Conversations with artist Katie Russell and nautical archaeologist and historian Dr. Innes J. McCartney go live in October

The Scottish Maritime Museum has launched a mini series of ‘in conversation’ online events to mark the closing month of the current Woven Waves: The Jutland Tapestries exhibition by award-winning tapestry artist Katie Russell.

The interviews with Katie Russell and nautical archaeologist and historian Dr. Innes McCartney, who has surveyed shipwrecks from the Battle of Jutland since 2000, will launch online on the Scottish Maritime Museum’s YouTube channel throughout October.

Nicola Scott, Exhibitions and Events Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, explains:

We’re excited to launch our first online events series around Katie’s stunning and moving Woven Waves: The Jutland Tapestries exhibition.

“Due to Covid-19, we cancelled our original Woven Wave events programme but we’re sure that these wide ranging online conversations with Katie and Dr. McCartney will be a great way for everyone to enjoy and engage with the exhibition and subject, the Battle of Jutland, and at their own leisure.

“With the Museum now open, with safety measures in place, we hope viewers will be drawn to visit the exhibition itself before it closes on Sunday 1 November.”

 The Conversations

The Battle of Jutland Shipwrecks: Interview with Nautical Archaeologist Dr. Innes McCartney

Live on the Scottish Maritime Museum’s YouTube Channel from 12noon on Thursday 8 October.

British nautical archaeologist and historian Dr. Innes McCartney will describe how he collaborated with Gert Normann Andersen, owner of subsea services specialist JD Contractor A/S and Director of the Sea War Museum Jutland, to find out what happened to the ships and submarines sunk during one of the world’s largest naval conflicts, the Battle of Jutland.

In conversation with our Exhibitions and Events Officer Nicola Scott, Dr. McCartney, who has been diving over Battle of Jutland wrecks since 2000, will reveal how he used official accounts of British and German servicemen to identify the whereabouts of the vessels before using state of the art 3D multibeam scans to access the wrecks on the seabed.

These scans, which inspired some of the tapestries in Katie Russell’s exhibition, have helped improve our understanding of what happened to 22 of the 25 vessels shipwrecked after the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet clashed off the west coast of Denmark on 31 May 1916.

The Ins and Outs of Tapestry Weaving: interview with Artist Katie Russell 

Live on the Scottish Maritime Museum’s YouTube Channel from 12noon on Thursday 15 October.

Katie Russell will describe the enduring craft of tapestry, from its beginnings centuries ago up to weaving in modern Scotland.

In conversation with our Exhibition and Events Officer Nicola Scott, Katie will also discuss and demonstrate some of the techniques she used to produce her tapestry weavings for her Woven Waves exhibition.

 Weaving War and Waves: Interview with Artist Katie Russell 

Live on the Scottish Maritime Museum’s YouTube Channel from 12noon on Thursday 22 October.

Katie’s work draws heavily on imagery of the sea. In this the third interview in our Woven Waves online events mini-series, Katie will explain why she was drawn to the Battle of Jutland as a subject.

She will describe how she set about researching the Battle beginning with a visit to the Sea War Museum Jutland and Memorial Park designed by Danish artist Paul M. Cederdorff. She will also touch on her visit to meet traditional weavers in Germany and why she incorporated scientific surveys of the shipwrecks in her Woven Waves tapestries.

The Scottish Maritime Museum YouTube Channel also features Harbour Stories, a collection of short videos with people living across the Irvine and Garnock Valley area who recall memories of life around local shipbuilding and maritime industries last century.

Woven Waves: The Jutland Tapestries by Katie Russell is on show at the Scottish Maritime Museum on Irvine Harbourside until Sunday 1 November. The exhibition will then go on show at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Dumbarton from 5 December to 6 April 2021.

 The exhibition is included in Admission and up to three children go FREE with each Adult/Concession.

 The Scottish Maritime Museum is open daily, 10am – 5pm. Advance booking now required. For tickets and exhibition news, visit www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org

Photo credit: Harrison Reid Photography