Kirkcaldy Galleries hosts contemporary art and craft from 13 artists based in Scotland

The critically acclaimed Crafted Selves: The Unfinished Conversation exhibition will then open on 23 March at Kirkcaldy Galleries and runs until 12 May with a programme of associated events to be announced and plans for further touring later in the year.

Cat Dunn, curator of the exhibition, has worked with artists including Barbadian-Scottish visual artist Alberta Whittle who recently represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale, Zimbabwean-Scottish artist Sekai Machache who will represent Zimbabwe at the 2024 Venice Biennale, Chinese-Scottish ceramicist Viv Lee, Chinese-Scottish installation artist Rae-Yen Song and Iranian-Scottish visual artist Sara Pakdel-Cherry.

The exhibition’s title comes from discourse between Cat and the creators, as they discuss what does it mean to have a dual identity, and how is this sense of self reflected in work being made by Scottish craft artists today?

Cat said: "Having dual identity can be used to celebrate social identity, or it can be used as a platform to express and teach others what life can be like from another perspective."

"For everyone who has embraced the term dual-identity, we do so with pride as we prefer to embrace the term than have it used against us. Each artist becomes stronger. The artworks become more dynamic. There is true joy within the artworks, along with sorrow and pain. So, the works must have all of these elements to speak.”

As Scotland looks outwards, Cat said art will continue to be at the centre of discussions around identity.

Cat added: “Scotland is undergoing a cultural shift as it repositions itself in the wider world, with Scottish art at the centre of the current discourse about Scottish social identity. Art and craft can express aspirations, values, and national character."

The exhibition has been organised in conjunction with Fife Contemporary. Kate Grenyer, director, called the exhibition “a thoughtful, personally reflexive, and powerful voice to the creation of this exhibition”.

She continued: “It speaks to the deeply personal resonance that crafted work can have, as a carrier of wider cultural identities, and as a way to intercept these through personal expression. The audio recordings featured in the exhibition will have a particular resonance with many visitors as the artists share their own experiences.”