The launch of the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry took place in the Prestonpans Community Centre, Scotland this Saturday 31st May.
It was attended by 200 invited guests many of whom wore national dress.
The invited guests included stitchers and representatives of the 25 nations, from all five continents which were depicted in the tapestry.
The opening speech was made by the Baron of Prestongrange who along with the Scottish government funded this project.
He began by singing the praises of Yvonne Murphy and Gillian Hart who have worked tirelessly on this project for over 2 years.
There were 164 panels on display with another 100 plus to be added when completed.
The Great Tapestry of Scotland is one of the most ambitious community arts projects in the world. The project, developed by esteemed Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith, artist Andrew Crummy and historical writer Alistair Moffat bring together hundreds of volunteer stitchers from across Scotland to create a record-breaking 143 metre long embroidered tapestry, beautifully illustrating the history of Scotland, from a land locked in ice and carved by glaciers, to the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, the panels depict Scotland’s fascinating history, science, culture, industry and politics over the centuries.
We had a seven course tapas style buffet, which included foods from all 5 continents.
The evening was a great success and foot fall had been heavy since 10am that morning.
The exhibition will run until next Saturday when it will then begin it’s tour of Scotland for the remainder of the homecoming year.
Included is a picture of Margaret Bellany (John’s sister) standing next to the panel of John she stitched.
She will be in Barga in July looking for premises to exhibit as much of the tapestry as she can.
Article by the barganews Scottish correspondent Carlo Umberto Zambonini
All the articles about the Tapestry can be seen here