Members of the Nova Scotia Crafts Guild met with Highland craftspeople on a study visit in 2005. Following this visit the Council began to work and liase through the Highland Exhibitions Unit’s Craft Residency Programme and the Nova Scotia Crafts Programme the possibility of developing and implementing a Cultural Craft Exchange focussing on the Ardnamurchan area in Lochaber and Dalbrae in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, as there are a number of historic, cultural and linguistic links between both areas and the Crafts exchange is providing an opportunity to build on this.

This exchange residency project will lead on from the highly successful ‘Craft Residencies in the Highlands’ programme which ran in eight areas of the Highlands from 2004 until 2007.

Ownership of the project is placed with the pupils in the lead school and they select the craftsperson to work with them.

The Nova Scotia/Highland exchange residency will be an inspiring and unique project that will further develop this programme.

From the beginning of May and through to July,textile craftsperson, Kelly Krawchuk from Nova Scotia will be working with young people in Ardnamurchan High School and the surrounding community, simultaneously jeweller, Beth Legg from the Highlands will be working with community groups in the Mabou area of Nova Scotia and pupils in Dalebrae Academy.

Both craftmakers will have the opportunity to develop their own work in their new surroundings and this new work will tour in both countries. Gaelic is an integral part of the project and the makers will be encouraged to further extend their language skills by using Gaelic wherever possible. The pupils in both countries will evaluate and monitor the residencies and will communicate with each other through the internet.