Hope Spot Residency 24
It was the end of September. Our coordinator, Keira had been promising us a late bit of summer for this year’s snorkelling artists residency and somehow, she was right. I arrived at the Kilchoan estate in sunlight with just a few leaves yellowing. We jumped straight into the (admittedly still quite cold) Loch Melfort water and this is how I first met some of the Argyll Hope Spot residents, as a bobbing head in the sea.
The Argyll Coast and Islands Hope Spot is a community-led celebration of this part of Scotland’s world-class natural riches. It is the first Hope Spot in mainland UK and one of over 150 around the world. Hope Spots are special places that are scientifically identified as critical to the health of the ocean, supported by marine charity Mission Blue. Argyll Hope Spot stretches from Ardnamurchan to Loch Sween meaning that Kilchoan Melfort Trust is right in the heart of our Hope Spot. It is home to an incredible array of species and habitats including Basking Sharks, native oysters, Maerl beds, seagrass, kelp forests and the world’s largest skate; the Flapper Skate. Argyll Hope Spot aims to celebrate, recognise and support life above and below the waves. Other Hope Spots include the Great Barrier Reef and Galapagos Islands; we are proud to be recognised alongside them. Our mission is to help the people of Argyll, Scotland and wider to understand the importance, uniqueness and beauty of our local seas. We do this by encouraging people’s curiosity and creativity for the world around them.
We run our snorkelling artists residency each year. It’s an exciting time where we spend a few days guiding a group of creators into the sea, helping them safely and confidently snorkel and engage with the habitat and then get them to create work, using a drawing board, within the water itself. It’s something I found hugely challenging the previous year when I joined as an artist. Water is constantly moving you and your materials and the creatures and algae are waving and darting about too.
So it was with delight but also jealousy that I watched this year’s group in the calm sea, producing beautiful marks and drawing, not getting too cold, not bumping into each other. Just studiously reproducing the incredible range of species living just on one little jetty at Kilchoan. They found over 60 species, anemones, starfish, sea squirts, fishes, crabs and seaweed.
Another day the artists swam to Eilean Coltair, the island in the bay. We do this because it’s a slight challenge. We want artists to go away feeling skilled enough to plan their own swims and explore their own local parts of the coast. We work with open water swim coach Dan the Merman who provides safety cover and coaching to our snorkelling artists to make sure they are safe, and are ready to enter the water again in the future.
Transporting the gear along to the second swim spot by boat, Wendy, Marnik and I passed the resident Grey seals of the other side of the island. Take care to give these inquisitive creatures space when you encounter them. Move slowly so as to not force them to flee. Outdoor Swimming Society have some good guidance on keeping seals safe.
Similarly, we knew there were dolphins further out. And ever present, was the awareness that we were swimming in Flapper Skate territory. Flapper skates are known to swim to the shallows at the beginning of the year to lay their eggs. These eggs survive up to two years, alone on the seafloor before hatching into the great, gliding, spotty Flapper Skate. These skates grow up to 2 meters in size and somehow thriving in our part of the world but mainly absent elsewhere..
The artists spent their time back on land getting quickly dry, sketching, sharing their thoughts and experiences, flipping through ID books together. Wildlife guide and snorkeller, Lottie Goodlet, assisted the group to write a species list. The evenings were filled with stories in the tradition of the taigh cèilidh led by Gaelic tradition bearer, Dan Coyle and his wife Alison. Stories and songs from the past touching on the coming of winter and the way in which time passes, fairies and rowan trees. The next night, the artists spontaneously shared some of their own poems, songs and stories.
It was an incredible group of artists, very varied in approaches and skills. Like local architect and artist Tamsin Ghislaine Cunningham, who focuses on water and movement who was deeply reflective and thoughtful in her approach. We also had designer Liz Willoughby who hadn’t previously snorkelled though you wouldn’t know it, who creates delightful jewellery and sculpture from beach plastics. Illustrator Rosemary Cunningham, made bold line drawings in the water from the get go and pulled a detached, many fronded piece of sea spaghetti from the water and even made in water etching plates for printmaking later. Emma Baker, a regular swimmer and mosaic artist, shared surprise at the difference in species between here and her home on Islay and thrived in the water. Jamie Wardrop collected intriguing imagery to incorporate into his colour filled moving image based art and shared gentle observations. Illustrator and animator Viola Madau carefully scanned the environment, listened actively, with the intent to represent a full spectrum of critters and forms with her watery vibrant paintings (that will in time become moving paintings.)
We want people to feel proud of the life in the Argyll Hope Spot. We want them to connect with it. And we hope that by building the skills of these artists, they’ll become its advocates. Wildlife artist Jane Smith acts as art tutor during the residency. She speaks about the different ways that you interact with nature when you draw from life. Drawing helps you pay attention to things you might miss otherwise. If you’d like to get closer to Scotland’s underwater environments, we recommend these snorkel trail guides from Scottish Wildlife Trust.
We were so grateful to be hosted by the Kilchoan Loch Melfort Trust and learn about their restoration projects. We can’t wait to return and bring more people closer to the incredible species and habitats of Argyll’s coasts and waters.