Remembering Together Aberdeen Phase 2

Aberdeen’s Remembering Together Project memorial will be located in Bon Accord Gardens, near Aberdeen City centre, and constructed from upcycled local granite. It has been designed by London based George King Architects and is called the Cairn. It will be fully installed by Spring 2025.

The design, takes much inspiration from the many thoughts, reflections and ideas shared through the creative engagement with members of public, as part of the creative consultation work undertaken during phase one of the project.  Once completed, the Covid memorial will be a place that people from across the city can visit to reflect and remember the impact that Covid-19 had on all lives and also be a place to gather and move forward together.

The Cairn - Aberdeen’s Remembering Together Memorial

George King also wanted to also reflect what he has experienced of the city’s resilience, strength, and unity in the face of adversity, creating a contemporary reinterpretation of a traditional Scottish Cairn made entirely from upcycled granite, salvaged from the city itself, and given new life within the memorial. Using the adding of stone upon stone seen in the traditional Cairn making on hills and mountains it symbolises the shared experience we all have undergone. Engraved on the rear of each stone will be lines from a newly commissioned poem, written by a local poet, Jo Gilbert, and inspired by the experiences of the local community during the pandemic.

For more information please visit Remembering Together - Culture Aberdeen or contact stewart.aitken@shmu.org.uk

The first phase of the Aberdeen City project started in late May with the appointment of a creative practitioner team. The team was made up 3 practitioners; Maja Zeco, Caitlyn Main & Roos Dijkhuizen who facilitated sessions across the city. All three have a wealth of co-created and participatory arts experience and held creative conversations with a wide demographic of the city’s residents, available to review in the report of Phase 1.

Read the full Phase 1 report here.