr Powys, London Bubble Theatre and South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell. She has worked with a range of organisations across Scotland including Scottish Opera, National Theatre for Scotland, Dundee Rep, Company Chordelia, Byre Theatre, St Andrews and Platform Theatre, Glasgow. Her most recent projects include The Chosen – as part of her ongoing collaboration with choreographer Kally Lloyd Jones of Company Chordelia; Flock of Ravens sculptural installation and Whisky Library – ma mash up of reclaimed Victorian furniture, several hundred bottles of whisky and a model train!

Some of her large-scale participatory projects include On Common Ground – set design for a 17-meter diameter Earth Stage and a large-scale performance by Citizens Theatre Glasgow at Gorbals Rose Garden as part of Commonwealth Games 2014; Black Sun Over Genoa – working with all 100+ participants to create authentic costume, character, props and set for a large scale community play by Theatre Workshop Edinburgh about the death of a protestor at G8; Transform – lead artist, designer and community facilitator for a site specific performance by National Theatre of Scotland at Methil Docks, Fife.

Peace Cranes commission by Peace & Justice Scotland is her largest site-specific installation to date.

www.janishart.com