Over the past year, Susannah Bolton, our 2024/25 Tobar an Dualchais Artist in Residence, has brought a spirit of openness and experimentation while exploring the TaD collections.
During the residency, Susannah took part in the Creative Connections Tobar an Dualchais course in South Uist, spent six weeks immersed in focused research and artistic development within the collections, and made a research visit to the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh. Alongside this, she shared reflections in an article for the West Highland Free Press and began experimenting with new forms of creative writing, developing a poetic text inspired by their encounters in the collections.
Susannah’s residency has also sparked ideas for a participatory sharing event that will invite others into her evolving process and explore new ways of engaging with the archive.
Beyond the residency, Susannah’s year continues to flourish, with an international residency with Des Borda Territorial Research Residency, Quehui Islands, Chile, and a very special presentation of Gam Thàladh, a poetic songscape presented in Galway for TULCA Festival of Visual Arts and the Arts in Action programme. If you’re near Galway on the 13th of November 2025 – get yourself along!
This residency programme is made possible through ongoing support by Creative Scotland’s Gaelic Targeted fund.