‘Mo Chridhe’: Katie Forbes on sharing the Gaelic Language with Modern Scotland

Written and Interviewed by Cara MacDonald, edited by Cameron Cade

Katie Forbes sits down with Antagonizine to discuss her art, her love for the Gaelic Language and the family that inspired it.

What does Gaelic look like splashed across the walls of Glasgow? 

Inspired by her stepfather's late mother – who she refers to as Granny Annie – and her native language, mural artist, Katie Forbes, brings the language to life with vivid colours and eye-catching designs, along with phonetic spellings to truly reach and include anybody. Katie felt drawn to learning Gaelic and truly embraced the rural Scottish side to her artistic ideas. 

Images Katie Forbes Instagram @kfrbs

Forbes said: “I love the theatrics and surprising people so I started learning Gaelic in secret so that I could surprise her with a letter written in Gaelic for her birthday. Just to do something for (Granny Annie) because I always thought it was such a shame that she couldn’t speak to anyone in her first language after leaving the island.”

Katie formed a connection with her later in life and from then on wanted to learn Gaelic so she could speak to her. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to surprise her as she unexpectedly passed away. 

“I was so upset because I kept thinking I had to be fluent to surprise her with it, but I know now I shouldn’t have waited.” she paused, shaking her head. “I could have said something, just a phrase, instead of waiting to do a big spiel.”

Coming from Tain in the Highlands, she surprisingly grew up with little to no Gaelic around her. Looking back at Primary school, she remembers there being a divide between English and Gaelic pupils which carried on throughout Secondary, where pupils who went through the English class weren’t able to pick Gaelic as an option to learn…

“Because I didn’t go to a Gaelic Primary school, I didn’t even get the choice of Gaelic in high school. It was either French or hospitality or something similar, but it wasn’t even a choice as a language.” Sounding slightly frustrated, Forbes continued, “I’ve always hated that because I’m a Highlander and I’m very proud of that. I don’t even really know many Gaelic speakers.”

The 2022 Census suggested that Gaelic use is beginning to recover – rising to 2.5% of Scotland’s population, up from 1.7% in 2011.

Forbes speaks passionately about Gaelic and Highland identity, and her pride in Scotland shines through in vivid colours and unique designs. With her ‘Mo Chridhe’ piece, she depicts a hand holding a heart with animated blood drops falling. Her line work emphasises that the heart is still beating, a message she wants to convey about Gaelic in the heart of Scotland.

“I’ve taken what some people think is an ‘old’ language and done a modern take on it, I wanted to make it seem fresh and vibrant.”

Seeing Katie’s art and hearing her describe her colourful take on the language, it’s clear she’s found a place outside of the usual office setting. Previously training to be an architect, Katie worked towards “making places better”, before finding that the office setting wasn’t for her. 

“People are always so surprised when I say I worked in an office, which is so fair because I’m not an office person at all.” 

A combination of aiming higher and contributing in a bigger way, along with being diagnosed with ADHD later in life, focusing at the office was a difficult task. 

“All the time I was so hard on myself and then it turns out I just have ADHD and can’t focus. Whereas making art and travelling to new locations and working with different clients, different environments and with so many materials is all so exciting for me.” Speaking of her art so calmly and relaxed, she said, “The dopamine is popping in my head, and I can stay zoned in and focused.”

She explains how her ADHD has actually benefitted her creativity, particularly when it comes to design. She said it “gives her a quick instinct” for when something isn’t working, pushing her to refine her ideas until she’s satisfied. Rather than letting a flaw go unnoticed, she finds it lingers in her mind until she fixes it – a process that ultimately helps her bring out the best in her art.

Her calm yet clear frustration on the lack of Gaelic reflects a wider story about the language’s place in Scotland today. Bringing the language into a new world of mural art, it’s different to the usual plea made with signs and billboards, it’s inviting and unique. 

“I included the phonetic spelling in the city centre, one: because I thought even if you don’t speak Gaelic, you can learn to say this one word.”

My first time seeing Forbes’ art was in a TikTok of influencer Olivia Purcell vlogging their usual day in Glasgow and stumbling across the first mural. She herself had stopped and shared her positive thoughts on the piece and how it brightens up the space. This is just one of many positive pieces of feedback, which Katie says is what encourages her to keep going.

The response was bigger than she expected, and it made her realise the appetite for Gaelic on public walls was far stronger than she thought. The warm response to her first mural showed her that Gaelic still resonates deeply with people – and confirmed that continuing her granny’s legacy through art was the right path.

“It made me realise there’s this huge lack of Gaelic language in public murals. There’s of course Gaelic artists and they use Gaelic language,” she said, sounding full of hope, “I think it was the phonetic spelling that really took off as what I’ve come to learn is that there’s loads of people who don’t speak Gaelic who want to speak Gaelic.”

She shared that she hopes to continue her murals that she’s done in Glasgow and bring them to towns and villages throughout Scotland to carry Gaelic into modern day settings.

“That was the feedback I got from the first set of Gaelic murals I was doing. They loved the collaboration of the ‘old’ language with the new paintings, so I hope to keep doing that sort of style to keep it fresh.”

Building on the success of her first murals, Katie plans to create a Gaelic mural trail in communities throughout Scotland.

“I’ve reached out to about 25 councils around Scotland, just to say what I’m thinking and see if they would be happy with it and hear what they think,” she said nervously before revealing she’s already heard back from 14 places. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she shared the great initial response from each community. “They’re all really positive about it.”

What began as a tribute to her granny has grown into a movement, showing that Gaelic still has the power to unite, inspire, and find its place in modern Scotland.

@kfrbs - instagram