Isabelle Law Selected as New Tobar an Dualchais & ATLAS Arts Artist in Residence

ATLAS Arts and Tobar an Dualchais are delighted to announce that Isabelle Law has been selected as the Tobar an Dualchais & ATLAS Arts Artist in Residence for 2026/27.

Now in its seventh year, the residency supports artists to spend time with the rich collections of Tobar an Dualchais, exploring Scotland’s oral history, songs, stories, traditions and voices. The residency offers an opportunity for an artist to connect with this archive and develop new work in response to the recordings and the histories they hold.

Isabelle Law is an artist from Kylerhea, Skye, whose practice is rooted in photography and an ongoing exploration of place, memory and connection. She is currently working with alternative photographic processes and sculpture, including cyanotype and maps, exploring ideas around absence and presence on Skye.

For Isabelle, the residency brings together many of the interests at the heart of her practice:

“I’m so excited to get started with this residency. It explores so many of my interests; Skye, history, culture to name a few, and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can bring together by blending my visual art with the recordings. I can’t wait to begin this.”

The team at ATLAS Arts and Tobar an Dualchais were particularly drawn to the way Isabelle’s work explores a strong sense of place while creating space to consider the depth of an image and the connections between people and place.

Katharine Macfarlane, Producer at ATLAS Arts, said:

“We were really excited about Isabelle’s use and knowledge of photography as a way to explore both the oral history collection as well as the visual documentation of tradition bearers. Tobar an Dualchais is such a rich source of archival recordings, stories, songs and voices, and we’re really excited to see where this residency leads Isabelle. We’re looking forward to hearing more as the project develops and seeing what new connections and possibilities emerge through her time with the archive.”

Floraidh Forrest, Director of Tobar an Dualchais, said:

“It is wonderful news that Isabelle has been selected as this year’s Artist in Residence. Isabelle is a talented emerging artist who I believe will greatly benefit from exploring the recordings hosted on our website. Many of these recordings align closely with her areas of interest and will provide a rich source of inspiration for her work.

The team at Tobar an Dualchais looks forward to supporting and guiding Isabelle throughout her residency and to seeing how she engages with and responds to the collection.”

Through the residency, Isabelle will spend time exploring the Tobar an Dualchais collections and considering how the recordings might connect with her visual practice and her relationship to Skye. The residency will create space for listening, research and experimentation with new work developing through this engagement with the archive.

ATLAS Arts and Tobar an Dualchais look forward to supporting Isabelle over the coming year and to sharing more about the project as it develops.

The residency is supported by Creative Scotland through its Gaelic Targeted Fund and includes a fee plus production and travel support.

Supported by Creative Scotland.