A drop-in day of hands-on fun activities at the Wee Museum of Memory will gather Leith’s stories, priorities and big ideas for the town’s UK Town of Culture bid
Leith residents are being invited to help shape the town’s bid to be UK Town of Culture 2028 at The Leith Imaginarium, a (free) drop-in public event at the Wee Museum of Memory, Ocean Terminal, on Sunday 25 October from 12 – 4pm.
Leith is one of 15 places shortlisted from nearly 400 applications for the new national competition, run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which will name the UK’s first Town of Culture. In 2028 Leith also marks 900 years since its first written record.
Leith’s waterfront and working docks. In 2028, Leith will mark 900 years since its first written record as the community bids to become the UK’s first Town of Culture.
The bid team is developing its plans now, and the Leith Imaginarium is a chance for the people who know Leith best to help decide what goes into them.
Visitors of any age – from 3months to 103 – can bring their stories, their priorities and their big ideas for Leith in 2028 and what comes next, through hands-on activities including a chance to be Mayor of Leith for a moment, sofa conversations about Leith’s past and future, and a giant illustrated interactive map of Leith to mark places that need a bit of care as well as hidden gems and favourite spots.
The ideas gathered will help inform the final bid, which is being built from the ground up by Leith residents in the newly formed Leith Culture Partnership, with the backing of more than 80 local and national organisations and public figures.
Leith Theatre hosts an Edinburgh International Festival performance. Cultural venues, artists and community organisations from across Leith are helping shape the town’s bid to become the UK’s first Town of Culture in 2028.
Susie Gray and Jenny Mungall, co-ordinators of Leith’s bid for UK Town of Culture said: “This isn’t about bringing ‘culture’ to Leith. It’s about celebrating what’s already here, backing the creativity and communities that make this place special, and giving Leithers a real say in what comes next.
“Whatever the result, 2028 will be a special year as Leith celebrates 900 years and looks forward to the future.
“The ideas and relationships coming out of the process of this competition belong to this place, and we want to keep building on them to preserve what makes Leith so distinctive and celebrate living in such a brilliant place.”
For anyone who can’t make it there are other ways in which to find out more and have a say in Leith’s plans for 2028.
The team are hosting drop-in sessions at Printworks Cafe on Constitution Street on Friday 16 October from 9 to 11am; Leith Library on Monday 19 October 6.30pm to 8pm and other locations to be announced.
Follow @Leith2028 on Instagram for the latest news.
Posters and postcards have also appeared across Leith inviting people to have their say and linking to a survey which can be found here.
The team of Leith residents behind the bid has formalised as Leith Culture Partnership, chaired by born and bred Leither, and Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive of National Theatre of Scotland Liam Sinclair.
