Choirstaidh Iona NicArtair is a Gàidhlig-speaking multidisciplinary artist, writer, and workshop facilitator from the West Coast of Scotland, currently living and working in Glasgow. NicArtair was educated through Gàidhlig Medium Education from 2-18, then went on to study Fine Art Painting and Printmaking at the Glasgow School of Art.
NicArtair was named the Young Gaelic Ambassador of the Year at the 2021/22 Scottish Gaelic Awards, for her work on social media to normalise the use of the language. This also led to the creation of the CBBC ALBA kids’ art strand 'A’ Chùil' in 2021, as well as her position as World Gaelic Week Ambassador in 2022.
In spring of the same year, 'NicFiona' (2022), an online theatre performance was commissioned by the Ceangal | Cwlwm initiative between Scotland, Ireland and Wales, centring theatre-making in Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Welsh.
In early 2023, NicArtair’s short film 'Priob' (2022), featuring music by Billy McArthur, the artist’s brother, won the @filmg_alba Choice Award at the FilmG Awards.
Her 2024 film 'We Don't (Go To Church)', a precursor to 'Chan Eil Sinne (Dol Dhan Eaglais), was featured in the 'Shrine, Museum, Holy Place' show in Dundee, and her film 'Mair' was featured at the @floscollective_ IRIS Short Film Screening that same year in Glasgow.
In Spring 2024, NicArtair launched Sgioba Ealain, a kids' Gaelic language art club, currently held monthly at An Lòchran in Partick. NicArtair has, additionally, spent the last several years teaching art at Fèises and after school clubs, as well as at the Girls Rock Glasgow summer school. NicArtair works with Fèisean nan Gàidheal to deliver creative Gaelic workshops to non-Gaelic schools across Scotland on their 'Blasad Gàidhlig' programme, introducing the language and culture through song, play, and crafts.
Off the back of this experience, in Autum/Winter 2025, she developed the Gaelic Futurisms X Sgioba Ealain education programme as part of the public outreach effort for this exhibition in addition to co-producing the group show, as well as producing a large scale multimedia piece exploring ideas of personal lore, the stories we tell ourselves and others, and whose stories get to be remembered. NicArtair's work for the show featured elements of screenprinting, embroidery, digital illustration, and other techniques being taught to primary-aged children attending her workshops from September-December 2025.
Additionally, at the end of 2025, NicArtair's contributions to curator Holly Rennie Brown's 'The City', a queer, working class archival project, were on display at The Alasdair Gray Archive , in the form of an interview and exhibited lino cut print.
In 2026, NicArtair plans to complete the primary stages of a graphic novel in Scottish Gaelic, continue creating designs for her clothing brand, 'Bragail', as well as creating another multimedia short film about lonely aliens. She is currently teaching herself to make puppets as part of this project. She has also written all of this in the third person and feels uncomfortable about it.