We are very excited to be organising another rubbish picking event at the Brick Beach ( this is the Beach across the road from Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden) next Friday 9 August between 3 and 5 PM.
We will have enough rubbish pickers for everyone and a picnic with some delicious food provided. Huge THANK YOU to R2 for supporting this event and enabling us to buy more rubbish pickers.
Are you interested in the rich history and art of Granton and the surrounding area? Granton:hub needs you!
Granton;hub is a Community Based Creative and Cultural Centre in Granton, Edinburgh. The charity is based in Granton’s historic Madelvic House.
We are a volunteer-run charitable organisation that aims to elevate Granton’s profile and provide a focus for Granton’s diverse and evolving communities.
We are looking for Trustees to work with the existing Board during this exciting time of development of the Western Harbour.
We meet for 2(ish) hours once a month at Madelvic House.
Discussions are ongoing with City of Edinburgh Council regarding the refurbishment of the beautiful, listed, Madelvic House.
Also, we are in contact with the Lar housing association who will be developing the Madelvic car factory into 28 flats.
If you think you can contribute during this exciting time, or you would like more information, do not hesitate to contact me at chair@grantonhub.org
POLICE are appealing for the assistance of the public in tracing 20 year old Rory Dowling-Clarke, who has been reported missing from Granton, Edinburgh.
Rory was last seen at 2pm on Monday 29th July, 2024 in the Granton area and is thought to have since been in Leith and the City centre.
If you have any information please contact 101 and quote police incident 2038 31/07/24.
THURSDAY 18th – SATURDAY 20th JULY at GRANTON STATION
A piece of public art will be commissioned by the City of Edinburgh Council as part of the development of Granton gasholder park.
In February the Council invited locally-based artists and creative practitioners to develop ideas for the new artwork to be co-created with the local community.
Locals and visitors to Granton Waterfront will be given a sneak peek of six shortlisted designs for the new piece being exhibited at Granton Station from Thursday 18 – Saturday 20 July.
Ideas for the selected pieces have been taken from community interests and themes connected to Granton and all of the artists have provided opportunities for the local community to participate in the design process.
One artist will be chosen by a panel of experts from the City of Edinburgh and West Lothian Councils as well as creative and cultural charitable organisations.
The winner will be announced later this month and when it is open, the artwork will be one of the focal points in the new iconic Granton gasholder park.
The space within the restored gasholder is to have multi-sensory play zones, a dedicated area for permanent and temporary public art and one for relaxation, outdoor trails, and tracks for exercise as well as a large outdoor space for sports, markets, seasonal events, community use, festivals, performance arts, exhibitions, and play. Work will also be carried out to plant trees, shrubs and wildflowers improving biodiversity and local habitat in the area.
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “The gasholder plays such an important role in the £1.3bn regeneration of Granton Waterfront.
“The structure itself is currently being refurbished allowing it to become a place where the local community and other visitors will come together to enjoy outdoor space as well as other cultural activities.
“It is really important that they are involved in this project which is why local people have been working with all of the artists to help to produce each final design.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the exhibition and very excited to see which design is taken forward to be an engaging artwork in the new park.”
Designs by
Natalie Taylor
The concept for flutterby garden is to represent some of the species currently surrounding the Gas Tower and the wider Scottish environment in nectar rich borders. The proposal features a biodiverse garden with Scottish wildflowers and plants, selected to attract and sustain pollinators. It will also provide a beautiful area to sit and enjoy the surroundings. Design elements will honour the gas tower’s industrial history, including a laser-cut steel trellis featuring artwork by local people. The garden will form a bridge between the human and non-human world, pointing out the relationship between our food system and pollinating insects.
Kevin Dagg
The Mossy Bothy, a 9metre by 4metre building, aims to create a living monument that honours the legacy of factory workers and their families while capturing a snapshot of the natural regeneration in North Edinburgh. With sustainability at its core, the Bothy is designed to grow with the community, evolving with the passage of time and changing seasons. The building will be constructed from recycled brick with horizontal surfaces to harbour sedums. Gradually over time as the sedum secures a footing it will start to colonise the structure, which has the potential to harbour 120sqm of biodiversity.
Bespoke Atelier/Iglu Studios
The proposal is for a playful composition of forms which inspire users to interact, perch, play and sit. The proposed artwork is inspired by the vessels of the Scottish Marine Station in Granton and wave sculptures surrounding the boat signify the coast and water. The surfaces will be tactile, inviting people to touch the patterns and feel the connection to their natural environment. The low carbon approach to materials will be complemented by a series of planting areas around the edge of the art space.
Maja Quille/Julian Stocks
The artwork will be ia geometric steel sculpture, utilising squares, circles and triangles, inspired by the historic links to lighthouses in the area and the gasholder itself. A steel cube balanced on its point, the shape references the trestle-like frame of the Granton lighthouse windows as well as the gasholder cross-beams, creating interesting sight-lines through the structure, which will frame the work when seen from different angles. Each side will be covered in a unique pattern, developed in collaboration with different community groups and abstracted through a kaleidoscope.
Aeneas Wilder
Aeneas is proposing a monumental structure made from the stacked assembly of granite stone blocks, which is an abstract geometric structure echoing the construction and engineering of the Gasholder frame itself. The design also has within it a number of symbolic references and indicators of the culture, heritage and history of the Gasholder site, the greater Granton area and the communities that live there.
The proposed structure has seven peaks, which roots the design in Edinburgh, with its reference to the seven hills on which the city is built. These peaks could also be viewed as chimney stacks setting off a chain of reference, including coal, heating, energy sources and sustainability.
Svetlana Kondakova Muir
This design celebrates the local natural environment by portraying one of the Firth of Forth’s most special visitors. A copper and bronze life-sized head of a humpback whale will appear to be emerging from underwater vertically, an awe-inspiring shape, allowing visitors to experience the full might of this incredible creature.
It will be made in a contemporary polygonal style which will complement the gasholder structure, the faceted form relating to the idea that the humpback whale is the ‘jewel’ of local wildlife. . It will incorporate bronze artworks created by local school children and college students, including an oyster reef, barnacles and other wildlife as well as tactile panels created by pupils of Oaklands School with complex support needs.
Exhibition opening times:
Thursday, 18 July, 9am-5pm
Friday, 19 July, 9am – 5pm
Saturday, 20 July, 10am – 3pm
Location: Granton Station, 1 Granton Station Square, EH5 1FU
Everyone is welcome to visit the Granton Gasholder Park public art design exhibition opening this Thursday 18th July 9am at Granton Station.
Running until Saturday 20th July 3pm.
On view will be proposal from the six shortlisted artists and artist teams who have been developing ideas alongside the local community in Granton for this permanent art installation opportunity.
Only one artist proposal will go forward. Come along to see all the options available. To be decided by selection panel only.
Walking like a Tortoise, a mixed media, walking art exhibition
Edinburgh Central Library, 7 – 9 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EG. Foyer and Display Case on Main Stairs
1 August – 30 September
(10am – 8pm Monday to Wednesday; 10am – 5pm Thursday to Saturday)
‘Walking like a Tortoise’ is a range of art work based on a series of walks around Granton on the northern edge of Scotland’s capital city.
Using maps of the area from 1870 to the present day, Tamsin Grainger skirted the urban and coastal landscapes of Granton, looking into hidden corners, seeing from unlikely angles and meeting those who live and work there.
Through photography, words, video, textiles and found materials, she asks how the act of slow walking can develop a sense of belonging somewhere, and how mindful noticing of the area on foot, promotes appreciation of and connection to what is home.
Tamsin’s been walking around Granton for 14 years now, alone and with other members of the community, and has become interested in the alterations that people and the climate have wrought.
Although places transform all the time, the built-up environment and natural spaces of Granton have recently been changing at an exceptionally rapid pace and still are: the harbour is now a no-go area; streets and stations have been given new names and functions; and views have disappeared.
Slowly wandering the boundary and making artwork has stimulated a deeper understanding of local history and heritage, but how much of this will soon have vanished? Is Granton disappearing and being replaced by the Edinburgh Waterfront?
By visiting the exhibition, you are invited to consider: ‘What are the invisible boundaries which define us?’ ‘What happens if the exact edges of our living space change? Is it important to you that things stay the same or do you welcome transformation?’ ‘Do you feel part of the decision-making processes which precipitate such changes?’ and, ‘Is there a link between a sense of who you are and feeling that you belong somewhere?’
Tamsin Grainger is a walking artist who has lived in Granton for 15 years and has extensive experience in the Community Arts in Edinburgh.
She was Dance Artist in Residence for the City of Edinburgh, and is currently the Granton Waterfront Heritage Programme Development Worker.
This exhibition was first shown at the Granton:hub in 2023.
Could you spare an hour on Sat 20th July to chat about bread?!
Some Edinburgh University researchers are currently recruiting for a focus group, and will pay £20 (generic shopping voucher). Please email the address on the poster if you’re interested..
You may know that we’re doing various experiments with grain growing and have been running Granton Garden Bakery since 2019. We’re interested in your views on bread, whatever they are!
You are invited to an evening dedicated to women’s heritage as part of the local history of Granton and North Edinburgh
Granton:hub and Granton Waterfront Heritage Programme present an evening of talks and discussion celebrating the part women have played in the heritage and local history of Granton and North Edinburgh. It will take place on July 18th 2024, 7-9pm at Granton Station, 1 Granton Station Square, Granton, Edinburgh EH5 1FU.
Leading academic and Chair of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association, Lisa Williams; Victoria Nyanga-Ndiaye, Founding Chief Executive Officer of Project Esperanza, and Jade Stein from Engender will join local women who live in Edinburgh and activists for a lively conversation around the history of women’s involvement in the area, women’s heritage, and our wishes for the future.
There will be space for sharing stories, memories and aspirations, and a chance to see the Eve-Hawa Quilt, “a profound expression of resilience and healing” which was made by skilled women involved with Project Eseranza with the artists Francia Boakye and Alberta Whittle with @natgalleriessco.
We hope that as many people from our community as possible will join us. Please tell your friends.
This is a free event and the venue is accessible. Light refreshments will be provided. You are welcome to bring a cushion to make sitting more comfortable for you.
If you would like to be involved more formally, or suggest someone, please contact Tamsin Grainger on history@grantonhub.org
This is a Granton Waterfront Heritage Programme event in conjunction with Granton:hub and thanks go to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland for funding.
Bookings are now live for a series of tours at Powderhall Bronze, one of the only remaining fine art foundries in Scotland.
Located in Granton, Powderhall Bronze was established by husband-and-wife team Brian Caster and Kerry Hammond in 1989, and offers a bronze casting service to practising artists.
The family run foundry is renowned for casting a vast array of bronze artworks from small gallery pieces to monumental public artworks.
Notable works include ‘Really Good’ by David Shrigley, sited on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square and ‘Your next breath’ by Kenny Hunter sited outside Edinburgh’s Royal College of Surgeons.
This summer, the foundry is opening its doors for a limited number of exclusive tours. From £20 per person, guests will take a tour around the foundry with directors Kerry Hammond and Brian Caster.
Along the way they will explain how they use the ancient lost wax casting process to create the bronze sculptures and give a unique insight into some of the current foundry projects.
Each tour will last approximately 90 minutes and will end with a glass of wine or soft drinks with the opportunity for guests to ask questions. The tours are available in August and can be booked via the Powderhall Bronze Editions website at www.powderhallbronzeeditions.co.uk
With over 35 years’ experience working in bronze, Brian and Kerry are experts in their craft, and also work as practising artists. Their own collection of contemporary cast bronze sculpture can be found on display in the family run gallery, Powderhall Bronze Editions on Summer Place in Edinburgh.
Inspired by natural forms, their pieces are suitable for both indoor and outdoor settings and showcase the very best the material has to offer. These pieces are annually exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
2 August, 12-3 pm: Community Mushroom Farming
