A mix of speech, music and song from Karine Polwart, introducing the plans for her 2025/26 writing residency with Fruitmarket.

Karine Polwart is a writer, musician, and storyteller whose work evokes a richness of place, hidden histories, scientific enquiry and folklore.

She has been selected as the recipient of the 2025/25 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship, for which Fruitmarket is the host organisation.

The Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship, supported by Creative Scotland, offers the opportunity for a mid-career writer to spend a year dedicated to producing their own new writing, with the support and inspiration of a host organisation.

Ticket details for Karine’s August 2025 show, Windblown, at Queen’s Hall, are here: https://www.thequeenshall.net/whats-on/karine-polwart-windblown 

Archive televised film of Dick Gaughan performing Now Westlin Winds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ7oYCx6tBw

Karine refers to Robbie Nichol in this podcast. Robbie is now Professor of Place-Based Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh. 

Fruitmarket is a free, public space for culture in the heart of Edinburgh, which provides inspiration and opportunity for artists and audiences.  We programme, develop and present world-class exhibitions, commissions, publications, performances, events and engagement activities, opening up the artistic process.

Creativity makes space for meaning, and we create a welcoming space for people to think with contemporary art and culture in ways that are helpful to them – for free. Further information at fruitmarket.co.uk. Follow us on Bluesky,  Facebook,  Instagram, TikTok.