The Southern Hebrides are celebrating island culture and heritage through numerous events over the forthcoming months as part of the Year of Scotland’s Islands.

Orkney-based Dr Jane Downes will be the course leader on the new undergraduate archaeology degree starting at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) in September.

Public voting has seen two women artistes chosen for the Hebridean Celtic Festival’s Hall of Fame.

Tickets on sale from tomorrow (14 April), full programme details on the HebCelt website.

The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked is the most comprehensive exhibition on the Lewis chessmen for over a decade, featuring chessmen drawn from the collections of National Museums Scotland and the British Museum. It will open at its final tour venue, Museum nan Eilean, Stornoway, on 15 April 2011.

The Uist Eco Film Festival is a new 3-day film festival (29 April – 1 May 2011) screening environmentally-themed international documentary and fiction film and video based at Balivanich Community Hall on Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The main themes of the festival will be Climate Change and Sustainability in relation to island and maritime contexts in three strands – what we’ve got, how we stand to lose it & how we can change the situation.

Fibre Artist Joanne Kaar has an exhibition this June-July 2011 called Baker & Botanist at Morven Gallery, Barvas, Isle of Lewis. The exhibition runs from 1st June 2011 – 30th June 2011.

Two new exhibitions are opening this weekend at Taigh Chearsabhagh in North Uist. ‘Echo’ is a collaboration between Ullapool-based artist Peter White and poet Jon Miller and will run in Gallery 2 from 2 Apr 2011 – 28 May 2011, with a preview and Artists Talks this Friday 1st April at 7.30pm. Also opening this weekend is Fragility of Flight III – Sea Wings by Anne Rabbitts in Gallery 1 which runs from 2 April 2011 – 21 May 2011.

Uist Eco Film Festival’s website was launched today (Monday 14 March 2011).

Today (Monday, 7th March) the Celtic Media Festival unveils its full programme of events as 2011 marks the event’s 32nd year. The Festival is on countdown to 13th April when it will return to its birthplace of the Scottish Western Isles with a schedule crammed full of top talent.