The special exhibition Document Scotland: Reflections on a Changing Country will take place as part of the 18th European Cultural Days in 2022. The show focuses on the culture and heritage of Scotland as seen through the photographs of the “Document Scotland” collective, offering a visual impression of the diversity of Scottish society. 

The Document Scotland collective is made up of the Scottish photographers Sophie Gerrard, Stephen McLaren, Colin McPherson and Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, who will be showing their work in Germany for the first time. In their works, they examine themes of belonging and history, and the diversity of community life across the country. Their pictures capture the lives of farmers, reveal traces of Scotland’s involvement in the Transatlantic slave trade, document the traditions of the inhabitants of the island of Easdale, as well as the protest culture of Glasgow. In doing so, these photographers pose questions about individual and collective identity that are more relevant today than ever before. Without taking a stance, they respond to recent political developments and find out what connects the people living in Scotland.

18th European Cultural Days: Events Programme

The 18th European Cultural Days explore Scottish traditions and current issues in Scotland, a country that combines tradition and progress like no other in Europe. These two poles of Scottish identity are explored in a diverse range of event formats: with workshops on “galoshins”, the oldest and still most widespread form of folk theatre in Scotland; courses on new methods of producing traditional textiles such as tartan and wool; and modern performances of the traditional “ceilidh” dance.

Part of the United Kingdom since as far back as 1707, in recent decades, a strong independence movement has emerged in Scotland. Despite the country narrowly voting to remain in the Union in the 2014 referendum, discussion about the possibility of an independent Scotland continues unabated. In general, Scotland is a country that is heavily shaped by its eventful political history. This will also be addressed in the programme, for example in a conversation about poverty in Scotland with the writer and rapper Darren McGarvey, and a panel discussion about Scottish identity in Europe. 

This year’s European Cultural Days are being organised by the Museum Europäischer Kulturen in collaboration with the Scottish Government Office in Germany, and with the support of Alastair Mackie, a PhD candidate at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

A special exhibition by the Museum Europäischer Kulturen, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin