Connecting Threads

Connecting Threads is the cultural strand of Destination Tweed, an ambitious project led by Tweed Forum and supported by The Southern Uplands Partnership, to conserve, celebrate and promote the river Tweed from beyond the source to the sea. Since November 2020 the Connecting Threads team have been working with local communities and cultural, environmental and educational organisations to devise a 5-year cultural programme for the Tweed, shaped by its habitats and heritage. Bringing different knowledges and creative practices together, the project aims to support a culture of stewardship and collaboration.

After 16 months of intense research and consultation, and a lively programme of pilot activities, the Connecting Threads development phase is coming to an end. This work has shown the team the benefits that arts and culture can bring to rural communities and how they can work creatively to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies. Using the river Tweed as a universal connector, the project can reach people who need support; to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, to nurture personal health and wellbeing, or to combat social or geographic isolation and loneliness. Connecting Threads is a project that will support the creative sector in the south of Scotland, creating opportunities for employment and professional development, and connecting creative people with the communities that they live and work within.

Images: – Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) study III and Grasses in the Meadow, bleaching. 2021, Jules Bradbury, produced as part of Connecting Threads’ pilot artist residency at Merlindale Meadow.

A major funding application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund has now been submitted for Destination Tweed, including Connecting Threads. Thanks to additional support from the Southern Uplands Partnership, River Tweed Cultural Curator, Rachel Hunter, and River Culture Animateur, Emily Cropton, will be continuing to work through the spring and summer until the outcome of the application is announced. If successful, they look forward to growing the team and germinating the project along the Tweed from late summer 2022.

The Connecting Threads Handbook, produced during the project’s development phase, acts as both a manifesto and a guide, stating the project’s approach and illustrating the elements of the proposed programme. You can download a copy of the handbook here.