A GROUP of artists, authors and musicians in favour of independence is to embark on a month-long nationwide tour aimed at instilling a sense of "cultural confidence" in voters unsure about backing a Yes vote.
Organised by the National Collective group, the road-trip will be a central part of Yestival, a programme of art, music, film and literary events being taken to every city in Scotland in July.
Among those taking part are the singer Julie Fowlis, whose songs featured in the Pixar film Brave, the playwright David Greig, and the singer RM Hubbert, who last year won the £20,000 prize for best Scottish album.
Pop-up events are also planned for the Borders, the Western Isles, the Highlands and Orkney and Shetland.
Director Ross Colquhoun said Yestival would be a "major cultural event" in "Scotland's summer of independence", showing the vote is about more than just polarised debate.
He said: "Creating the confidence to vote yes is partly about economics and political preparation. But it's also about cultural confidence, about confidence in your community and its people, and about the basic democratic principle that Scotland should govern itself. The Yestival tour will be about adding fun and imagination to the campaign."
The pro-Union Better Together movement has the backing of several celebrities, including David Bowie, comedian Eddie Izzard, the actress Emma Thompson and panto crooner John Barrowman.
However, the majority of Scotland's artistic community appears to be in the Yes camp, including the actors Sean Connery, Alan Cumming, Brian Cox and Kevin McKidd, authors Alasdair Gray and Irvine Welsh, and comedians Frankie Boyle and Kevin Bridges.
A Better Together spokesman said: "If there is anything guaranteed to turn people away from supporting separation, it's National Collective turning up in the towns and villages of Scotland reciting indyref poetry and putting on displays of English oppression through the medium of dance. We fully support this tour."
However, the artists were more serious about the project. David Greig said National Collective had been the "inspiration of the independence debate so far" by publishing ideas outside of party politics.
He added: "Out of one idea - independence - they're drawing complexity, imagination and grassroots engagement. It's as far away from a party conference as you can imagine. They really are the spirt of the moment.".
RM Hubbert said: "It's been a long time since the Scottish people truly had a chance to influence our own time. We should celebrate this opportunity. Music, art and debate. What's not to love?"
After beginning life in an Edinburgh bedroom, National Collective has grown from a website for Yes-supporting artists to a movement with 2200 members across groups in Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Stirling, Inverness, the Borders, Argyll, Dumfries & Galloway and Shetland.
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