Design competition for local schools as Clan Gunn Heritage Centre opens for 2018 season
THE Clan Gunn Heritage Centre at Latheron, which has recently been refurbished and updated with the aid of a grant from the Caithness and North Sutherland Fund, opens for the summer season from June 1 until September 30 (Monday to Saturday, 11am to 4pm).
The centre describes Clan Gunn and its septs from Norse times to the present day against the background of the history of the north of Scotland. The clan claims descent from Gunni, grandson of Rognvald, Earl of Orkney, and Sweyn Asleifsson, “the Ultimate Viking”, who was born in Caithness in the 12th century when Caithness was still part of the Norse empire.
To commemorate this the Clan Gunn Society is holding a competition open to Caithness and north Sutherland primary schools to design two illustrated graphic displays depicting the life of Sweyn Asleifsson and the Viking connection with Caithness and Clan Gunn. The competition is aimed at senior primary school classes.
The winning design will be made into a permanent display by a professional agency and become part of the continuing exhibition at the clan centre. The winning school will receive £500 towards educational material or equipment and the two runner-up schools will each receive £250.
The competition has been made possible through the help of a generous grant from EventScotland’s Scottish Clan Event Fund and ties in with the themed 2018 Year of Young People.
Entries should be sent to the Clan Heritage Centre by June 30. They will be displayed in the clan centre prior to being judged by a committee chaired by Ian Pearson, chairman of Caithness Artists.
Also on display in the new exhibition is a magnificent depiction by Marianna Lines, the American artist, of the Westford Knight, an engraved stone in Westford Massachusetts believed to mark the death of Sir James Gun during the expedition in 1398. This was over 90 years before Columbus discovered the New World.