Tag: The Causey

The Causey to host first free on-street projection event of the year

This Saturday (22 March), The Causey will be brought to life by Folk Tales for New Scots, a one-off exhibition, live storytelling and on-street projection event courtesy of Beetroots Collective CIC and Causey Development Trust. 

The exhibition will kick off at 7pm at The Causey (outside Buccleuch and Greyfriars Free Church) and is the result of a series of arts workshops for both locals and the immigrant and asylum seeker communities in Edinburgh, carried out in collaboration with storyteller Claire McNicol and aimed at fostering community ties through Scottish folklore.

Then from 7.30pm a bold and bright animation of this work will light up the historic buildings surrounding The Causey, bringing both the space and Scotland’s myths and legends to life. 

Free to attend this is just one in a series of events created by Beetroots Collective CIC, in collaboration with Causey Development Trust, that bring together Edinburgh’s Southside community with locals and visitors from across the city.

The third of its kind in two years the event will also highlight the work of CDT volunteers who have been campaigning for 17 years to transform The Causey into a fine public space that prioritises people and can host community events.

CDT has shovel ready plans to turn The Causey into a safer, greener space that puts the wellbeing of people first with reduced motorised traffic, stylish seating, planters, trees and even a rejuvenated Police Box.

Perhaps most importantly these plans, designed by the award-winning landscape architects Ironside Farrar, will facilitate a much wider range of arts, culture and community events in the future. Members of CDT will be on hand at the event to discuss these plans with visitors.

Sarah Drummond, Chair of Causey Development Trust, said: “We can’t wait to host our first on-street projection event of the year at The Causey thanks to the incredibly talented Beetroots Collective CIC.

“These events exemplify why this space is so important for the well-being of Edinburgh residents, to help foster community spirit and breathe new life into underused parts of our city.

“We are very lucky to enjoy the support of locals and supporters hailing from all kinds of backgrounds and countries, and we are excited to see their work brought to life this Saturday 22 March, at The Causey.”

The Causey welcomes hundreds of supporters for International Women’s Day active travel event

On Friday 8 March Causey Development Trust welcomed over 200 visitors to The Causey for ‘Our Streets’, an event that transformed the area’s iconic architecture with colourful projected imagery inspired by active travel.

To create the stunning projections, artwork made by the community was animated by award-winning artists Robert Motyka and the Beetroots Collective team and was accompanied by a soundscape designed by Marta Adamowicz.

The individual lino–print artworks created at community workshops, were displayed in an exhibition held in the Southside Community Centre in advance of the event.

Robert Motyka, part of the Beetroots Collective responsible for creating the projections, said: “It was just fantastic to see so many people turn up, despite the cold and wind, to enjoy the Our Streets event.

“Not only that, but to have both Critical Mass and the Infra Sisters finish up their rides at our event – it was an honour, and goes to show that what The Causey is trying to do resonates with people across our local community and across the city.”

On the night the Infra Sisters, a group of women campaigning for night-time cycling infrastructure that’s safe and comfortable for women and girls, cycled into the Causey around 20:45 to huge dramatic effect, before enjoying the final viewing of the evening.

Committed to transforming this soulless traffic island and traffic dominated street in The Southside, into a place that prioritises pedestrians, active travel and the coming together of community, this is just one of a series of upcoming events to be hosted by Causey Development Trust in 2024.

Causey Development Trust hopes that capital works at The Causey will begin in 2025. For more information on the plans, created by local Landscape Architects Ironside Farrar, and how the Causey Development Trust reached this point, reached this point, visit www.thecausey.org