Young artists and storytellers from across the North Coast have been celebrated at Bettyhill Library, with this year's annual competition attracting a record 80 entries in its third year.
A theme rooted in local legend
The competition is open to pupils from the three local primary schools and children across the North Coast campus area. Each year, young people are invited to create drawings and stories inspired by a theme drawn from local folklore — and this year's subject had plenty of atmosphere to work with.
Entries were inspired by Uamh Shiosalaich (Chisolm's Cave), a cave behind Ben Klibreck that, in the early 1800s, became the hiding place and home of a wandering vagabond named Chisolm.
The judges
This year's competition was judged by landscape and seascape artist Jim Wright and his wife Sue Wright, a community creative practitioner, both from Bettyhill.
Jim was impressed by what he saw: "The drawings were exceptionally good. Some used particularly interesting techniques to create atmosphere, especially in the dark cave scenes."
Sue was equally enthusiastic about the written entries: "The standard of storytelling was notably high — we thoroughly enjoyed reading the stories."
Prizes for every class
This year's competition had extra reason to celebrate. Bettyhill, Altnaharra and Strathnaver Community Council joined Merlin Cinemas in sponsoring prizes, meaning winning entries from every single class received an award.
Our library assistant at Bettyhill, Catriona MacLeod, summed up what the competition means to the team: "Seeing the children's stories and drawings is a joy for us at Bettyhill Library and even better when we can share them with the wider community through a library exhibition."
Seeing the children's stories and drawings is a joy for us at Bettyhill Library.
Library Assistant, Bettyhill Library
Come and see the exhibition
The winning and shortlisted work is now on display. The exhibition, Uamh Shiosalaich, runs throughout June at Bettyhill Library — well worth a visit if you're in the area.
Visit the exhibition this June
Come and see the children's artwork and stories on display at Bettyhill Library throughout June.
