A TEMPORARY artwork spanning the islands of Skye and North Uist has scooped a prize in a new category in a prestigious arts contest.

“Are you LOCATIONALIZED?” – an ATLAS Arts commission, created by Glasgow School of Art graduates Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan – has been named the best temporary work by the Saltire Society’s Art in Public Places Awards, the rebranded Arts and Crafts in Architecture Awards which have run for 40 years.

The project includes work on outdoor structures on both islands, a series of photo works exhibited at Taigh Chearsabhagh Art Centre on North Uist and a dedicated information desk at the ATLAS Arts Office in Portree. ATLAS is an arts organisation dedicated to visual arts projects and education in Skye and Lochalsh.


Other works in Helensburgh and John O’Groats also picked up a share of the £4,000 prize, part-funded by Creative Scotland.

Joint winners of the permanent award category were The Outdoor Museum, a display of treasured objects from local residents and organisations in Helensburgh, and the Nomadic Boulders of John O’Groats, a group of three sculptures inspired by the force of the Pentland Firth, and created by Dundee-based artists Matthew Dalziel and Louise Scullion.

Judges also gave a special commendation to White Wood, a living monument to peace at Bin Forest, outside Huntly, which was created in response to the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

The awards were presented yesterday at the Saltire Society’s headquarters in Edinburgh as part of a series of events and awards to mark its 80th anniversary year.

Leslie Mitchell, convener of the judging panel, said: “The standard of entries was uniformly very high and Choosing the overall winners was a real challenge for the judging panel.

“I commend all entrants for the artwork they have created and the many ways in which each piece has enriched the surrounding environment where it has been exhibited.”

Saltire Society executive director Jim Tough said: “By recognising the unique contribution artworks in public places make to the cultural life of Scotland, I hope that the Arts in Public Places Awards will inspire many more such projects in the years to come.”

Two other awards were announced at the event: Ellis O’Connor, a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee won the £1,500 International Travel Bursary for Visual Arts; and Glasgow School of Art graduate Claire Paterson won the £13,000 Steven Campbell New York Scholarship.

Paterson will become the first Scottish artist to take up a three-month residency as part of the International Studio and Curatorial Programme (ISPC) in Brooklyn.