Tag: North Edinburgh Arts

Something Fischy’s going on at North Edinburgh Arts!

Two things that help people of any age get through the ups and downs of life are friendship and music.

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A pioneering two-year project, led by acclaimed Edinburgh charities Fischy Music and The Sunflower Garden, to build friendship groups and promote musical creativity for Edinburgh children with family issues, will culminate in a celebration concert at North Edinburgh Arts Centre on Friday (4 September) at 6.30pm.

Weekly after-school projects for four groups of 8-12 year olds have been run since October 2013. These groups have focused on song-writing, discussion and music games as a way of building confidence, making friends and expressing deep emotions about life circumstances that the children may struggle with.

These four moving, quirky and original songs have been recorded onto a special CD, and will be showcased by a professional live band along with selected favourites from Fischy Music – in front of an audience composed of the song-writing children, their families, staff from the two organisations and other invited guests.

“Excited when there’s presents, or going on holiday

Confused when I don’t understand the things that people say

Scared when it gets dark, or going somewhere new

In my house, there are feelings, lots of feelings

Lots of feelings all the time, is that the same for you?

(extract from ‘My House’ composed by project group 2, May 2014)

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Otesha comes to North Edinburgh Arts

An exciting new project is coming to North Edinburgh Arts next week …

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The Otesha Project UK

Invites you to come and see the Otesha UK cycling and performing extravaganza this summer at North Edinburgh Arts.

  • Monday 24 August, straight after school
  • 12 years and under and families
  • Food growing workshops
  • Bicycle maintenance workshops
  • Watch the Otesha UK Play
  • All for free!

Get involved as they collect ideas on how to create a better world – from composting to clothes swapping!

The Otesha Project is a mobile community of young people who are spending three weeks cycling through Scotland visiting schools, youth clubs and communities to perform the magnificent Otesha UK Play, and running workshops about how global issues meet everyday lives.

They won’t be counting carbon. They will, however, be having a brilliant time discovering how to live in a way that makes good things happen without harming others or the planet.And they invite YOU to do it with them and help them to do it better.

Book your FREE space now:
0131 315 2151
admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk

 

 

Grave Talk at North Edinburgh Arts

Time to talk about the great taboo?

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Death and dying. It’s a subject many of us prefer not to even think about, let alone discuss – but Ruth Green, Minister of St David’s Espisopal Church in Royston Mains, says it’s good to talk about death and has organised an event to do just that. And it might even be fun!

Ruth explained: “It’s called Grave Talk, and it’s a cafe space designed to talk about death, dying and funerals. I was inspired to start this because in my experience as a nurse, and now as a minister, most people don’t know how to talk about death. This event gives a safe environment, and is a way of trying to normalise such conversation. It is free (with donations accepted for the cake) and is non-religious, so it’s suitable for people of all faiths and doubts. At previous events, strangely enough, it is fun, and there’s lots of laughter, as people are freed up to explore their ideas and feelings.”

GRAVE TALK takes place at North Edinburgh Arts on

Wednesday 2 September from 6.30 – 7.45 

there will be tea and cake

there will be talk, there will be questions

the truth is we are all going to die, but nobody wants to say anything

Grave Talk is a chance to talk about death

think about your funeral

ask questions, air your thoughts

for people of all faiths and doubts

Intrigued? Interested? Like to find out more? Like to go along? Call Ruth on 629 2018 or 07941 552 768 or email liverdiet@hotmail.com

Grave Talk poster

Dancing with wolves

Local youngsters shine in dance performance

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Liminal Dance Company brought their Red and the Wolf to North Edinburgh Arts on the latest leg of a Scottish tour – and, together with local young people, took an appreciative audience on a magical journey.

Choreographer Gemma Williams and professional dancers worked with a locally-based community cast of young people aged 8-16 in a series of workshops which culminated in a live performance of the work on Wednesday evening.

Inspired by the Little Red Riding Hood fairtytale, Red and the Wolf  tells the much-loved story through music, movement and dance and took the audience – who were not merely passive observers, but became part of the performance – on an ever-changing, fantastic journey.

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It was a fascinating experience, a real adventure, and all credit to the young participants Gemma Williams, Justine Lim, Christina Duncan, Abigail Courtney, Katherine Rennie, Jiaya Aui, Gabrielle Glean, Staney Mckay, Ferdie Mckay, Sorcha Minto, Julie Dorozynska, Freya McNicoli, Inez MacIntosh and Rhona Payne who really put their hearts and souls into the performance. Bravo!

Next stop for Red and the Wolf is Musselburgh’s Brunton Theatre (11 – 15 August)

Coorie Doon at North Edinburgh Arts

‘You could be my masterpiece’ – lyric from ‘Sam’s Song’

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North Edinburgh Arts played host to a very special gathering earlier this week. Local women from Circle Scotland’s Haven Project – all of whom are pregnant or have recently become mums – have been working with professional musicians over the last eight weeks to produce songs for their children.

There can be few things in life more intimate than singing songs to and with your wee one, and if you wrote that song yourself: well … how wonderful is that! Tuesday was the first opportunity to hear the finished creations and what an inspiring occasion it was.

From June to August Enterprise Music Scotland’s Coorie Doon project engaged the young women to help establish a positive connection between mother and child. A composer, lyricist and musicians worked with participants – all of whom attend either The Haven’s Pregnancy Cafe or Bump to Buggy Group – to compose a song for their child which they themselves could sing to them.

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Lead artist for the Coorie Doon project was composer, musician and music educator Rachel Drury, a talented freelance musician and researcher working predominantly in the field of music education and psychology.

Rachel was an inspired choice to lead the project -she is the creator and composer of Baby O and Sensory O, two internationally acclaimed operas for infants aged between 6 and 36 months. Rachel is also a lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has given a variety of research lectures across the UK.

Over the course of the project Rachel worked with the participants in both group and individual settings to produce a bespoke piece of music, each one of which is based on the womens’ own experiences.

When the women were happy with their songs they spent a day in North Edinburgh Arts studios to record their tracks, and yesterday’s final session was an opportunity to join with friends and family to celebrate the achievements of the participants and to hear their uniquely personal songs in a live concert setting. And those songs were very special.

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One participant was Caroline, who’s ‘Calvin’s Song’ made reference to AC/DC sleeping suits! Her baby is due next month – Caroline knows he’s a boy – and when young Calvin comes into the world he’s going to have his very own little hard rock soundtrack!

Caroline, who’s from West Pilton, said: “It really was a brilliant to be involved in this. None of us had ever done anything like this before, it was completely new experience for everyone. I hope Calvin will like his song – I think he will!”

Coorie Doon was delivered in collaboration with North Edinburgh Arts and Circle Scotland’s Haven Project . 

Office space to let in North Edinburgh

Two local projects have office space to let

NEA

North Edinburgh Arts (above) has a ‘Big Bright Office’ space available from 1st September:

Ground floor office with large corner window
Can accommodate 4/5 desks
Built in kitchen with sink, cooker, fridge, dishwasher
All utility costs (gas, electricity, water) included
Reception duties, 9am – 5pm, and post handling included
Access to a photocopier/colour printer charged per print
Access to meeting/workshop rooms by arrangement
Free parking
Lively community café on site
Award winning gardens on site

Other agencies operating out of NEA include Tomorrow’s People, Muirhouse Link Up, Licketyspit Theatre Company, Tinderbox Orchestra, North Edinburgh Timebank. Ideal for a creative, community, or third sector organisation.

Cost £600 per calendar month

For more details or to arrange a visit call Sandra on 0131 315 2151 or email admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk

PrenticeCentre

And across in Granton Mains, The Prentice Centre (above) also has office space available to let.  

This would be most suitable for small charities, community groups or social enterprises. There is also the opportunity for two or three small organisations to share the premises if you only require office space for one or two days per week.

The Prentice Centre is a modern, purpose built Community Centre serving the communities of West Granton, Pilton, Muirhouse, Royston/Wardieburn and Drylaw.

Office space comprising one main office with a large storage cupboard and small kitchen area has now become available in The Prentice Centre.

The office has space for 3 work stations, with additional space for low level seating. There are adequate power points within each workspace; the tenant would have to install telephone and internet.

The rental includes: heat, lighting, security shutters and alarm, cleaning, reception services and contribution to the performing rights society fees.

The centre is Wi-Fi enabled, there is ample free on street parking nearby.

The Prentice Centre is open Monday to Thursday 8am to 8.30pm, 8am to 3pm on a Friday all year, with the exception of Edinburgh Public Holidays and Christmas through New Year, when we are closed.

The unique aspect of a let in the Prentice Centre is the ability to hire our Board and other meeting rooms at a fraction of their cost: we can supply tea and coffee for meetings at an additional cost. Our Board Room has a ceiling mounted projector with a screen: there is a laptop available for use, making it ideal for formal meetings and for training purposes. We are also on a number of main Lothian Bus routes including numbers: 8, 14, 16, 24 and 32

This space is ideally suited to small to medium sized community groups, charities or social enterprises who must share the ethos of West Granton Community Trust who own the Centre.   Sharing the office with another small charity or social enterprise may be possible.

Rental in the region of £5000 per annum

Please contact Janet on 0131 552 0485 for further details and to arrange to view the office.

Rehearsals under way for Red and the Wolf

Group shot NEA

Some of our local young people have been hard at work at North Edinburgh Arts this week, working with professional group Liminal Dance on a new dance production they will perform in public next Wednesday evening.

Red and the Wolf by Liminal Dance is an immersive dance theatre performance working with locally based community cast of young people.

The work explores movement and dance through storytelling and suggestion based on the familiar source of the story Little Red Riding Hood.

The audience will be taken on a unique ever changing journey as the story unfolds. Participants have been exploring movement, dance and storytelling with professional artists who have helped them explore their own creativity and imagination to create a truly unique experience for dancers and audience.

Stanley McKay.Julie Dorozynska, Rhona Payne, Christiana Duncan

Over July and August Liminal dance will be working in partnership with the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, Citymove Dance Agency, Aberdeen, Woodend Barn, Banchory, North Edinburgh Arts, Edinburgh and The Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh.

The project is led by Gemma Williams, Choreographer and artistic director of Liminal dance, She is interested in producing new ways to produce dance work which involves young people directing shaping and making the work alongside her.

This project is open to up to 25 young people each week, ages 8 – 16. The company will take them through a series of workshops and creative sessions looking at storytelling, developing and using their imagination, improvisation, dance technique and choreography. At the end of the week the group will present a final show created from the various workshop sessions.

The project is designed to be accessible to any level of participant as part of the same process, with opportunities to use, extend and develop their artistic experience whatever level it may be.

Red and the Wolf is designed to explore movement and dance through storytelling and imagination with a group of young people working and performing with professional artists. The project will create unique journeys for the participants as they are given the freedom and tools to develop their own roles, becoming a creative cog in an ever changing collective journey.

Liminal Dance are currently working with participants at North Edinburgh Arts , with their performance on Wednesday the 5th of August at 7.00pm

Rhona Payne, Justine LIm,Katherine Stanley and Ferdie McKay, Julie Dorozynska, Inez MacIntosh,

People involved in local performance:

Liminal Dance Company:

Choreographer Gemma Williams

Dancers Justine Lim and Christina Duncan,

Audio and visual Artist technician Jason Lim

Production Advisor Matthew Hawkins

Community Cast at North Edinburgh Arts:

Katherine Rennie, Jiayi Li, Stanley and Ferdie McKay, Julie Dorozynska, Freya MnNicoll, Inez MacIntosh, Sorcha Minto, Gabrielle Glean

Free family trip to Scottish National Gallery

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Making Faces:
Free Art Activities Trip

Thursday 6 August
10am – 12noon
4-12 years and families

The Scottish National Gallery (SNG) will be hosting free art activities for children and families (aged 4-12years). Inspired by the summer exhibitions at the National Galleries, the theme for the programme is ‘heads and faces’. The free SNG visit will include a guided tour of the exhibition ‘Bailey’s Stardust’ and an exclusive visit to Making Faces.

If you would like to join the North Edinburgh Arts group travelling up to the National Galleries to enjoy the Making Faces activities please book your free space now. We will be going to the galleries by bus (fare not included) leaving and returning to NEA together.

Spaces are limited. To book your free place:

Call: 0131 315 2151
Email: admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk
In person at North Edinburgh Arts

Please note: The cost of transport is not included.