UHI Moray graduates light the way at Brodie Castle

Brodie Castle was aglow with their annual Brodie Illuminated event, with this years’ being particularly special for two UHI Moray graduates, Lorna Leil and Rachel Goodison, who were heavily involved in pulling the event together.

Lorna, who graduated in 2020 with a BA (Hons) in Event Management, is the Events Supervisor at Brodie Castle who planned this year’s event. On top of the planning aspect of the event, Lorna also contributed to one of the displays – a spoken rendition of Lewis Carroll’s poem ‘Jabberwocky’ featured Lorna’s voice that could be heard as you walked down the tree-lined path.

This year’s event also includes a stunning display created by Rachel Goodison, who graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Moray School of Art. Rachel created the butterfly selfie board that was on show in the Playful Garden.

Reflecting on her time at UHI Moray, Rachel said:

“I found my experience at UHI Moray challenging but the community fostered by students and alumni at Moray School of Art is second-to-none. In particular, the shared studio spaces utilised by all degree students do wonders for encouraging creative connections.”

Rachel started working at Brodie Castle as a Visitor Services Assistant in July shortly after graduating. She was eager to stay in the area and immerse herself in an environment rich in art and history.

“The art collection within the castle is stunning, and my colleagues are so passionate about the estate, the area, and the castle. Every day has its own unique encounters and visitors, and it is never a dull day at Brodie.”

This year’s Brodie Illuminated theme was ‘Celebration of Playfulness’. The selfie board in the Playful Garden, a space that exudes this theme, offered visitors a photo opportunity to remember the night.

Rachel described the creative process:

“We wanted bright colours that would stand out during the evenings, offering visitors a lovely photo opportunity. What followed was two weeks of sketchbook thumbnails, neon paint experiments, lingering paint smells in the staff room, and escapes to the Stables mid-shift to paint, paint, paint!”

In addition to both our graduates’ efforts, Brodie Illuminated features the work of Malcolm Innes, Director for the Centre of Island Creativity based at UHI Shetland. Malcolm has been involved in the castle projections for the event for many years, which originally starting out as an Innovation Voucher research project. His creative projections have become a hallmark of the illuminations, captivating audiences year after year.

A final note of recognition goes to yet another UHI Moray graduate, Ellie Gallacher of E’s Eyes, who is the registered volunteer photographer for Brodie Castle who kindly allowed us to use their photographs for this story.