A far north bookworm will appear in a unique photography exhibition after being recognised by The National Lottery for her dedication and devotion to keeping the arts alive during the pandemic.
Liz Treacher is lead reader for the Open Book group in Brora and also works as a writer, English teacher and creative writing tutor.
The 56-year-old will feature in the The National Lottery’s 2020 Portraits of the People exhibition.
Celebrating remarkable individuals, the collection will include 13 powerful portraits created by Chris Floyd, who normally photographs celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Mo Farah and Victoria Beckham.
Ms Treacher used National Lottery funding during lockdown to adapt to digital formats so the group, which has been running since October 2019, could continue to thrive.
The Open Book group places emphasis on community and welcoming individuals of all ability levels as they get together every month and use texts as inspiration for their own writing.
During lockdown, Ms Treacher has been running the group on Zoom as a critical means of combating social isolation.
She said: “In groups like Brora – and there are many – we are already remote, and so things like loneliness are floating around anyway, and then you get a pandemic.
“I think it’s felt almost lonelier – if that’s possible – we’re just miles from everywhere. I think the fact Open Book has managed to keep going is wonderful.”
The digital exhibition can be visited online on various websites including The National Portrait Gallery, The National Museum of Wales and Summerhall in Edinburgh.
