A powerful new photography exhibition celebrating 45 years of Strathcarron Hospice offers a unique insight into the people, compassion and communities at the heart of hospice care.
Strathcarron Stories is the first exhibition of its kind in the Hospice’s history, bringing together two Scottish photographers to explore what Strathcarron means to the thousands of people whose lives have been touched by its care over the past 45 years.
Looking back at the people, moments and communities that have shaped the Hospice since it opened in 1981, the exhibition will also look forward, inviting people to reflect on the future of hospice care and the role local communities will continue to play in supporting it.
Award-winning photographer Margaret Mitchell and Charles McGuigan were each commissioned to make new bodies of work, reflecting on both the Hospice and the community around it.
Margaret Mitchell’s series, Of Stillness and Care, is made within the Hospice, where she reflects on the people and the objects through which care is shown and practised. Informed by her time speaking with staff, volunteers and patients, her images consider the compassion and humanity found in the Hospice every day.
Charles McGuigan’s collection, More Than a Building, looks beyond the Hospice walls to the communities across Forth Valley, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, where more than 80% of Strathcarron’s specialist care now takes place. His photographs will celebrate the people, places and connections that demonstrate hospice care reaches far beyond the Hospice building.
With thanks to The Robertson Trust for their generous support, the exhibition will premiere at The Tolbooth Gallery, Stirling, from 13 November to 23 December.
Visitors to the Tolbooth exhibition will also be able to experience video interviews made by Strathcarron over the years featuring staff, volunteers, patients and families sharing their own Strathcarron Stories, shown alongside the new photography.
INSIGHT INTO THE PROJECT
As part of Stirling Photography Festival, a talk will take place at The Barracks Conference Centre on 27 August. Margaret Mitchell and Charles McGuigan will be joined by Strathcarron Hospice staff to discuss the work and offer creative insight into their projects. A small preview selection of photographs from the forthcoming Tolbooth exhibition will be there on display from 14 August to 25 September.
A selected preview of the work will also be on display in Forth Valley Royal Hospital Atrium from 2-7 October.
Mags McCarthy, Chief Executive of Strathcarron Hospice, said: “When asked what makes Strathcarron ‘special’,
We look forward to taking the artworks into local communities to help spark conversations about Hospice care and help people learn more about what hospice services are available to them, with a hope to be here for the communities we serve for a further 45 years, enabling people to live and die well, making every moment count”.
Margaret Mitchell, said: “Of Stillness and Care is a series made during Strathcarron Hospice’s 45th anniversary. For my work, I am concentrating my time within the hospice’s grounds. There, I am observing not just a working environment but the very concept and practice of care.
My time has been filled with listening, observing and reflecting. I have witnessed the kindnesses of many, and care shown in multiple ways.”
“Photographing within Strathcarron’s walls has been an emotional and reflective journey. What I found was a place of compassion, a place that holds people close through a community of care. I am grateful for the many conversations with staff, volunteers and patients that have deepened my appreciation of both person and place, of the personal motivations and the humanity of those whose daily experience lies within its walls.
I hope the work I’m creating can honour all who pass through the hospice’s doors.”
“It is a privilege to meet, to chat, to photograph, and to hopefully make an unknown place a little bit more known.”
Charles McGuigan, said: “When I began this project, I wanted to understand what Strathcarron Hospice meant to people beyond the walls of the hospice itself.
As a photographer, I was honoured to be part of this project. I quickly realised that this wasn’t simply a story about a hospice, it was a story about people, kindness and the connections that bring a community together. I hope my photographs encourage people to pause, look a little closer, and recognise that Strathcarron Hospice is so much more than a building.
“Some of the most powerful moments weren’t planned; they were found in the quiet connections between people.”
Strathcarron Hospice opened in 1981 with capacity for 12 patients. Forty-five years later, the Hospice has a 24 bed inpatient ward and supports more than 1400 people per year on average, with 80 percent of the vital specialist care taking place out-with the Hospice building in local communities.
Fiona Jamieson, of the Robertson Trust said: “At The Robertson Trust, we are proud to support initiatives that celebrate the compassion and resilience of our communities. It’s a privilege to host this talk and small preview of the workat The Barracks, marking Strathcarron Hospice’s 45th anniversary, and featuring the work of local photographer Charles McGuigan alongside renowned photographer Margaret Mitchell.
“Their images convey not only moments in time but also the humanity, dignity and connections that lie at the heart of hospice care. We hope visitors will be moved to reflect on the extraordinary contribution Strathcarron Hospice makes, and join us in celebrating the people whose dedication has shaped its remarkable story over the past 45 years.”
Janie Meikle Bland, founder of the Stirling Photography Festival, said: “Our festival celebrates community, storytelling, and connection through photography, so we are delighted to mark Strathcarron’s anniversary by showcasing a preview of work of two exceptional photographers. Charles, a festival volunteer, captures the wider Strathcarron community, while Margaret, a longstanding supporter of the festival, offers a thoughtful reflection on the ecology of care within the hospice in her project, Of Stillness and Care”.
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