RESISTANCE: North Edinburgh Fights Back

NORTH EDINBURGH ACTIVISTS GO TO TOWN

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

Book tickets

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

R2: Pedal and Paint community event

FRIDAY 20 JUNE 2 – 4pm at GYPSY BRAE

Come along to this special Community Cycling & Walking event on Friday 20 June!

Burns Night Community Ceilidh: Tickets go on sale tomorrow

Coming soon! Our 11th Annual Burns Night Community Ceilidh!

Saturday 25th January 5-8.30 at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre.

Tickets on sale from tomorrow – Monday 13th January.

With Pilton Community Health Project 

Royston Wardieburn Community Centre 

Tinderbox Collective and many more..

Tinderbox and Granton Youth head back to The Mash House

NORTH BY NORTHWEST 5

NORTH BY NORTH WEST 5!

We’re back at the Mash House with Granton Youth on 15th December for another edition of our emerging talent night!

Tickets are by donation (minimum recommended 50p) – head to the link below to grab yours – they’ll go fast!

https://shorturl.at/pA877

#YMI

Mixing it with Granton Youth

Granton Youth, who work out of Royston & Wardieburn Community Centre, have developed a very successful ‘Mixtape’ group (writes DAVID MACNAB).

This provides opportunities to learn from volunteers and tutors who come from different backgrounds but perform music. The young people get bespoke lessons such as vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, and drums – along with learning music production, song writing exercises, and how to play in a band environment.

The 2023 – 2024 year looks like it is going to be a defining year for the young people who get music tuition and support from Granton Youth and Mixtape.

This year five of the young acts performed at the second North Edinburgh Community Festival, attended by over 6000 people in West Pilton Park, with Granton Youth and Tinderbox partnering on the musical end.

Kat, who plays under the name “Laurent” (french pronunciation), completed her debut EP “Modern Myths” and released this to much acclaim.

Despite being only 17, they have already been named “track of the week” on BBC introducing in Scotland with the track “News to Me” and has become one of the youngest ever people to headline Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh. Her other singles “Paint” and “Hunting Season” are also receiving national and US airplay. 

Tonight – Friday 1st September – the Mixtape club takes over Sneaky Pete’s again, with four young Broughton High students headlining as the newly formed band “Low Tide” and having sold out the venue in advance following the release of their debit single “Between Knuckles” – all received tutelage, rehearsal time, and recording studio hours through Granton Youth.

They have also worked closely with our school workers within Broughton High, forming meaning relationships with Granton Youth which made them feel comfortable in coming to Mixtape. 

Later this year, Mixtape has these two acts performing at Dunfermline’s “Outwith” Festival – as well as our young persons covers band “Ecliptic”, has partnered with Tinderbox again to form “North By Northwest” – a free entry gig evening in Leith showcasing young and emerging talent, and will be touring it’s young acts across Scotland in the months to come with shows already scheduled in Aberdeen and Glasgow.

A great example of how youth work can really make a difference to young lives.

Music For Bridges

Victoria Park & North Edinburgh Cycle Paths
Sunday 12th September, 1pm – 6pm

A full afternoon of music outdoors, along and nearby the cycle paths in North Edinburgh. Join us along the trail for any or all of the following events!

See the map for details of where we’ll be playing.

Note: the event & times are dependent on the weather – if it’s dry we’ll be there, if not we may have to cancel.

Keep an eye on our facebook & twitter for details.

Supported by Sustrans ArtRoots Community Fund

Cashback for city arts projects

Creative projects in Edinburgh will benefit from over £40,000 as part of the Scottish Government’s aim to tackle inequalities experienced by young people, in the Year of Young People 2018. Six Edinburgh arts projects – including Granton Youth Centre, North Edinburgh Arts and the Tinderbox Orchestra – will receive funding as part of the CashBack for Creativity Open Fund, which has awarded a total of £252,000 to 32 projects across the country. Continue reading Cashback for city arts projects