Thursday Evening
Steps Theatre
23 November 2023: 7.30pm
Tickets are now available online, from some shops or by post. See our Ticket page.
Tickets £10
PAULA WILLIAMS “YOU ARE HERE” – A JOURNEY THROUGH MAPS
Paula is curator of, Maps, Mountaineering & Polar Collections at the National Library of Scotland. In this role she been instrumental in several major mountaineering and polar exhibitions being presented at the library, including the popular “You are here” – a journey through maps, which will form the basis of her presentation this evening. As a geography student at the University of Aberdeen her studies included surveying glaciated valleys in the Grampians, with the many weekends spent among the mountains leading to an abiding love of high places.
Following on from a degree in physical geography from University of Aberdeen, involving surveying glaciated valleys in the Grampians, Paula’s first professional job was as Community Librarian at Aboyne on Deeside, living on the very road that Nan Shepherd would have used to access her beloved Cairngorms.
Paula’s career developed at the Bodleian Library as a antiquarian map curator before moving to her current role of Map, Mountaineering & Polar Curator at the National Library of Scotland. She curated the popular You are Here map exhibition and collaborated with The Royal Geographical Society to bring the Enduring Eye: the Antarctic legacy of Sir Ernest Shackleton & Frank Hurley to the Library. Most recently she curated Petticoats & Pinnacles: Scotland’s pioneering mountain women.
KATE FERRIER “HEAD FOR THE HILLS” – WALKING WITH SIR WALTER SCOTT
Kate is a postgraduate student working in the field of Scottish Romantic-period literature. Growing up at the foot of the Cairngorm National Park and studying in Aberdeen, she combines her research with a love of the outdoors, spending many of her weekends hill-walking, cycling, camping and swimming. As such, she found the words of the early 19th century author, Walter Scott, and the explorations of the connection between people and the outdoors in his writings, transformative, poignant and wholly relevant to her own life and outlook. Inspired by this, Kate’s project ‘Head for the Hills’ was launched as part of the celebrations for Scott’s 250th birthday and is the focus of her talk at the festival.