Three £3,000 commissions are up for grabs now, with bigger opportunities ahead if Leith becomes the UK’s first Town of Culture in 2028
Leith is calling for ideas to help shape how the town celebrates its 900th birthday in 2028, with three £3,000 commissions available now and the potential for much larger projects if its UK Town of Culture bid is successful.
“Big Ideas. Leith Style.” is deliberately simple: no lengthy application forms and no need to be an established arts organisation. If you have an idea rooted in Leith, you can pitch it in writing, by voice note or short video.
Ideas could become projects, events, collaborations, conversations or acts of creativity: big or small, loud or quiet. They might draw on Leith’s football, food, music, memories, shipbuilding, golf, street art or community life, and could happen anywhere from a stage to a pub, playground, bowling club, church hall, theatre, café or kitchen.
Three £3,000 Countdown Commissions
Three projects will each receive £3,000 to take place in January and February 2027, marking one year until Leith’s 900th birthday.
Projects should celebrate an aspect of Leith’s culture, heritage or identity, bring people together and leave something behind, whether that is skills, relationships, confidence, memories or knowledge.
The commissions are open to people based in Leith, including individuals, community groups, charities and social enterprises, cultural organisations, businesses and informal networks. Partnerships are encouraged.
Bigger ideas for 2028
The call is also looking for ambitious ideas that could form part of Leith’s programme in 2028.
Local, national and international artists, creatives and organisations can submit ideas, provided they are rooted in Leith and create meaningful opportunities for local people and organisations.
If Leith is named UK Town of Culture 2028, successful projects could receive between £15,000 and £150,000 towards their development and delivery.
The strongest ideas will feel unmistakably Leith: made with people rather than for them, reaching beyond the usual audiences and leaving something lasting behind.
Susie Gray and Jenny Mungall, co-Directors of Leith Culture Partnership, said: “Culture isn’t something Leith is short of – it’s all around us. In the pubs, the bowling clubs, the church halls, the streets, artists spaces and renowned kitchens, and it has been for 900 years.
“This call is about finding the people who can tell our story brilliantly and backing them. We want ideas from everyone, locals with things to say and dreams for Leith and those who have been captivated by Leith’s character and spirit far and wide.”
Got an idea? Send it in
There is no complicated application form. Simply tell the team what your idea is, what part of Leith it celebrates, who you would work with, who it is for and why it matters.
Ideas can be submitted in writing, by voice note or short video by the end of the day on 6 November 2026.
A new Leith People’s Forum will review ideas in November, with shortlisted applicants invited to talk through their ideas further.
Email: hello@leith2028.com
Instagram: Leith2028
