Catriona Robertson was the first funded artist in residence at MERZ in Sanquhar. Cat had been visiting Kurt Schwitters’ MERZ Barn in Elterwater over the last two years and suggested a path from Schwitters’ last work in the UK into the Reconstruction and Fabrication legacy maintained in Sanquhar. During her stay from July to September 2019 Cat made bricks with local kids setting these alongside the Sanquhar bricks in the MERZ yard. Inspired by hats used during the August Riding the Marches Cat ran a hat-making competition with discarded cardboard at the Nithsdale Hotel.