A TWO-day programme of events has been organised as part of efforts to better remember those killed after being accused of witchcraft.
Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland (Raws) have organised a conference and workshops on Saturday May 20 and Sunday 21 at the Old Kirk in Kirkcaldy, Fife, which will concentrate on the memorialisation of those accused of witchcraft in Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The charity last year announced St Ninians former opencast coal mine in Kelty, Fife, had been identified as a site for a national memorial.
A health and leisure park development is being undertaken at the mine by National Pride UK, which has given its full support for the national memorial to be built on the site.
This followed an apology from the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for its role in capturing and torturing "witches", while former first minister Nicola Sturgeon apologised on behalf of the Scottish Government, acknowledging an "egregious historic injustice".
It is thought 4000 Scots, most of them women, were accused of breaking the Witchcraft Act between 1563 and 1736.
On Saturday, May 20, a variety of speakers will be involved in presentations and discussions where people are invited to share what they have done around memorialising those accused and hear from others about how they wish to remember them.
Speakers will include the conference chair and journalist Lesley Riddoch, who will open the event with Raws chair Sheila Gaul and pose questions to other guests and panellists throughout the day.
Other speakers will include author Dee Lawlor who will share the skill of how to decipher Auld Scot’s handwriting, and forensic anthropologist Dr Christopher Rynn on the process of using facial reconstruction to remember those accused.
In 2017, Rynn was instrumental in bringing Lilias Adie, known as the Torryburn Witch, to life through 3D virtual sculpture and forensic facial reconstruction.
Adie's remains were taken by graverobbers after her death in the 20th century, but luckily for Rynn they had been photographed in 1904, with the images still held at the National Library of Scotland, allowing him to bring her likeness to life.
Irene Bisset and Andy Whitlock, directors of National Pride UK, will talk about their involvement in delivering sustainable, community-focused projects.
Meanwhile, textile artist Tara Dakini will speak commemorating those accused of witchcraft through her project Witches Stitches: Pockets of Love.
Workshop leaders on Sunday, May 21, will include Rowan Morrison and Marianne Berghuis, are set to run a fusion workshop on the spoken and written word. Morrison has given her voice to accused ‘witches’ through oral and written stories, songs, performance art and memorial events, while Berghuis focuses on supporting others to find their voice through writing.
Writing on the day will be showcased on the Raws website.
Visual artist Karen Strang, who works predominantly as an oil painter, will run a workshop on selecting settings for memorials, while a design workshop will ask participants to think about form and design that might be appropriate for remembering those persecuted as witches in Scotland through discussions, debate, and making.
Opening the event on Sunday will be Cali White and Caren Thompson who have been involved with a collaborative art project that honours the 4000 women persecuted as witches across the whole of the UK and Ireland through hand-created prayer flags holding their individual names.
Anyone attending the weekend will be invited to have a tour of the tower at the Old Kirk where an accused was once held.
To find out more and buy tickets, click here.
