Two contemporary public art projects open this week in Birnam to mark the first Birnam Art Trail. The two site-specific projects are commissioned by Perthshire Visual Arts Forum (PVAF) in conjunction with their 4th annual artist conference this weekend at the Birnam Institute, where over 100 international and local artists will meet. The projects are by artists Kerry Morrison and Samantha Clark.

Kerry Morrison???s participatory project ???Concern??? will involve her perambulating her ???Concern??? cart in the local area where she will engage members of the community and visiting PVAF delegates in discussions on ecological issues such as air quality and waste disposal. Working out of her mobile studio cart, Kerry will hand out moss-filled ???Concern??? bags for visitors to display at home to raise the awareness and concern about air quality in their local area. Each ???Concern??? bag contains 10 grams of moss, which has been pre-washed with distilled water, ready to measure the air quality.

The project by Samantha Clark examines the space between human and animal, where these two meet at the point of eye contact. Her series of photographic installations will consider the mute impenetrability of the gaze of an animal looking back at us, the human.

These two art projects are the highlights of the Birnam Art Trail, which will runs until 28 October. Many other works are installed at various venues in Birnam including an installation inspired by Birnam Oak trees and stained-glass windows by Elaine Allison and Patricia Bray, oil paintings by Glasgow artist Laura Hunter, textile installation by Anita Hutchison, an exhibition of artwork by Japanese ECHO artists, and media work by artists from Germany, France, Denmark, Iceland, Brussels and Balgaria. At the centre of the Art Trail at the Birnam Institute is a group show of 70 works by PVAF and international artists entitled ???In Transit???.

The Birnam Art Trail at various venues in Birnam is open to the public and continues until 28th October.

For detailed information and a map of the art trail, visit www.pvaf.org.uk