Art work and photographs from the recently published ‘Rebel Orkney’ will be exhibited at the Northlight Gallery Stromness from this Saturday, 27th November.

The exhibition, lasting till Thursday 9th of December, is part of a series of events for St Andrews Fair Saturday. The Fair Saturday events are a response to the consumerism of ‘Black Friday’. A major cultural international response by the Fair Saturday organisation where the events all support good causes.

The Northlight exhibition, now in its 4th year of participation, will again be supporting Orkney Rape and Sexual Assault Services.

Each year Fiona Grahame and Martin Laird have tackled a theme in their exhibitions which expose barely remembered Orcadian history:

• in the first year it was the Orcadian suffragists
• a year later it was the lost men and boys of the HMS Pheasant, which sunk off Hoy in 1917
• last year’s show was called ‘Exodus from the Egypt of the North’ about the Rousay Clearances.

This year Northlight will be showing artwork and photographs from the book ‘Rebel Orkney – tales of Insurrection from Orcadian history’, written by Fiona and illustrated by Martin.

Their book tells the stories of people from Orcadian history who have dared to stand apart (for better or worse.) 

It begins with the betrayal and martyrdom of St. Magnus in 1118, and takes the reader on a journey through time which ends with the uranium mining protests of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Both well-known and lesser-known subjects are covered, including the infamous ‘Black Patie’ who built the Earl’s Palace in Kirkwall, the Pirate Gow, Alexander Graham who gained free trade for Stromness (and elsewhere), the Rousay Clearances, and the Suffragists who campaigned for women’s right to vote.

Northlight will exhibit original artwork and photographs by Martin Laird from the book from Saturday 27th November to Thursday 9th of December 2021. The exhibition takes place in association with St. Andrews Fair Saturday and The Orkney News and will be raising funds for Orkney Rape and Sexual Assault Service.

See also: Ending Gender Based Violence #WhatWillYouDo