NEWS
RELEASE
5 January 2009
City
Art Centre Announces New Exhibition: My
love and native land, farewell
The City Art Centre has set out to find
the roots of the Scottish diaspora - who emigrated, and why? as part of
Homecoming Scotland 2009.
My
love and native land, farewell, can be seen from 7 February - 22 March 2009 and features works from the City
Art Centre's collection. It also
explores the living and working conditions in Scotland when emigration was at
its height.
According to City Culture Leader, Deidre
Brock: "Many of our visitors have Scottish roots and they are fascinated by
their distinctive ancestry. This
exhibition offers an ideal opportunity to learn about our ancestors and what
motivated them to move vast distances from their family and homeland".
From 1650 Scots from both urban and rural life were enticed abroad
by the hope of a better living standard. The major Scottish cities were known to be
overcrowded, unsanitary, and constantly beset by smog. Farther afield, work for
farmers and fishermen consisted of difficult manual labour. The increasing
changes in land management spawned a class of dispossessed and landless
workers. In both the Highlands and Lowlands, social dislocation and
poverty prompted Scots to seek a fresh start. By 1900 over three million Scots
had left, establishing Scottish culture around the globe.
The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were the most common
destinations, idealised for their vast tracts of unclaimed land.
The City Art Centre can be found at 2 Market Street, Edinburgh and is open
Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm and Sunday 12 - 5pm.
For further details log on to www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cityartcentre
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