An Lanntair: in Scottish Gaelic that means the lantern.
An Lanntair is also the name of the arts center in Stornoway. in the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles. True to its name, it has become a beacon for arts, artists, and arts audiences.
An Lannatir got its start as a community organization in 1985, then located in the former Council Chambers at Stornoway Town Hall, where it remained until a new building was opened in 2005.
It was meant to be, and still is, a community organization open to everyone, with the aim to make a space where creative ideas could be explored.
Part of the intention at the beginning and continuing has been to promote and share the arts and culture of the Western Isles alongside bringing new arts experiences to islanders.
An Lanntaor’s mission has evolved to focus on ways “to connect and inspire people in producing extraordinary creative programs, uniquely rooted in the place and reflecting the arts and ideas of our time.”
A strong part of that idea is and has always been respect for and promotion of the Gaelic language and culture. In the Western Isles the Gaelic language is in everyday use. Gaelic arts are strong both in carrying on heritage and creating new perspectives. An Lanntair is a center for that, with a cinema, arts gallery, space for classes, and a performance space.
Any time you visit the Isle of Lewis, most northern island of the Outer Hebrides, you will find something happening at An Lanntair. This could include evening classes for adults, afternoon gatherings for young people, craft groups at weekend for all ages,
Since it began An Lanntair has been a place for visual arts. Many works created by Hebridean artists have gone on to international exhibition, sharing the creativity of the islands to wider audiences . These have included Togail Tir: a map of the Hebrides and Portraits from the Western Edge.
A combination of arts joined to create a memorial to the loss of the Iolaire, a ship bringing local men home from World War I. This was marked at the centenary of its sinking by the creation o a visual memorial as well as several books, musical compositions, and performances.
An Lanntair hosts the Hebridean Dark Skies Festival, with talks, nature programs and music, and has offered programs as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories as well.
One reason I am calling An Lanntair to your attention just now…
During the Hebridean Celtic Festival each July, the performance space at the center becomes home to a more intimate series of concerts than you’ll experience on the festival’s other stages (I will let you know what to look forward to at those stages in a future story, though — and here is that story, with my top recommendations for music to enjoy at the Arena area stages, too.)
Catriona MacDonald, whose main instrument is the fiddle, has both Shetland and the Isle of Lewis in her family background. These she brings to bear in her contribution to Between the Islands, a project hosted by An Lanntair that’s meant to explore connections among Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides.
Catriona’s concert, called Wave Waulking, brings in sound and image from the islands’ past and present along with newly composed material. Catriona’s performance (accompanied by Timo Alakotila from Finland on piano) will kick off the An Lanntair series of concerts at HebCelt this July.
Another concert from the Between islands series is called Shore to Shore. It will find musicians from Orkney, Shetland, and Lewis exploring Scotland’s influences on music of the Americas in bluegrass and other genres. Special guests are expected to join in.
Hebridean Women will celebrate and be celebrated in another An Lanntair hosted concert during HebCelt. Marking themes of emigration through their music, Josie Duncan, Anna Murray, Fionnaig NicCoinnaich, and Iona Davidson will be featured on the night.
Several of the region’s finest young pipers will gather for a concert of tunes from the Western Isles as part of the series this year too.
James Duncan Mackenzie. Alana Macinnes, Calum Alex Macmillan, and Seonaidh MacIntyre, names you will recognize if you follow the music of Scotland, will join for a concert on what’s sure to be a classic sharing of tunes.
These concerts take place in mid July, as does the full Hebredean Celtic Festival.
Whether you are able to join in at these concerts during the Hebridean Celtic Festival this summer or visit the Isle of Lewis at another time, there is sure to be something happening at An Lannatair that will add to your enjoyment of the Western Isles.
Photographs of the An Lanntair building at evening and artists Josie Duncan, Sarah McFayde and Arthur Nicholson of Shore to Shore, Catriona Macdonald, Alana Macinnes, and James Duncan Mackenzie courtesy of Innes Campbell Communications
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