Tag: Community Space

Leith Energy Hub set to host Warm Welcome Week

This January the city’s only high street energy hub is celebrating Warm Welcome Week, starting on ‘Blue Monday’ and running from 19 to 25 January.

January can be the coldest and loneliest month of the year. It’s the time of year when Warm Welcome Spaces such as Utilita’s Energy Hub are needed most. Warm Welcome Spaces are a lifeline to those who are struggling to keep warm and those feeling lonely or isolated. 

Hub Supervisor Natasha Baillie says: “Warm Welcome Week is all about raising awareness of Warm Welcome Spaces like ours, so more people can find a place of warmth and connection close to home.

“In Warm Welcome Week, we’re taking ‘Blue Monday’ back by giving it a colourful makeover. We’re asking everyone to wear warm colours and get creative with pinks, oranges, reds, and purples to chase the blues away and raise awareness of Warm Welcome Spaces.

“We don’t want anyone to feel cold or lonely this winter, which is why we are working hard to send a message that our Energy Experts are waiting to welcome you in.”

The hub aims to serve the community, offering energy advice to absolutely anyone that requires it, and the team of Energy Experts also engages in community events, as well as working with local charities. 

Natasha continues: “We want more people to know about Warm Welcome Spaces like ours. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with others, make new friends, and have some fun. We want everyone to know that a warm welcome is waiting for you just around the corner.

“People coming to our space say they always leave with a smile on their face. We’d love you to come along and get to know us over a cuppa. Please help us to spread the word so everyone can find our Warm Welcome Space.”

David Barclay, Warm Welcome Campaign Director, adds: “We know demand for Warm Welcome Spaces will be high again this winter, not only supporting people struggling to pay the bills but also playing a vital role in connecting communities and giving people a place of belonging.

“The dark winter days and nights of January can be extremely tough. We don’t want anyone to feel cold or alone this winter.

“We’re asking everyone to join us in Warm Welcome Week to raise awareness so more people can find a place of belonging and connection close to home and by encouraging more community spaces to become Warm Welcome Spaces.

“Everyone can get involved; whether you simply pop on an old orange bobble hat or get creative with craft or cooking, together we will chase away the blues. In Warm Welcome Week, we will create a surge of warmth and positivity in the coldest week of the coldest month.”

The Utilita Leith Energy Hub is open from Monday to Saturday at 41 Newkirkgate, Edinburgh, EH6 6AA and anyone interested in using the hub’s dedicated community space free-of-charge can book a session by emailing edinburgh@utilita.co.uk. 

See more on Utilita Energy Hubs at https://utilita.co.uk/energy-hub.

The Heart of a Community: Free exhibition about iconic Leith building launches this Friday

An exhibition charting the history of Leith St. Andrew’s Parish Church, and the community around it, opens to the public this Friday.

The church building, on the corner of Easter Road and Lochend Road, has been earmarked for sale by the Church of Scotland and has now closed as a place of worship, with its last service held on 29th December 2024. 

The exhibition “The Heart of a Community” marks this moment of transition and has been organised by Leith St. Andrew’s Trust, the charity behind efforts to purchase the Leith St. Andrew’s Church building on behalf of the community and give it a new life as an activity centre and events space. 

The artefacts and stories collected in the exhibition are the culmination of four months of work by local historian, Dr. Julian Grant, who undertook archival research and interviews with former congregation members and others with strong connections to the church.

The project was backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, whose support has also allowed Leith St. Andrew’s to carry out early-stage feasibility studies on how to ensure a sustainable future for the building.

The Heart of a Community will be on display in the church’s main sanctuary hall, launching 21st February, and then opening over the weekends of 22nd/23rd February and 1st/2nd March. 

There will also be a special panel discussion event on Wednesday 26th February hosted by Leith St. Andrew’s Trust volunteer Julia König, and featuring local history expert Fraser Parkinson, award-winning writer Jemma Neville, project lead Julian Grant and Leith St. Andrew’s Trust Chair, Nina Ballantyne.

Nina Ballantyne, Chair of Leith St. Andrew’s Trust, said: “Leith St. Andrew’s Trust is so excited to share the findings from this project with the public, celebrating the people and stories of Leith St. Andrew’s at such a pivotal moment. 

“The Heart of a Community” is an opportunity to learn more about the church’s history, its role in the community to date and its future potential. 

“We hope that people seeing the memories and connections made here will be inspired to support our campaign for a community buyout of the building, and help make many more memories and connections  in future.”

Upcycled piano sculptures hit perfect note at The Wee Hub

An enormous six-meter-high sculpture of three elephant tusks made entirely of upcycled pianos goes on display as part of a new exhibition marking the official launch of The Wee Hub at Ocean Terminal this Sunday (19 June 2022).

The sculpture, ‘The Elephant in the Room’, is a tripod of elephant tusks topped with more than 50 ‘ivories’ and is one of ten that can be seen in and around the Wee Hub’s community space, which has taken over the former Debenhams store at the waterfront centre in Leith.

Also on display is ‘Half of a Piano Cube’, a pyramid of three playable pianos, ‘Power to the People’, two grand pianos each boasting a large gramophone-like pentagonal horn made from lids and soundboards and ‘Piano Meant-A-Lot’, an allotment shed made entirely from old pianos and piano parts which houses a beautiful old playable upright piano. 

Legless grand piano planter boxes will be filled with vegetables and flowers to complete the bucolic idyll of this particular exhibit.

Each interactive sculpture, conceived and created in Leith by the Pianodrome Community Interest Company, uses locally sourced pianos and the exhibition is their first appearance in Scotland.

As part of The Wee Hub’s official launch, which includes a parade around the centre, circus performances and a series of free events, Tim Vincent -Smith, the artist who designed the sculptures, and Matthew Wright, the Pianodrome producer, will be there from 3pm – 4pm along with Danny McGeever, Edinburgh-based singer songwriter, and Nikki Hill of Dripping Tap Theatre, to give a tour of the sculptures, animating them with music and movement.

Expect music, clowning and a rendition of Sunshine on Leith from Danny.Sean Logan of Full Spectrum, will be there playing the sculptures all day.

Miles Tubb of the Living Memory Association which with the support of Ocean Terminal’s owners created The Wee Hub as a free collaborative space for local community groups in the heart of Leith, said: “Pianodrome’s sculptures are simply fantastic and opening their exhibition as part of our official launch day hits the perfect note.

“They are a community-led organisation, just as all the groups here at The Wee Hub, bringing people together to enjoy the arts, music and our heritage. The day will be a colourful and lively display of local people’s creativity and talents from dance through to circus performance.”

Tim Vincent-Smith and Matthew Wright who are also both musicians from the band S!nk set up Pianodrome in 2017 to build the world’s first amphitheatre made entirely from upcycled pianos. Tim said:

“The sculptures were commissioned by the Leeds International Piano Competition and formed a piano trail around the city which was enjoyed by tens of thousands of people – many made the journey specifically to see them. Having set up in Leith and collecting and working with old pianos from the area, however, exhibiting our sculptures at Ocean Terminal could not be more perfect – it is a bit of a homecoming.

“Working with The Wee Hub also presents us with many opportunities for further collaborations. Here we are at the heart of a lively and creative community and with the likes of Tinderbox, who are also based at OT, we hope to bring piano-inspired workshops and events in the months ahead.”

The Wee Hub Launch also includes a laser sculpture workshop with the artist Jonathon Elder, a fencing demonstration from Salle Holyrood Fencing, Circus workshops from Think Circus, music workshops from Tinderbox, a model railway exhibit, and heritage exhibitions.

There is also a dance programme beginning at 11am with a children’s disco, jazz, a parade and a show from the International Dancers of the Edinburgh Festival Carnival.

The Wee Hub Launch Day Programme:

  • 11am Children’s disco
  • 1pm – Nouvelle Jukebox.  Edinburgh based duo. Jazzy vocals and swinging guitar.
  • 2pm – Cutting of ribbon and parade round the Centre
  • 2.30  – International Dancers from Edinburgh Festival Carnival
  • 3pm – Pianodrome tour with music and movement.
  • 3.15pm – Think Circus performance