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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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!
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
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:
We are the lions, Mr Manager! is the story of the Grunwick Film Processing Factory Strike (1976–78) and the inspirational strike-leader Jayaben Desai, one of many newly arrived Gujarati women workers from East Africa.
“The story of Jayaben Desai… makes you laugh, feel and think… a powerful story, powerfully told.” – Clare Brennan, The Guardian
Edinburgh’s pioneering Regenerative Futures Fund has reached a major milestone in its long-term effort to shift power and resources into the hands of communities tackling poverty, racism and the climate crisis.
From 97 proposals, a Panel, made up of 15 Edinburgh residents with direct experience of poverty and racism, selected 34 projects to advance to the next stage of funding.
50% of selected projects are led by Black and People of Colour, reflecting the city’s commitment to dismantling racism, tackling the climate transition, ending poverty, and addressing the interconnected challenges shaping a just and thriving future.
Included among the projects initially selected are local initiatives Lauriston Farm Collective, Muirhouse Youth Development Group and R2 (above).
The Resident’s Panel has spent months listening, learning and working through each application with care, mapping projects across the City by geography, theme, and approach. Projects selected will enter the capacity-building phase, from August until December, giving groups the time, space and funding to develop full proposals for long-term, unrestricted funding.
Proposals submitted at the start of 2026 will then be considered for an annual award of £100,000, for ten years. Between 10 and fifteen projects will be selected.
However, the work of the fund goes beyond this as all 34 groups, and dozens more from the initial 97 projects, have registered interest in joining the Regenerative Futures Fund wider network for peer learning, collaboration and collective action – a shared movement for the future of Edinburgh.
“We’re here to build movements, as well as to distribute funds,” says Aala Ross, Co-Head of the Fund. “If we accept that the Fund exists to redistribute power, not just resources, we can reimagine our role as something more powerful.
We nurture conditions for collective power, we build trust across difference, and we learn together, to challenge the systems that shape our lives.”
Leah Black, Co-Head, adds: “We’re flipping the usual script on funding. We’re saying: here’s the time, here’s the space, here’s the support – now let’s imagine and build the future we actually want.
“That’s what makes this different. It’s rooted in care, equity and collaboration, and it’s led by the people who live and breathe these challenges every day.”
The Regenerative Futures Fund is backed by some of the UK’s biggest charitable funders, including the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund, The Robertson Trust, Turn2us Edinburgh Trust, Foundation Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council.
Crucially, these funders have stepped back from decision-making, placing control firmly with local people.
City Council Leader Jane Meagher said “Five years ago, Edinburgh became the first UK city to set a target date to end poverty.To achieve this, we must be ambitious and drive the change that is so greatly needed, which means being brave and being innovative.
“We know this is a challenging time for the third sector and we’re working to increase stability for organisations. By giving greater, longer-term support to community projects, they can get on with what they do best – supporting residents, tackling poverty, and changing lives.
“Edinburgh’s Regenerative Futures Fund is a unique new fund to help us achieve just that and end poverty together.
“I’m excited to see a shortlist drawn up by individuals with lived experience of poverty and looking forward to funding awards being presented early next year.”
In September, the wider network of applicants and community groups will come together for the first time to begin a city-wide journey of learning, connection and shared action.
The Fund is also inviting new partners, funders, donors, philanthropists and supporters to join this long-term collaborative effort to reimagine how resources are shared in the city.
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.
WHAT’S ON TODAY – Thursday 11 December at North Edinburgh Arts 
Winter Pop-Up Market | 11am–3pm
Dementia-Friendly Film Club: Scrooge | 1.30–3.30pm
Garden Sessions for Adults | 1.30–4pm
Youth Arts Collective | 4–6pm
Women’s Wellbeing Workout | 6–7pm
Talk: Scottish UFOs | 6–7.15pm
Adult Social Club (16+) | 6–8pm
Saturday 11 October, 7.30pm
Creative Captioning
Tickets: £7 – £14
Discounted tickets available for NEA Members
Book your tickets now: 
