A COMMEMORATIVE tartan to symbolise the lasting effects the Covid pandemic has had on the communities in the Scottish Borders is to be unveiled.
The Scottish Borders Remembering Together project is set to reveal its commemorative tartan on May 31 in Galashiels as it aims to mark the varied experiences of the Covid pandemic on the people in the Scottish Borders.
Remembering Together is a national project which seeks to give each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities their own way to remember and mark their experiences of the pandemic.
Since the project was launched last Autumn there have been more than 700 contributions to help shape the decision to make a new commemorative tartan for the area.
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A key influence for the colours of the tartan was the Borders landscape as it encompasses the blues and greens of the sea, rivers, and reservoirs with the bright greens and yellows which Spring brings with the heather and forests.
There is also referred to the uniform's key health care and care workers wore during the pandemic, with also the inclusion of face masks and warning signs from the pandemic.
During the consultation phase, people shared memories of loss, grief, guilt, and the challenges of isolation.
Others spoke of hope and a new-forged community. Contributors wanted to design a tartan which incorporated the five localities of the Borders with many wanting it to join people across the whole region.
The final design was voted on at the end of 2023 by the community and artists Two Destination, who had spent 18 months working with the people in the Borders coming up with ideas for the tartan, were commissioned to make the final design.
Lead artist, Katherina Radeva, said: “When I saw the new tartan on the loom for the first time, I burst into tears.
“For me, the design is layered with the hundreds of stories which people have shared across the project.
“It honours lives lost, it respects the extraordinary labour of those whose work filled with new challenges, and it contains the multitude of ways people moved forwards individually and together.”
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Two Destination Language specialise in art about identity and celebrating difference to help stimulate dialogue between communities.
The artists have created exhibitions, walks, theatre and dance, books, and films, which have toured nationally and internationally.
Remembering Together Scottish Borders is part of the nationwide Remembering Together project commissioned by Greenspace Scotland.
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