What does ‘home’ mean to you?

The city council is running an art competition for schoolchildren from Muirhouse, Pilton and Pennywell to mark the start of construction of new homes in West Pilton Crescent – and the closing date for entries is fast approaching.

‘What does home mean to you?’ is the appropriate theme of the competition which is open to pupils of Pirniehall, St David’s, Craigroyston and Forthview, Oaklands and Craigroyston Community High School. Entries can be drawings, paintings, a collage or photographs – but your artwork must be submitted by the closing date of next Friday, 25 October.

Winners of the various categories (see the attached poster) will be announced on

Thursday 21 November. Good luck!

See for yourself – ‘Hidden Art’ exhibition on show in Stockbridge

A unique exhibition of art and photography by groups whose members are blind or partially sighted opens in Stockbridge this Saturday [August 31]. The ‘Hidden Art’ exhibition can be seen at the Patriothall Gallery off Hamilton Place until 8 September.

“We aim to show people that art is possible for all to enjoy even if they are visually impaired,” said Mark Andrew Powell of the city’s Patriothall Gallery. “We are delighted to give these two groups the chance to display their creative talents to a wider audience.

“The theme of the exhibition, ‘Hidden Art’, has been interpreted by the participants in different ways. The photographic group has documented unseen or overlooked artworks around Edinburgh, things that are tucked away where nobody sees them or overlooked because they are so familiar. Beside each photograph we will have a tactile image of it on raised paper so that everybody, whether they have sight or not, can enjoy the photos.

“The art group’s members have a different take on the theme. Each has made a tile containing both tactile and visual elements which have been compiled into a single larger composition. In addition, their individual paintings and sculptures, seen from their own unique perception of a hidden world, will be displayed around the walls of the main gallery.”

Both groups regularly meet at the Edinburgh headquarters of sight loss charity RNIB Scotland to create and discuss their work, with some members participating in both.

Local artist Fiona Powell from Stockbridge, who has the sight loss condition retinitis pigmentosa, said: “As we all have sight loss of varying degrees, we rely on our weekly meetings to pursue our love of art with help from dedicated volunteers. We work with paint, clay, ‘sticky strings’, felt, silk, swell paper and photography. Though both groups are supported by RNIB Scotland, we are self-funded and it is up to us to raise money for any exhibitions that we put on.

“We want to promote awareness and confidence among visually impaired people that they have the ability to produce art. This exhibition gives an opportunity for the wider community to realise how much visually impaired people are capable of achieving.”

Alan McIntyre from Gorgie, who also has retinitis pigmentosa, said: “The photographic group has given me many hours of fun within a supportive and creative environment. It has enabled me to really learn more about how to take photographs. For me, being visually impaired means that I don’t need to follow the convention of having perfectly focused images.
I can have the freedom to experiment because what I see is far from perfect.”

The ‘Hidden Art’ exhibition is being sponsored by Capital Credit Union, which is also based in Stockbridge. A spokesperson said: “This is such a worthy cause showcasing the work of these very talented groups. We are hoping to attract visitors from all over to witness the creative gift and artistic flair projected in their art.”

To complement the ‘Hidden Art’ exhibition, Dr David Feeney, manager of Visual Impairment Scotland at Edinburgh University, and Seattle-based filmmaker Daniel Thornton have produced a short video following the photographic group around the city as they took photos, and the twelve-minute film will run throughout the exhibition.

As well as this, Dr Feeney has used computer software called Sight-Sim which filters the photos by mimicking different sight loss conditions to show how they appear to the blind and partially sighted photographers who took them.

The exhibition is being held in Patriothall Gallery in Hamilton Place,
Stockbridge, Edinburgh from 12 noon to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, and
then at the same times from next Thursday until Sunday [September 8].

Travelling Gallery to visit Drylaw

The Travelling Gallery embark on its Scottish tour this Friday (23 August) with ‘THIS LAND’, a new autumn exhibition presenting a beautifully alternative view of the Scottish landscape – and it’s stopping off at Drylaw on it’s travels. You can catch the exhibition at the local centre next Thursday (29 August) afternoon from 2 – 5pm.

Inspired by the Year of Natural Scotland, the Travelling Gallery’s autumn exhibition presents an alternative view of the Scottish landscape, through works by artists with a diverse range of practices.

Exhibits will include paintings by Henry Coombes and a series of works exploring the history, geology and politics of the island of Rockall by Andy Holden. Hannah Imlach uses sculpture and photography to explore new environments and find connections between the landscape and the human body, while Michael Reisch and Iain Sarjeant both show photographs which focus on interaction between natural and man-made environments.

Visitors will also be able to enjoy a complementary programme of films, postcards, sketchbooks and other works to support the exhibition.

The Travelling Gallery is a custom-built, mobile, contemporary art space inside a big beautiful bus. Supported by Creative Scotland, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the City of Edinburgh Council, the Travelling Gallery brings high quality contemporary art exhibitions and events to schools and communities throughout Scotland.

Edinburgh will be the first stop on the gallery’s Scottish-wide tour, stationed in a variety of locations around the Capital between 23 and 30 August.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Yet again the Travelling Gallery curators have devised a fascinating exhibition which I am sure will delight crowds across Scotland. As a Council we’re committed to making art and culture as accessible as possible to a variety of people, and what could be more accessible than a mobile gallery? I hope everyone takes the opportunity to pay the Travelling Gallery a visit when it comes to town.”

The Travelling Gallery will be open to the public at the following venues in Edinburgh, as part of Edinburgh Art Festival:

Friday 23 August City Art Centre, Market Street, 11am – 6pm

Saturday 24 August City Art Centre, Market Street, 11am – 6pm

Tuesday 27 August Hawes Promenade, South Queensferry 11am – 5pm

Wednesday 28 August Festival Square, Lothian Road, 11am – 5pm

Thursday 29 August

Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Groathill Road North 2 – 5pm

Friday 30 August High Street, Portobello 11am – 5pm

The Travelling Gallery will then tour to the following areas:

2 – 13 September – Highlands

16 – 20 September – Lewis and Harris

23 – 24 September – Uists

28 September – 3 October – Shetland

7 – 11 October – Perth & Kinross

21 – 25 October – Renfrewshire

28 October – 8 November – South Ayrshire

11 – 15 November – Midlothian

18 – 22 November – Renfrewshire

25 – 29 November – Edinburgh

3 – 7 December – Angus

10 December – West Lothian

See www.travellinggallery.com for all the details,

Follow the Gallery on Facebook or Twitter @ArtinaBus

ECA’s Degree Show opens today

Edinburgh University’s Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show opens this morning and runs until 9 June.

Extra-large kitchen utensils, woodland explorations and exorcisms are just some of the things to experience at this year’s early summer ECA Degree Show. The College of Art in Lauriston Place has been transformed into the capital’s biggest gallery space as it celebrates the work of more than 500 graduating artists, film makers, designers and architects.

This year’s graduates have assembled a wonderfully diverse and imaginative exhibition which covers the whole arts and design spectrum. Creative, challenging, entertaining and thought-provoking, there’s something here for everyone in an exhibition that’s not to be missed.

For opening times and further information visit www.ed.ac.uk/eca/degreeshow

Painting Protest

To celebrate the launch of the BBC’s ‘Your Paintings’ website, which aims to give the general public access to all of the Nation’s oil paintings in thousands of museums and other public institutions, Screen Education Edinburgh (formerly Pilton Video) was commissioned to make a trilogy of ten-minute films for the BBC Learning website. SEE worked with local community activists, sheep farmers and artists who use paintings from the website to tell their stories.

“Painting Protest” is an exploration by North Edinburgh community activists of the sometimes hidden history of social activism in Scotland, looking at paintings from the 17th century to the present day and includes archive footage of the group’s campaigns. You can watch the film by clicking on the link below:

http://vimeo.com/63170317

Residents’ memories transformed into art

Residents of a Stockbridge care home recently got the chance to see their memories brought to life in a book created by an exhibited artist. Astrid Jaekel, originally from Ireland, compiled the book called ‘We Used to Jive a Bit … I Couldn’t Do That Now’ after her quest to find out more about the capital from peoples experiences.

Four residents from Bield’s Haugh Street care home in Stockbridge were given the chance to tell their stories for the book after providing Astrid with anecdotes of their time in Edinburgh.

The book which was originally an art installation for Astrid’s degree show looked at the lives of the Bield residents aged between 70 and 80 and also included portraits of them and different memories of life growing up in Edinburgh, from summers on Portobello beach to the hardships of being homeless.

Astrid (pictured above) said: “I had a great time speaking to the residents at Haugh Street and thoroughly enjoyed putting this book together of what was a real life account of life in Edinburgh. This project was born out of a genuine sense of curiosity I felt when moving to Britain and to Edinburgh. My aim was to delve beyond the obvious and to find out people’s attachments to a city as opposed to the more official accounts of history. Through this project I have discovered a side of Edinburgh that otherwise may have not opened up to me”.

Astrid first broke the ice with the four residents by having tea and biscuits with them which then turned into a series of recordings taken over three months.

Isabella Crawford who has been a resident at Bield’s Stockbridge care home for over 13 years, said: “This experience has let me remember the good old days and how pretty Edinburgh used to be. I had not thought about my days spent on Portobello beach and the games we played for a long time so it was good fun going through my memories and having them illustrated. It was also great to see how my portrait turned out.”

Astrid said: ‘It was lovely to see how excited and proud the residents were of the book. We all became good friends and I still visit them now for cups of tea”.

Brian Logan, Chief Executive of Bield said: “As Scotland’s leading provider of housing, care and community services for older people we are dedicated to providing quality care which enhances and enriches lives. Our ‘Free to Be’ philosophy which is at the heart of what Bield is all about, allows older people who still have ambition and drive the freedom to do the things they love but which might otherwise be taken away without the right help and support.”

Isabella Crawford who has been a resident at Bield’s Stockbridge care home for over 13 years, said: “This experience has let me remember the good old days and how pretty Edinburgh used to be.

Brush up on Scottish art at Prentice Centre

Want to know your art from your elbow? Starting on Friday 19 October, The Prentice Centre will be running a weekly ‘Introduction to Scottish Art’ course for adults.

Sessions will be from 10.30 – 12.30 on Fridays and will include visits, discussions and more.

The course is free – to book your place or for more information contact The Prentice Centre on 552 0485.