FOR generations, it served as a place where people gathered to reflect on life’s most profound questions.
Now the island of Eigg’s former parish church is entering a new phase of life under community ownership as a place for culture, learning and exchange.
This week it will celebrate its new beginning with a powerful exhibition by Glasgow-based Pakistani artist Sana Obaid.
Founding trustee, Camille Dressler, said the show felt particularly appropriate for the former St Columba’s Church which is now known as the Solas Eige Centre.
“Although its function is changing, it will continue to offer a space where people can come together, share experiences and consider their place in a wider world,” she said.
The support of the George MacLeod Trust in bringing the exhibition to the island was particularly significant, she added.
The founder of the Iona Commmunity, MacLeod believed communities should not turn away from the challenges of their time but engage with them thoughtfully and compassionately.
“His belief that buildings should serve both community life and the pursuit of social justice resonates strongly with what Solas Eige hopes to achieve,” said Dressler.
She said that the centre’s first exhibition, From the Heart of a Mother was an expression of what Solas Eige sought to become – “a place where art, ideas and community meet and where even on a small island, we can engage with questions that matter far beyond our shores”.
“Living in Eigg has strengthened my conviction that culture is not a luxury but an essential part of community life,” Dressler said. “It enables us to encounter different perspectives, build understanding and connect local experience with wider global realities.
“At Solas Eige, we believe that art can create spaces for reflection, conversation and new ways of seeing the world around us.
“In presenting From the Heart of a Mother by Sana Obaid, we launch our exhibition programme with a work that engages directly with the pressing questions and realities of our time.”
When the exhibition was conceived, images and reports from Israel’s invasion of Gaza were widespread, with many watching the ongoing violence and human suffering unfolding through screens but feeling powerless to intervene.
“Obaid’s work speaks directly to this experience,” said Dressler. “Rather than documenting events, her practice explores the emotional and ethical dimensions of witnessing, memory, loss and empathy. Through printmaking, sculpture and installation, Obaid creates works that encourage us to pause and consider what it means to remain attentive to the suffering of others.”
She pointed out that the church had long been a place where communities gathered to make sense of the world and their place within it.
“Through exhibitions such as this, we seek to continue that tradition in a contemporary and inclusive way,” Dressler said.
“Art cannot resolve conflict or alleviate suffering but it can create opportunities for attentive witnessing, meaningful dialogue and deeper understanding.
“It can help us remain open to experiences beyond our own and remind us of our interconnectedness in an increasingly fragmented world.”
The name Solas Eige means “The Light of Eigg” and Dressler said this reflected the trustees’ belief in the power of culture, creativity and dialogue to illuminate difficult questions.
“Obaid’s work embodies this spirit,” she said. “While rooted in grief and loss, it also points towards resilience, remembrance and the enduring human capacity for empathy.
“At a time when the world can often feel overwhelming, From the Heart of a Mother reminds us that attention itself can be an act of care.
“In bringing this work to Eigg, Solas Eige seeks to create a space where art, reflection and the realities of our shared world meet, inviting us to pause, to witness and to reaffirm our shared humanity.”
Alongside the exhibition, which opens on Tuesday, the artist will be leading community printmaking workshops for island residents and visitors with workshop profits gong to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
