Virtual Gallery

The subject of this exhibition is immortalising the soul. Inspired by the grotesque, playful world of Japanese Butoh the An Lanntair gallery is transformed into a congregation of boats, cairns and satellites, each operating as a conveyor of the soul. Based on Berneray, Keith is a member of the Royal Scottish Academy which in 2026… More…

An extraordinary installation of masterful dolls houses created by Tom Hickman. In 2022 Tom’s little croft house in New Tolsta won BBC Scotland’s Home of the Year. During their visit the judges were equally captivated by his Harper Dolls house, finding within a minute dolls house. A house within a house, a home within a… More…

To mark the occasion of 40 years of An Lanntair this exhibition is both retrospective and looks to the future. An anthology, comprised of works by 40 of the artists we have represented, encouraged  and supported in various capacities over these past four decades. It includes pieces by some who are no longer with us,… More…

For the best experience view in fill screen by clicking on the full screen icon. In October 24 Members of Catch 23 ( a drop in centre for those who have experienced mental health issues ) submitted work to the Out of Sight Out of Mind exhibition. The exhibition, held in Summerhall Edinburgh, showed artworks… More…

For best results view on full screen mode. Laisse de mer describes what the sea leaves on the foreshore, be it natural or not.  He lives beside the Bay of Biscay with access to a stretch of beach more than 100km long. During the winter months, storms deposit a lot of stuff on the beach: … More…

For best experience click on ‘full screen’ icon. Explore the intersection of art and traditional Irish music in this new exhibition by acclaimed artist Lorcan Vallely.  Featuring recent works, Ceol ar Chanbhás reflects the Vallely family’s enduring influence on Irish culture. The exhibition highlights the Armagh Pipers Club, the William Kennedy Piping Festival, and the historic… More…

The small number of paintings, plus the majority of black & white film images, combine to create ‘Indigenous.’ Work that has been partly created for many years now. Safe to say, thirty. More often than not it’s a joyous process thinking the ideas through and storing yet more images in a personal archive. It is… More…

For best results click on full screen icon. Alastair Gordon’s most recent work concerns the geo-political history of landscape in his native Scotland. Informed by recent visits to Lewis & Harris these new paintings are his most ambitious yet. At first, they are paintings about painting, and reference a specific form of trompe l’oeil (deceive the eye)… More…

For best viewing results click on the full screen icon. By Calum Mackinnon Ferguson 10 May – 25 May 2024 Created for the Clàr x An Lanntair 2023 Digital Art and Music Commission by Artist Calum MacKinnon Ferguson, SIAB | DRIFT is a series of three installations that seek to draw out the juxtapositions of Hebridean weather… More…

PEANT IS CRÈADH / PAINT AND CERAMICS BY SUE BLAIR AND DAVID GREENALL 16 March 2024 – 04 May 2024 A Joint exhibition of Dave Greenall’s paintings of light and landscape – composed of raw pigments, blended with wax, resin, oil or egg tempera and Sue Blair’s neolithic inspired ceramic work. For best viewing results… More…

William Dick’s geometric abstract paintings are inspired by ancient tribal symbols and a fascination with the geological transformation of  landscape. Each evolves out of itself, layer on layer, transforming and growing in its physical and illusionary depth. For best viewing results click on the full screen icon.

For best results click on full screen icon when viewing virtual exhibition. At Sea holds the hybrid meanings of being on a vessel out of sight of land, and of experiencing a state of confusion or mentally adrift. The artwork reflects the journey we have all been through over recent years and traverses a lasting impression… More…

For best results click on full screen icon when viewing virtual exhibition. The exhibition title is a line from Sorley MacLean’s great poem ‘Hallaig’: A profound and personal meditation on the Clearances on the Isle of Raasay. In development for seven years, it was first shown at Glasgow Print Studio in 2022 and comprises a series of… More…

For best results select the full screen icon to view the exhibition. Memorial is an on-going project of interconnected themes explored in painting, drawing and text. At the heart of the exhibition are two pieces of work: One incorporates a series of graphite head drawings made from prisoner identity photographs, and the other is the Memorial… More…

For best results view full screen by clicking on the full screen icon in the viewer. Often as we grow up the urge to make art goes away; even for children the opportunities for art can be limited. These paintings (acrylic on canvas)by children and staff from Action For Children are a small selection of… More…

Select full screen icon for best experience. A product of our mentoring scheme, Calum’s paintings are vivid, visual metaphors for the opposition, tensions and rip-tides in the traditional communities of Lewis, and the religious, linguistic and working culture that profoundly influenced him.  An environment where communal activity and identity were dominant, yet where the individual… More…

Working between studios in Edinburgh and Lewis, Lumsden’s process based paintings, although essentially abstract, allude to landscape and a sense of place. The exhibition combines new and recent paintings with a large multi element installation from the Point Series developed in the artist’s Bayble studio. For best experience click on full screen icon.  Use the… More…

‘Na Boireannaich’ is a visual body of work exploring themes of representation of Hebridean women in songs, stories and local history. In this exhibition we reimagine the woman’s role in traditional tales and how she is represented, shining a light on her experiences as a complex character. This narrative is created using locally sourced and… More…

CASRÙISGTE barefooted Peantadh is clò-bhualadh, co-cheangailte ri daoine agus àite, a’ gluasad eadar cumadh is eas-chruth. Le freumhan ann an cruth daonna, sealladh-tìre is eileamaidean ionadail. Tha an obair mar chruinneachadh de smuaintean air mar a tha an àrainneachd nàdarra a’ foillseachadh ar gluasad-inntinn, ar bith, ar so-leòntas, agus ar n-iongantas. Painting and printmaking relating… More…

Befriending Lewis & Harris are delighted to showcase a selection of work created by its members through our volunteer inspired Befriending Arts Project that began in October 2018. Co-curated with the group members, the exhibition includes a collaborative mixed media textile map of Lewis and Harris; a series of mixed media paintings celebrating local people… More…

These new works were produced by participants in online classes from January to August 2021. Covid19 lockdown and restrictions acted as the catalyst for new connections and creativity. Classes included Memory Books; Inspiring Textiles; Introduction to Printmaking; Home is Where the Art Is; Rannsachadh Ealain Lèirsinneach; and Bogsaichean Sgeulachd. There are several ways to interact… More…

A former student of Edinburgh College of Art, Beth Robertson Fiddes is based in Ullapool and continues to draw and paint, travelling around the West Highlands and Islands of Scotland, including St Kilda, to collect source material and sketches which are then worked up into larger pieces in the studio. There are several ways to… More…

The exhibition documents and celebrates personal stories of resilience and mental health through the medium of Victorian wet plate photography, which has qualities perfectly suited to empathetic interactions between photographer and sitter. The project capture moments during the COVID-19 pandemic, recording for prosperity stories of personal anguish and triumph during this historic international crisis. There… More…

27 Aug – 3 Sept / Main Gallery A first of its kind in the Isle of Lewis, An Lanntair welcomes Mìr air Mhìr (Bit by Bit) – a collaborative show featuring the works of eleven art school graduates from the Western Isles. Due to the global pandemic, Degree Shows in universities across Scotland during… More…

Created and curated by Philippa C Thomas and Hector MacInnes, with Roddy Murray From the late ‘60s to the early ‘90s, Nicolson’s Kiosk stood on the plot of land now occupied by An Lanntair. A staple of Stornoway life and an early example of the small businesses servicing the tourist trail through the Hebrides, the kiosk sold the… More…

Explore Gill Thompsons new prints which are a series produced over lockdown. About this series Gill says; ‘My artwork is a response to the topography and structures of the island environment, each image capturing fleeting moments of significance which tell the story of this magical place.’ There are several ways to interact with the exhibition… More…

South West by South, An t-Eilean Fada, The Long Island: A Poetic Cartography by artist Gill Russell, explores the dynamic relationship between the sea and land, and reveals the nautical heritage of the Outer Hebrides. In making connections, Gill visited the islands several times over a two-year period, as well as researching oral history interviews… More…

For three years now the Hebridean Dark Skies Festival‘s photography competition has showcased some of the most striking images of the islands’ incredible dark skies. This year’s winning photos, by Chris Murray, Derek MacKinnon, Grant Anderson, Alejandro Basterrechea, and Gordon Macdonald – were all taken in the Hebrides and will be on show at An Lanntair as soon as we… More…

Here you can take a virtual tour of our two Hebridean Dark Skies Festival exhibitions – the first Scottish show by Lumen, a London-based art collective brought together by a shared interest in themes of astronomy and light, and, in our cafe bar, the five winning images in this year’s Dark Skies Photography Competition. Lumen (main… More…

This is a lovely exhibition of artwork produced by participants of one of An Lanntair’s  regular series of evening classes. This class was run by local artist Gill Thompson and, as you can see, the work produced by students was fantastic. There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you can pan around… More…

In 2011, the Norwegian-Finnish artist duo Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen began a project to study explanations from Norwegian folklore about natural phenomena. Since then, the artists travelled to fifteen countries and Eyes as Big as Plates – part sculpture, part installation and part photography – has evolved into an ongoing exploration of how contemporary… More…

Explore An Lanntair and see what we have to offer you through this virtual tour. This tour will allow you to visit all areas of the building including the gallery, auditorium and restaurant. For best results choose the ‘Full Screen” icon .

Jessica considers storytelling in one shape or another to be the foundation of her creative practice. She draws a great deal of inspiration from the archetypal characters of myth and folktale for this lovely exhibition currently showing in An Lanntair’s Cafe Bar Gallery space. There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you… More…

An exhibition on the theme of The Abandoned Child Archetype. Nineteen characters navigating their way over rocky ground. A story waiting to be told. All these children have something in common. They have been thrown or have fallen from the nest and are left to find their own way without guidance. There are several ways… More…

MOLLY FITCH Cafe Bar Exhibition Bith ann am Breathan : Life in Layers Hand Cut Pictures Inspired by the Hebrides See these beautiful images by Molly Fitch that have been inspired by the landscapes and wildlife of the Hebrides. Each image has been painstakingly created by cutting and laying down pieces of coloured paper form… More…

Lockdown Sketchbooks is an exhibition created primarily by island residents during the 2020 Covid-19 Lockdown, but also includes work from the rest of the UK and all over the world. Over a 30-day period the Sketchbook Project delivered a series of daily challenges and prompts designed to engage people in creative activity on a daily… More…

Painter, screen printer and surfer Laura Maynard tells the stories of Lewis surfers through large scale portraits and mixed media pieces. Layered and intertwined within the surfers’ portraits is imagery and symbolism that gives subtle clues to their journey to becoming part of the small close knit surf community. Film maker, photographer and surfer Jim… More…

Tom’s exhibition was as much a homage and testament to an extraordinary artist and collector, the core of this exhibition was a series of gorgeous, narrative stump-work embroideries of biblical scenes, from the Garden of Eden to Noah’s Ark to the Nativity. Also displayed were a wide range of rare, unusual and esoteric works from… More…

This is an exhibition of painting by artist Edward Sum first shown at the onl AN Lanntair venue in Stornoway’s Town Hall. There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you can pan around the gallery using your mouse, the arrow keys on your keyboard, or the controller arrows on the screen. And… More…

The artwork here was first exhibited in the old An Lanntair situated in the Town Hall in 1992. The artwork reflects the response of Sandra and Mary to the city of Barcelona during their residencey there. There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you can pan around the gallery using your mouse,… More…

This entertaining and colourful exhibition was held at the old An Lanntair site in Stornoway’s Town Hall over the Christmas period in 1990. There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you can pan around the gallery using your mouse, the arrow keys on your keyboard, or the controller arrows on the screen.… More…

St Kilda Mailboat exhibition by Steve Dilworth held at the old An Lanntair in the Town Hall in 1991 is the documentation of a creative action held on the Island of St Kilda on the 29th of August 1989 which was the 29th anniversary of the evacuation. It involved Steve launching a sculptural boat made… More…

Acts of Faith by Steve Dilworth was an exhibition of sculptural work by Harris Sculptor Steve Dilworth. It was originally held at the old An Lanntair venue in the Stornoway Town Hall in 1992. This virtual documentation of the exhibition includes an audio commentary by An Lanntair’s Head of Visual Arts Roddy Murray. Click on… More…

These are images from Mark Johnston exhibition ‘Petrified Garden’, presented in the old An Lanntair venue in Stornoway Town Hall in 1996. Petrified Garden takes as its theme the numerous prehistoric stone circles, avenues, tombs and alignments which are found in Scotland and throughout Northern Europe. These first attempts to establish reference points on the… More…

This exhibition exploring the issues around the Duke of Sutherland’s statue was shown in the old An Lanntair premises in 1998. Photography was by John Maclean. The exhibition includes a short talk by Roddy Murray head of visual arts at An Lanntair. Just click the microphone icon to listen. There are several ways to interact… More…

These images are from an exhibition by Guatemalan born photographer Luis Gonzales Palma held in the old An Lanntair premises in 1994. There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you can pan around the gallery using your mouse, the arrow keys on your keyboard, or the controller arrows on the screen. And… More…

Visions in the Wind was an exhibition of traditional Japanese kites which was exhibited in the old An Lanntair in Stornoway Town Hall in 1993 There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you can pan around the gallery using your mouse, the arrow keys on your keyboard, or the controller arrows on… More…

This is a virtual exhibition using images created by young people who have been taking part An Lanntair’s Sketchbook Project. Launched during lockdown, the Sketchbook Project has been working very well, with over 150 individuals now involved, each of whom have been sketching their responses to our daily challenges in the An Lanntair sketchbooks sent… More…

These are images taken during Steve Dilworth’s ‘Acts of Faith’ exhibition, first exhibited in the old An Lanntair venue in Stornoway Town Hall. There are several ways to interact with the exhibition – you can pan around the gallery using your mouse, the arrow keys on your keyboard, or the controller arrows on the screen.… More…

These are images from Tom McKendrick’s exhibition ‘Submarine’ shown in the old An Lanntair venue in Stornoway Town Hall in September 1991. “The first and most ancient purpose of art was to visualise the invisible, gods the souls of ancestors, spirits, powers felt but unseen. Mythology was an integral part of this purpose, creating a… More…