Name: The Cree Fiddlers of James Bay Exhibition
Start: 2025-04-06T15:00:00+01:00
Location: Skye Bridge Studios

The Cree Fiddlers of James Bay Exhibition

For anyone in the vicinity of Kyle of Lochalsh, do come and join Frances Wilkins at Skye Bridge Studios for an opening reception of her photographic exhibition, 'The Cree Fiddlers of James Bay' at 3:00pm on Sunday 6th April.
Details below:
The Cree Fiddlers of James Bay: Musical Traditions from The Days of The Fur Trade
6th April - 5th September 2025
A Photographic Exhibition by Dr Frances Wilkins
Skye Bridge Studios, Main Street, Kyle of Lochalsh
Opening reception: 3:00pm, Sunday 6th April.
An exhibition of photographs, music and videography by ethnomusicologist Frances Wilkins. The photographs were taken in 2011, during the first of several research visits to the James Bay region of Northern Canada where she met with musicians and dancers, exploring the fiddle and dance traditions of the region and their shared histories with Scotland via the fur trade.
James Bay is directly south of Hudson Bay in the sub-arctic part of Canada, and the area retains strong historical connections to Scotland from the days of the fur trade. The cultural exchanges that took place left a lasting impression on the Cree (Eeyou) population, and one way this can be seen is through the fiddle music and dance traditions that were adopted and are still practiced by the Eeyou today. The aim of this exhibition is to explore the everyday lives of Eeyou people living in the region and highlight the cultural and historic significance of their fiddle music and dancing. The exhibition is made possible through funding by the University of Aberdeen and the Friends of the Elphinstone Institute.
Frances Wilkins is a senior lecturer in ethnomusicology at the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen. She is also a professional musician, performing Scottish traditional music on English concertina. As a researcher, she specialises in Scottish and Northern Canadian singing and instrumental traditions and has worked on research projects in Scotland, Canada and Germany.