Cairngorms 2030 Artist in Residence
The Cairngorms National Park Authority, in partnership with Bothy Project, are pleased to announce Robyn Woolston as the recipient of this year's Cairngorms 2030 artistic residency. During the Spring of 2026, Robyn will undertake a residency at Glenesk Folk Museum after being selected from an open call for artistic practitioners based in the Cairngorms National Park.
Applicants were asked to develop a work that responded to Dùthchas, a Gaelic concept which encompasses ideas of kinship, heritage and connections between nature, people and place. Robyn intends to explore how Dùthchas manifests within a changing landscape, shaped by the dual pressures of hotter, drier, summers and episodes of more intense rainfall. She’ll engage with the museum’s archive and undertake fieldwork to explore Glen Esk’s climate and biodiversity, uncovering hidden histories, soundscapes and community reflections.
She will also receive training in Gaelic language and heritage as part of the project's commitment to the concept of Dùthchas.
‘Cairngorms 2030 is an ambitious programme that will see the Cairngorms become the UK’s first net zero national park, turning all the talk about tackling climate change into positive action on the ground. Made up of 20 long-term and impactful projects, Cairngorms 2030 is on a bigger scale than anything previously attempted in the UK. With over 80 partners involved, and more than £42 million of funding, we’re focussed on delivering the transformational changes necessary to deliver on our collective climate and nature responsibilities. Cairngorms 2030 seeks to provide both inspiration that change is possible, and models that rural and urban communities can learn from.’
https://cairngorms.co.uk/what-we-do/cairngorms-2030
This residency programme was made possible through Cairngorms 2030, a Cairngorms National Park Authority programme supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players.
At 4,528 sq km Cairngorms National Park is the largest national park in the UK. Established by Scottish Parliament in Sep 2003, it is home to 25% of the UK's rare and endangered species.
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Glenesk Folk Museum is a museum located in the Glen Esk valley, in Tarfside, Angus, Scotland. It is about 9 miles (14 km) north of the village of Edzell. It is housed in a former shooting lodge, known as 'The Retreat', which used to belong to the Earls of Dalhousie. The museum contains artefacts and documents related to the history of the surrounding area.
History: The Museum was established in 1955 by Greta Michie, a local schoolteacher who was inspired by folk museums in Scandinavia. The building used for the museum, known as 'the Retreat', had been constructed as a retirement cottage in the 1840s by Captain J.E. Wemyss. It was later expanded and used as a shooting lodge, and later a summer house by the Earls of Dalhousie, before falling into disuse. Lord and Lady Dalhousie assisted with the establishment of the museum on this site.
The museum was refurbished and expanded in 2007.
https://www.gleneskfolkmuseum.org
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Bothy Project: Initially imagined by Bobby Niven, a young artist and Iain MacLeod, a young architect in 2011, Bothy Project was set up to give artists the chance to live and work within the Scottish landscape.
The first bothy at Inshriach, sat on the banks of the River Spey in the Cairngorms National Park. Sweeney’s Bothy, located on the Isle of Eigg, was created as part of Creative Scotland’s Year of Natural Scotland 2013 and Pig Rock Bothy was commissioned in 2014 by the National Galleries of Scotland, inspired by the landscape of Assynt.
Since 2011 we have worked with more than 400 practitioners, giving them access to unique landscapes and the experience of living off-grid, as well as space and time to connect with their practice. This has been via our Creative Practitioner, Self-Directed and Partnership Residency strands.
Since 2020 we have been knitting-in those that live locally to our bothies by inviting them to be participants in our Neighbourhood Residency strand. And since 2023 we have been developing Fieldwork Residencies which unite local needs and ambitions with the work of thinkers, researchers, academics and other experts.
Our Public Programme, launched in 2022, is the key way to share, optimise and expand the public benefit of our work. We use the format of talks, podcasts and posters.
In 2017 Bothy Project was awarded charity status and established its trading arm Bothy Stores. Between 2017-2025, Bothy Stores successfully built and installed nineteen bothies in a range of hospitality and domestic settings across the UK. Through this work, Bothy Stores was able to donate profit to Bothy Project, providing an innovative and autonomous funding model that helped Bothy Project realise its mission to provide creative residencies. Bothy Stores closed September 2025.
In 2025 Bothy Project became a Creative Scotland Multi-Year Funded organisation.
