Yvonne Weighand Lyle, Lead Artist, Remembering Together Midlothian

Blog 1 (Phase 2: January 2024)

I’m Yvonne and I’m a visual artist born and raised in Mayfield, Midlothian. As a local artist, it was an honour to be selected as the Lead Artist for the first phase of the Remembering Together project here in Midlothian by programme organisers greenspace scotland.

As part of this work, funded by the Scottish Government, I had the privilege of spending 6 months working with a wide range of local people to discover their priorities for Covid Memorials here in our county. I discovered that our community would like to have Memorials that provide a place to sit, reflect and remember. It was of great importance that the Memorials be accessible to as many people as possible and located in more than one place. Folk wanted them to be an asset to the county and be durable and lasting. People said they valued their local countryside, and being able to go outdoors into nature was of great comfort to many during the pandemic. There was a wish to preserve our Midlothian natural heritage and create memorials that had informal planting that encouraged and supported our local wildlife too.

So, I am delighted to announce that I have now been selected as Lead Artist for Remembering Together (phase 2), giving me the opportunity to bring this exciting project to life! I will be spending 2024 working with local people to co-design public artworks and sculptural seating for several new areas in Midlothian. I will be running free workshops and public events to facilitate the co-design process, so if you would like to get involved, please get in touch. If you are interested in taking part but you are worried or experiencing any barriers to participation, please let me know in confidence. Everyone is welcome and we are committed to delivering a fully inclusive and diverse project.

You can also follow the progress of our project on my social media channels where I will be posting photos and updates on workshops and the development of the designs. Find us @YWLStudios on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.

Finally, I would like to say it’s a great privilege and responsibility to have been selected to co-create the memorials and I am especially thrilled to be doing this important work in ‘ma bit’ (my home), with the wonderful folk of Midlothian in our beautiful and ancient county.