After months of writing and refining a grant application with Creative Scotland—and then many more weeks of nervously waiting—I’m thrilled to share the news: Wild Wings of Hope has been awarded funding.
This new project is rooted in craft, collaboration, storytelling, and community.
It opens up fresh possibilities alongside my illustration, papercraft, and nature-inspired work—paths I’ve long wanted to explore more deeply.
Wild Wings of Hope will bring together an inspiring team: storytellers with cultural roots in Scotland (Cara Silversmith) and Africa (Chief Gift Amu), entomology expert Ash Whiffin, ornithologist Martin Stervander, and the brilliant female-led community outreach team from the National Museum of Scotland.
With a team like this, it’s no surprise the application was a success.
And the impact will stretch further still—we’ll be partnering with St Columba’s Hospice Care and the RSPB Scotland to deliver workshops to communities and care settings across Scotland.
There are some exciting plans ahead (more on this in a future post), but for now, I would like to give a shoutout to the funders, partners and sponsors who are helping to bring this project to life:
- Funding from Creative Scotland through the National Lottery
- TRACS through the Andy Hunter Storytelling Bursary
- Fedrigoni Papers, for their generous ongoing support
- St Columba’s Hospice Care, for partnering on hospice-based workshops and creative engagement
- National Museum of Scotland, for research collaboration, access to collections, partnering on dementia-friendly workshops and hosting the public launch exhibition
Co-created butterflies and upcycled cabinets
Installing papercut butterflies inside historic museum drawers for an exhibition that brings together craft, community, and scientific collections.
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