‘Culbin: the disappeared village’ event launched on Saturday 19 February 2022. Funded as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories, and supported by VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland, the project included a physical exhibition at Elgin Library and a digital exhibition, available on the Culbin Project website. Before the launch event, archival research was carried out and personal stories gathered from the public.  

The launch event attracted between 100 – 120 visitors. Attendees found out about the exhibition across a range of media formats including newspaper, social media, event listing sites, through word of mouth and the library network. Following the event, the attendees were asked to complete evaluation forms, to gather feedback and understand the potential long-term impact of the event on the individuals and communities involved, such as increased awareness of local heritage, history or current issues. 

Nineteen  evaluation forms were returned on the day of the event. Visitors were largely aware of Scotland’s Year of Stories and that this event was part of the campaign (84%). The respondents agreed that they knew more about the story of Culbin after visiting the exhibition. The majority also agreed that they felt better informed about the wealth of stories written, inspired and created in Scotland (89%), were more likely to visit places associated with Scotland’s stories (94%) and were inspired to share their own stories of Scotland (78%).

The event also sparked a series of media articles about Culbin, the sandstorm and the exhibition, in English and in Doric, placing Culbin and North East of Scotland higher on historical and cultural map of Scotland. See some examples of the media coverage on the Culbin Stories website. 

Image credit: www.culbinstories.co.uk