FORTNIGHTLY – THURSDAYS FROM 6 – 8pm
FIRST SESSION IS ON THURSDAY 5 FEBRUARY
A new bi-weekly group for men is starting at North Edinburgh Arts.
A fortnightly group for men to meet and share what’s going on in their lives in a safe, respectful and non-clinical space.
All conversations are confidential, and the group is supported by local volunteers.
First session will take place on Thursday 5 February at 6pm, and then fortnightly.
For more information, please email: smvwalters@gmail.com
WEDNESDAY 4th FEBRUARY 10am – 12 noon
Join Us To help Clean Up Our Community
Wednesday 4 February 2026 10am-12noon
Join us for our next Community Walk & Chat, this Thursday 22 January at 10am.
Meet local politicians, take a walk around the area, and afterwards share your thoughts over a cuppa! Let’s discuss how to improve our local area together and make change happen.
Your voice matters – so come and join us! Everyone’s welcome. Meet us at North Edinburgh Arts.
For more information: Email: rehan@northedinburgharts.co.uk
Call / Text: 07493 876130
This event is part of the North Edinburgh Active Travel project
We’re excited to share a fantastic creative opportunity for local adults who would like to develop skills in jewellery making at North Edinburgh Arts.
We have a couple of places available for an extended jewellery programme with Flourish Jewellery Project, open to local adults living in Granton or Pilton.
Workshops will run weekly on Thursday mornings, 10.30am – 12.30pm, from February to August 2026.
As places are limited, participants must be able to commit to attending weekly to ensure they get the most out of this opportunity.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY:
Places are being offered to adults (aged 18+). The course is funded by City of Edinburgh Council Forth Ward so to be eligible to attend you must live in Granton or Pilton.
If you are interested in taking part but unsure if your address is eligible, please get in touch.
TO APPLY FOR A PLACE:
Email Lisa at hello@flourishjewelleryproject.com and include the following information:
– Your full name
– Your address and postcode
– Contact telephone number
– Tell us why you would like to attend the extended Jewellery programme?
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL EVENTS NEXT MONTH
On a dark winter’s night, what could be more uplifting than hearing from leading Scottish authors? We know… seeing them for FREE! 
Taking place in partnership with Edinburgh Libraries, our flagship communities project Paper Trails is kicking off the year in Muirhouse Library and North Edinburgh Arts for a special series of events this February.
Poetry, fantasy, crime, fiction… we’ve got it all covered with our top-tier line-up of speakers (if we do say so ourselves). And don’t miss the half term workshops for keeping little minds busy on the school break.
Tickets are free but booking is required. These events are going fast so find out dates and book in quick: ticketsource.co.uk/muirhouse-library
#EdinburghInternationalBookFestival
Paper Trails is made possible thanks to #NationalLottery players as well as Cruden Foundation and the Ettrick Charitable Trust.
Edinburgh International Book Festival Paper Trails x Muirhouse Library Winter Book Festival
In partnership with EBIF Paper Trails and North Edinburgh Arts we are very happy to announce, what we hope to be our first, Muirhouse library Winter Book Festival!
Throughout February we will be hosting:
Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi
Campaigners and hosts of the Witches of Scotland podcast and co-authors of How to Kill a Witch. Mitchell and Venditozzi join Vic Murray for a lively discussion about all things Scottish Witch trials and their sinisterly humorous book: How to Kill A Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy.
Doug Johnstone
Author bestselling works including anarchic rock and roll road trip story The Ossians, the darkly funny seven-book series The Skelfs, and the whip-smart sci-fi Enceladons Trilogy.
Ahead of the publication of his 20th novel later this year, join Doug Johnstone to celebrate his 20-year career as a writer, including sharing reflections and hilarious stories from the last two decades.
Maisie Chan
Author of Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths, Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past and the Tiger Warrior series. Listen to Maisie read from her hilarious, warm-hearted books; hear where she gets the inspiration for her stories from and then get stuck into an interactive drawing activity fuelled by your imagination!
You’ll also receive a free copy of one of Maisie’s books to keep.
This event is suitable all ages – perfect for some half-term family fun.
Val McDermid
Scotland’s undisputed ‘Queen of Crime’, Val McDermid joins Book Festival Director Jenny Niven to talk all things crime, dark nights, and share a few behind the scenes stories of having her books adapted for TV.
Irvine Welsh
Joining us via video link for this special event Welsh returns to Muirhouse Library, where he spent time as a child, to bring his characteristic wit, energetic imagination and unfiltered honesty home to the place that made him.
Details and tickets are available to book online via the link below:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/muirhouse-library
There will also be a limited supply of tickets for each event reserved for residents of the local area available to be picked up in the library, pop into the library and ask a member of the team.
MONDAYS 10.30 – 12.30pm
CREATIVITY, CONNECTION & FESTIVE FUN
WHAT’S ON TODAY – Thursday 11 December at North Edinburgh Arts
A full day of creativity, connection & festive fun, and most activities are free to join.
Winter Pop-Up Market | 11am–3pm
Handmade Christmas decorations, art and gifts by local artists & makers from Granton Art Collective, supported by NEA X NESSIE
Dementia-Friendly Film Club: Scrooge | 1.30–3.30pm
A relaxed, welcoming screening of the classic 1970s film
Garden Sessions for Adults | 1.30–4pm
Get active, learn new skills & meet new people in our Community Garden
Youth Arts Collective | 4–6pm
Creative challenges, fun games, snacks & chats for local young people
Women’s Wellbeing Workout | 6–7pm
BLAST Boxing for mental health, confidence & fitness (Pay What You Can)
Talk: Scottish UFOs | 6–7.15pm
A fascinating history of UFO culture with Dr Gavin Miller
Adult Social Club (16+) | 6–8pm
Board games, music, hot drinks & relaxed social time
Men’s Boxing Workout | 7–8pm
Fitness & wellbeing through boxing (Pay What You Can)
There’s something for everyone to enjoy so come and join the fun and make the most of it before the festive break!
More details can be found at: https://northedinburgharts.co.uk/whats-on
NORTH Edinburgh community activists are taking their message to town this afternoon with two events taking place at art galleries in the city centre.
The events have been built around artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen’s RESISTANCE photo exhibition, which runs at the Modern 2 gallery on Belford Road until 4th January.
First up, community stalwarts Anna Hutchison and Willie Black will reflect on campaigns past and present in a panel discussion in the National Gallery at 12.45.
With so many years of campaigning experience Anna and Willie have a host of stories to share and, having known the pair for the best part of thirty years, I’ll be there to try to keep the event running to time!
The free event is sold out, but you can still register to watch online.
Later in the afternoon, two North Edinburgh groups have been working together on an ambitious project that encapsulates North Edinburgh’s spirit of resistance.
The result of the collaboration is the Solidarity Wins: Creative Resistance in North Edinburgh exhibition, which opens at The Portrait Gallery on Queen Street from 2pm today (details below).
It promises to be very good and it’s free – don’t miss it!
The details of today’s events:
RESISTANCE|NORTH EDINBURGH PANEL DISCUSSION
Free – Booking essential SOLD OUT
PICTURE: Craig McLean, Outside Drylaw Police station, community campaign GRASP protesting against Police harassment and violence, 2001
The Resistance exhibition chronicles 100 years of protest across Britain from 1903–2003. Using the exhibition as a starting point, activists Willie Black and Anna Hutchison alongside chair Dave Pickering, editor of the North Edinburgh News and Information Worker at Granton Information Centre, discuss North Edinburgh community activism, campaigns and actions, and their relationship and solidarity with local, national and international protests and change.
All tickets for the live event have been snapped up, but you can watch the discussion online in a streamed version of the live event.
Ticketholders will be sent a joining link before the event to either watch live or view the recording later.
SOLIDARITY WINS: CREATIVE RESISTANCE in NORTH EDINBURGH
Solidarity Wins: Creative Resistance in North Edinburgh Exhibition Launch
2pm – 4pm
National Galleries of Scotland, The Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, EH2 1J
Celebration with food, song and creative activities in the Contemporary Space of the Portrait Gallery. Art works, archive films and research material gathered by Art for Grown Ups and Royston Wardieburn Arts & Culture Group.
Join us for an afternoon of creativity, community and conversation celebrating North Edinburgh’s spirit of resistance.
As part of the Resistance exhibition, the National Galleries of Scotland’s Community Development programme has been working with North Edinburgh groups to create responsive work inspired by the area’s long history of community resistance.
Workshops have included song writing, poetry, photo-montage and exploring photographer Craig MacLean’s back catalogue of North Edinburgh activism, all of which will result in an riso-graph exhibition at the Portrait gallery in November.
As well as this North Edinburgh Arts worked with Local Cinema to programme films as part of their ‘Local Resistance’ programme.
Each screening event included a creative element, one of which included the Resistance choir performing their collaboratively penned song ‘Solidarity Wins: A Song for Greater Pilton‘, along with some well known songs on power of solidarity and friendship.
Thanks to song writing facilitator and choir leader Penny Stone and Tinderbox Jed Milroy and artists Sam Rutherford, Jj Fadaka and Megan Rudden, and all those involved so far!
The programme is a partnership with North Edinburgh Arts Art 4 Grown Ups and Royston Wardieburn Community Centre’s Arts and Culture Group.
IMAGE (above): Collaborative piece by Art 4 Grown Ups members, framed by Muirhouse anti-racism campaign image, 1991.
If anyone is free 2 – 4pm today, it’s the launch of ‘Solidarity Wins: Creative Resistance in North Edinburgh‘ exhibition at the Portrait Gallery, which has been a collaboration between North Edinburgh Arts’ Art 4 Grown Ups project and Royston Wardieburn Community Centre’s Arts and Culture Group (writes HOLLY YEOMAN).
Together they have reflected and responded to North Edinburgh activism and campaigns over the years. There is a community lunch catered by Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts and we will be singing our anthem ‘Solidarity Wins: A Song for Greater Pilton‘ at around 3pm-ish(!)
The exhibition will run till April, and we welcome community groups who might want to visit. If interested please email hyeoman@nationalgalleries.org
Holly Yeoman
EVENT ORGANISED by MISSION OF INNOCENTS
Mission of Innocents warmly invites you to the 2025 Children’s Creativity Festival.
Performed by the children of the Ukrainian community, experience vibrant dancing and heartfelt singing from the voices of the innocent. Remember to arrive early to explore a beautiful art exhibition showcasing their creativity and culture.
For more information about this event, please contact the organiser:
