The Best of Scotland’s Young Art Goes On the Road

Using the very best work submitted by Scotland’s talented young artists for this year’s exams, we launched a special Art Tour on Monday 9 October at Glasgow’s outstanding Kelvingrove Art Galleries.

PHOTO: Guests at the launch of the Inspirational Art Tour 2006

The stunning Collection is being housed in a travelling gallery on wheels - a specially-liveried and kitted-out skyliner bus. It will travel across Scotland for 7 weeks (until 24 November), visiting over 50 schools from Galashiels to Golspie. The aim of the tour is to inspire future art candidates and spotlight the work of this year’s candidates and their teachers.

A catalogue featuring photographs of the art has also been produced. The photography was done by two HN students from Stevenson College, Stuart Cobley and Warren Butler.

The Tour was launched by Robert Brown MSP, the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People, as part of the Scottish Government’s ‘Celebrating Success’ initiative. To mark the occasion, Mr Brown was presented with one of the exhibits from the Collection, by artist Laura Mairs (16), a pupil from St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Glasgow.

PHOTO: Artist Laura Mairs presenting her painting to Robert Brown MSP, the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People , with Tom Drake, SQA Interim Chief Executive looking on

Speaking about the Collection and the Tour, Mr Brown said, ‘Going to school is about more than just getting straight As in exams. Although qualifications are undoubtedly important, our pupils achieve great things on a daily basis and we should celebrate these successes too. The Inspirational Art Tour will give people the length and breadth of Scotland an opportunity to see and celebrate the creativity and talent of our pupils’.

Our Interim Chief Executive Tom Drake said ‘The Inspirational Art Tour brings together the very best of the work produced by over 33,000 Scottish students this year. It will be clear to anyone who comes to see the Collection that huge efforts are being made by teachers and students to produce work of the very highest standard. As a nation we should be very proud of these achievements, and we at SQA are delighted to have this chance to salute and showcase such terrific work’.

If you would like to find out more, please contact the Customer Contact Centre on tel: 0845 279 1000 or e-mail: customer@sqa.org.uk