Remembering Together Scottish Borders is coming to a close
Remembering Together: The Scottish Borders co-created a new tartan design, named Borders Together. This stands as a memorial for the experiences of Borderers in the pandemic, available for public use: the design is freely available online. The project was led by Alister Lownie & Katherina Radeva and managed by Two Destination Language — an arts charity based in the Scottish Borders.
The new tartan was woven by a family-run mill in Selkirk, so that it could be used in ten community creative project commissions and displayed in community spaces across the Borders.
Sites for display include:
All NHS Borders hospitals, health centres and staff buildings (39)
All of the village halls across the Borders
Cultural spaces (museums and arts centres)
Youth clubs Almost all these were gifted a framed piece including an information card, and some also made use of loose material to make a commemorative object for their space (and in the case of museums, to run workshops using the fabric to make clothing and toys).
A full map of sites where the tartan is displayed can be founds HERE.
A film about the project (including aspects of the community projects below was made by Borders filmmaker Tom Swift. When complete, it will viewable from the project webpage. As shown in the film, the launch of the woven tartan also featured musicians Miwa Nagato-Apthorp and Alan Henry.
Ten creative projects were commissioned to deepen engagement and/or extend access to the Borders’ memorial. These offered ways for people to use the tartan as a starting point, and some (like the Sewing Club) have seeded significant n connections and expanded their activities through the project. Led by Borders-based creatives and organisations, these were:
At Birkhill House: Interactive origami inspired by the Borders Together tartan at Birkhill House near Lauder.
Isabell Buenz and Borders Buddies: Participants in Walkerburn crafting workshops each created their own custom Memory Book. Each book serves as a personal record of each individual's journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. This project was a collaboration in partnership with Borders Buddies, an initiative by Outside the Box, dedicated to providing support for individuals who have experienced disconnection from others.
LINKS Eyemouth: Open to families with children, these sessions offered a safe, creative space to explore lockdown experiences through art.
Borders Community Sewing Club: Individual members researched how purposeful objects can be made that will have a lasting legacy: making something useful, beautiful and purposeful. Sessions held in Leitholm, Stichill, Roxburgh, and Gavinton resulted in a range of objects from bunting and banners to church kneelers and toys.
Dance for Parkinsons: People with a Parkinson’s diagnosis and their families took part in a Tartan Ceilidh - to depict how Borderers navigated the challenges and isolation of the pandemic, eventually rediscovering the joy of dancing hand in hand. The Tartan Ceilidh was performed at Eastgate Theatre (Peebles) and Borders General Hospital engaging both older people and children within the families taking part.
Galashiels Scout Group: The Galashiels Scouts group held a Tartan Camp. The tartan-themed two-night Scout camp was filled with textile-inspired activities, cooking, wide games, and campfire — the first time since the pandemic they had been able to run a camp, the sky was lit with Northern Lights which reflected the colours of the Borde Together tartan.
Vicky Mohieddeen: Drama therapist Vicky Inam Mohieddeen ran outdoor creative workshops at Mauldsheugh Wood. Sessions explored the elements of the Remembering Together tartan to open space for reflecting on participants’ pandemic experiences in a sa and supported environment.
Tweed Swimmers: Tartan in the Tweed with the Tweed Swimmers' project took place in the River Tweed across July and August 2024. Wild swimmers joined three colourful events taking place along the River Tweed. Swimmers recreated the Borders tartan using huge lengths of brightly coloured ribbons in the waters of the river.
Greener Peebles: Growing the Tartan drew inspiration from the tartan colours to design raised bed plantings, creating a peaceful, sensory space in the Greener Peebles community garden. The project hosted planting sessions and nature-based drawing workshops.
Crafts 4 U: in Walkerburn created a special memory quilt, woven with the threads of the community's shared pandemic stories and experiences. From local landscapes to well-loved places, the project stitches together our shared memories using the new Borders tartan.
For more information on the community projects using the tartan design, please visit the Tartan Together Instagram page.
