
New community exhibition at Irvine's Scottish Maritime Museum calls out fast fashion for World Ocean Day
Museum is bringing together charities, community organisations and small businesses that are already working locally to help protect the environment and reduce the impact on the planet
A thought-provoking intergenerational community exhibition challenging everyone to help look after our planet opens at the Scottish Maritime Museum on Irvine Harbourside on Saturday, June 7.
The 'Trashion' exhibition, which also celebrates World Ocean Day on Sunday, June 8, has been curated by a group from Irvine Seniors Forum and Discovery Group and Irvine Youth Legacy Centre with the support of the museum team.
The exhibition, which centres on 'fashion art' pieces created using rubbish, explores the marine pollution emergency caused by industry, fast fashion and our own personal choices and invites everyone to think about the small changes we can all make in response.
'Trashion' has been made possible by the additional support of environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful and their Our Heritage, Our Future programme.
The exhibition opening also takes place as part of the Museum's 'Dive In Day', a wider day of free activities promoting World Ocean Day, and alongside the opening of the Museum's new Summer exhibition, 'Beneath the Waves'.
Jennifer Pless, Community Engagement and Development Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: "It has been hugely rewarding to work with members of Irvine Seniors Forum and Discovery Group and Irvine Youth Legacy Centre on our latest community-led exhibition.
"The group has made a hard-hitting but encouraging and personal statement with 'Trashion'.
"Together, they took ideas and themes from the museum's maritime heritage and arts collections and added their own thoughts on climate change to create outfits that tell a story about our impact on the environment and their hope to make a difference in everyone's daily actions."
Katie O'Donnell, Communities Manager at Keep Scotland Beautiful, added: "We know that clothing is the most environmentally damaging type of household waste and our Upstream Battle campaign has highlighted the damage caused to our precious blue spaces by our consumption habits.
"We were delighted to bring our knowledge together through Our Heritage, Our Future to support the members of Irvine Seniors Forum and Discovery Group and Irvine Youth Legacy Centre to realise their vision of creating an exhibition to draw attention to the urgency of climate change, particularly in this vulnerable coastal area."
Our Heritage, Our Future is working with communities across Scotland to explore, record and protect their heritage, and to take action locally on the impacts of climate change.
Keep Scotland Beautiful worked alongside the Scottish Maritime Museum during the project to support skills development by delivering an accredited qualification in building exhibitions.
The 'Dive In Day' takes place on Saturday, June 7 from 11am until 4pm. Highlights include a sustainability fair, a pop-up repair shop and short, guided cycle tours led by Active Travel as well as free entry to the museum and the two new exhibitions, 'Beneath the Waves' and 'Trashion'.
The free Dive-in Sustainability Fair will showcase local and regional organisations, charities and small businesses advocating for the environment or using business practices that actively reduce their impact on the planet. Participants include Keep Scotland Beautiful, RSPB, Ayrshire Coastal Path and Irvine Clean Up Crew.
The Active Travel Hub will also be on hand offering short, guided cycle tours and balance bike sessions.
Visitors will also be able to bring along clothing and small electrical items to a pop-up repair shop.
The Scottish Maritime Museum has also joined the global 'Agency for World Change' initiative, a global museums initiative which invites everyone to think about the small actions they can take to protect our oceans and the planet.
During the day, and over the Summer months, visitors will be able to add their personal sustainability pledges to an 'Agency for World Change Agreement', describing how they aim to make small changes in their everyday life to live more ecologically.
'Beneath the Waves' explores the extraordinary world beneath the ocean's surface with award-winning underwater photography, exquisite marine sketches and rare Glasgow Pottery recovered from a shipwreck off Arran last year.
The exhibition has been curated in collaboration with renowned underwater photographer, marine conservationist and writer Lawson Wood; diver and maritime explorer Graeme Bruce; and Ayrshire underwater artist and writer Christina Riley.
Entry to 'Trashion', which runs until August 3, is included in museum admission.
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Daily Record
16 hours ago
- Daily Record
New community exhibition at Irvine's Scottish Maritime Museum calls out fast fashion for World Ocean Day
Museum is bringing together charities, community organisations and small businesses that are already working locally to help protect the environment and reduce the impact on the planet A thought-provoking intergenerational community exhibition challenging everyone to help look after our planet opens at the Scottish Maritime Museum on Irvine Harbourside on Saturday, June 7. The 'Trashion' exhibition, which also celebrates World Ocean Day on Sunday, June 8, has been curated by a group from Irvine Seniors Forum and Discovery Group and Irvine Youth Legacy Centre with the support of the museum team. The exhibition, which centres on 'fashion art' pieces created using rubbish, explores the marine pollution emergency caused by industry, fast fashion and our own personal choices and invites everyone to think about the small changes we can all make in response. 'Trashion' has been made possible by the additional support of environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful and their Our Heritage, Our Future programme. The exhibition opening also takes place as part of the Museum's 'Dive In Day', a wider day of free activities promoting World Ocean Day, and alongside the opening of the Museum's new Summer exhibition, 'Beneath the Waves'. Jennifer Pless, Community Engagement and Development Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: "It has been hugely rewarding to work with members of Irvine Seniors Forum and Discovery Group and Irvine Youth Legacy Centre on our latest community-led exhibition. "The group has made a hard-hitting but encouraging and personal statement with 'Trashion'. "Together, they took ideas and themes from the museum's maritime heritage and arts collections and added their own thoughts on climate change to create outfits that tell a story about our impact on the environment and their hope to make a difference in everyone's daily actions." Katie O'Donnell, Communities Manager at Keep Scotland Beautiful, added: "We know that clothing is the most environmentally damaging type of household waste and our Upstream Battle campaign has highlighted the damage caused to our precious blue spaces by our consumption habits. "We were delighted to bring our knowledge together through Our Heritage, Our Future to support the members of Irvine Seniors Forum and Discovery Group and Irvine Youth Legacy Centre to realise their vision of creating an exhibition to draw attention to the urgency of climate change, particularly in this vulnerable coastal area." Our Heritage, Our Future is working with communities across Scotland to explore, record and protect their heritage, and to take action locally on the impacts of climate change. Keep Scotland Beautiful worked alongside the Scottish Maritime Museum during the project to support skills development by delivering an accredited qualification in building exhibitions. The 'Dive In Day' takes place on Saturday, June 7 from 11am until 4pm. Highlights include a sustainability fair, a pop-up repair shop and short, guided cycle tours led by Active Travel as well as free entry to the museum and the two new exhibitions, 'Beneath the Waves' and 'Trashion'. The free Dive-in Sustainability Fair will showcase local and regional organisations, charities and small businesses advocating for the environment or using business practices that actively reduce their impact on the planet. Participants include Keep Scotland Beautiful, RSPB, Ayrshire Coastal Path and Irvine Clean Up Crew. The Active Travel Hub will also be on hand offering short, guided cycle tours and balance bike sessions. Visitors will also be able to bring along clothing and small electrical items to a pop-up repair shop. The Scottish Maritime Museum has also joined the global 'Agency for World Change' initiative, a global museums initiative which invites everyone to think about the small actions they can take to protect our oceans and the planet. During the day, and over the Summer months, visitors will be able to add their personal sustainability pledges to an 'Agency for World Change Agreement', describing how they aim to make small changes in their everyday life to live more ecologically. 'Beneath the Waves' explores the extraordinary world beneath the ocean's surface with award-winning underwater photography, exquisite marine sketches and rare Glasgow Pottery recovered from a shipwreck off Arran last year. The exhibition has been curated in collaboration with renowned underwater photographer, marine conservationist and writer Lawson Wood; diver and maritime explorer Graeme Bruce; and Ayrshire underwater artist and writer Christina Riley. Entry to 'Trashion', which runs until August 3, is included in museum admission.


Daily Record
17 hours ago
- Daily Record
Items recovered from 1859 tragic Ayrshire shipwreck to go on display at museum
The SS Eagle is seen as an unprecedented example of an almost intact cargo of 19th century Glaswegian ceramics. A collection of rare 19th century ceramics recovered from the wreck of the 1857 iron steamship SS Eagle off Lamlash Bay, Arran, last year, will go on display for the first time in the Scottish Maritime Museum's Summer exhibition which opens tomorrow. The 'Beneath the Waves' exhibition, which goes on show in the museum's Linthouse building on Irvine Harbourside, brings together the historic ceramic collection, award-winning underwater photography and an artist's detailed marine sketches to celebrate the extraordinary world beneath the ocean's surface. The SS Eagle launched from the Dumbarton yard of Alexander Denny in July 1857. The 324 tonne steamer was acquired by the McConnel and Laird Line of Glasgow in June 1859 for service as a passenger and cargo vessel. Just five months later, on November 28, 1859, SS Eagle sank after colliding with a sailing boat, the Pladda, whilst en route from Glasgow to Londonderry with a general cargo, two hundred sheep and fifty four passengers. Eleven lives were lost. The SS Eagle ceramics, which were discovered by Oban-based diver and maritime explorer Graeme Bruce and team in July 2024, were made by Glasgow-based Bell's Pottery. Bell's Pottery was established by brothers John and Matthew Perston Bell in late 1840 or 1841. The site at the corner of Stafford Street and Pulteney Street was close to the Forth & Clyde Canal which was used to transport goods and raw materials. According to the Scottish Pottery Society, Bell's Pottery export wares have been found as far afield as South America, the Far East, Australia and Canada. The last piece of Bell's Pottery was probably made around 1912. In the 19th century, Glasgow was a major centre for the production of ceramics and rivalled the Staffordshire potteries. Bell's Pottery itself is recognised as arguably the most internationally significant producer of ceramic wares in Scotland at the time. The lack of surviving pottery from Glasgow's industrial ceramics period, which spanned three centuries from 1748 to the mid 1980's, makes the SS Eagle's ceramic tableware nationally significant. The SS Eagle collection features ceramics destined for trade and exhibition in Londonderry, Northern Island, and artefacts from the ship's galley. Exhibits include seven plates and a bowl, a teapot lid and two bottles which still hold 'sparkling water' in addition to a decanter and bell. Complementing the SS Eagle ceramics, 'Beneath the Waves' also features cups and plates from the Scottish Maritime Museum's own national maritime heritage collection as well as four vessels dating back to the Roman Empire on loan from North Ayrshire Heritage Centre. Eva Bukowska, Exhibitions and Events Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: "We are really excited to host the first showing of these fascinating ceramics recovered from SS Eagle. The vessel also has a significance for the Museum as it was built by Alexander Denny, who was the brother of William Denny, whose test tank is now home to our second collection in Dumbarton." Graeme Bruce added: "Diving has been my great passion for 35 years. For me, a shipwreck is a 'time capsule' hidden from view over time by the sea. The privilege of being able to explore and connect with the past is beyond description. Enabling the artefacts from shipwrecks like this Bell's Pottery collection to then have a new life on show for everyone to learn from and appreciate is so important. Connecting people with a heritage like this means everything to me and those I dive with." 'Beneath the Waves' exhibition has been curated in collaboration with renowned underwater photographer, marine conservationist and writer Lawson Wood; diver, maritime explorer and retired engineer Graeme Bruce; and Ayrshire underwater artist and writer Christina Riley. In the exhibition, Lawson Wood, who enjoyed his first scuba dive aged 11 years, draws on 60 years of underwater photography. His images reveal the captivating world of marine life and range from colourful tropical fish and seals to corals and anemones. Christina Riley's work focuses on the small details of complex and beautiful marine ecosystems. The exhibition features a selection of photographs and pencil drawings created during her time as a snorkelling-artist-in-residence at the Argyll Hope Spot. Part of the global Mission Blue initiative led by the renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, the Hope Spots project highlights areas critical to the health of the ocean. Other Hope Spots include the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Visitors can also learn more about freediving and how this ancient practice has advanced our understanding of marine archaeology and conservation. 'Beneath the Waves' runs from Saturday, June 7 to Saturday, September 13. Admission to 'Beneath the Waves' is included in Museum admission. The museum is open daily from 10am until 5pm. Up to three children go FREE with each Adult/Concession ticket.

The National
2 days ago
- The National
19th century ceramics recovered from shipwreck to go on display
The SS Eagle sank off the Isle of Arran on November 28, 1859, after colliding with a sailing boat, with the loss of 11 lives. The ship was sailing from Glasgow to Londonderry with a general cargo, 200 sheep and 54 passengers when the collision happened. The ceramics, discovered by Oban-based diver and maritime explorer Graeme Bruce and team in July 2024, were made by Glasgow-based Bell's Pottery. READ MORE: American investors buy UK's oldest ice hockey team based in Scotland During the 19th century, Glasgow was a major centre for the production of ceramics, and the items from SS Eagle will form part of the Scottish Maritime Museum's summer exhibition from Saturday. Bruce (below) said: 'Diving has been my great passion for 35 years. For me, a shipwreck is a time capsule hidden from view over time by the sea. (Image: Graeme Bruce) 'The privilege of being able to explore and connect with the past is beyond description. 'Enabling the artefacts from shipwrecks like this Bell's Pottery collection to then have a new life on show for everyone to learn from and appreciate is so important. 'Connecting people with a heritage like this means everything to me and those I dive with.' The Beneath The Waves exhibition at the museum in Irvine, North Ayrshire, brings together the ceramics, award-winning photography and an artist's marine sketches. Bell's Pottery is recognised as arguably the most internationally significant producer of ceramic wares in Scotland at the time. The haul from the SS Eagle is almost intact, which museum bosses say is unprecedented. Experts said this, coupled with the lack of surviving pottery from Glasgow's industrial ceramics period, which spanned three centuries from 1748 to the mid-1980s, makes the SS Eagle's ceramic tableware nationally significant. (Image: Scottish Maritime Museum in North Ayrshire) The SS Eagle collection features ceramics destined for trade and exhibition in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and artefacts from the ship's galley. Exhibits include seven plates and a bowl, a teapot lid, two bottles, a decanter and bell. Complementing the SS Eagle ceramics, Beneath The Waves also features cups and plates from the Scottish Maritime Museum's own national maritime heritage collection, as well as four vessels dating back to the Roman Empire on loan from North Ayrshire Heritage Centre. The SS Eagle launched from the Dumbarton yard of Alexander Denny in July 1857. The 324-tonne steamer was acquired by the McConnel and Laird Line of Glasgow in June 1859 for service as a passenger and cargo vessel. (Image: Scottish Maritime Museum in North Ayrshire) Eva Bukowska, exhibitions and events officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: 'We are really excited to host the first showing of these fascinating ceramics recovered from SS Eagle. 'The vessel also has a significance for the museum as it was built by Alexander Denny, who was the brother of William Denny, whose test tank is now home to our second collection in Dumbarton.'