Tag: workshops

CUTE workshops: Cultural heritage at the edge in Granton

Granton:hub is taking part in an exciting European funded research project on the evolving heritages of Edinburgh’s shifting coastline. 

A group of Edinburgh College of Art academics and their students would like to meet with the Granton community young and old, to reflect on the following themes / questions:

  1. What is the wider geographical context of the Granton area?
  2. How has the area evolved over time, physically, socially, and economically?
  3. Who governs cultural heritage in Granton, and how?
  4. How have local groups and stakeholders developed a sense of the heritage value of Granton?

We would like to invite you to discuss these themes, through interviews, either over Zoom, by phone or in person. Each slot will take around 30-45 minutes but this is flexible. Activities will take place on 3 separate days.

On the final day (Friday) the researchers will present a summary of their findings in the Hub and invite discussion on the future of cultural heritage in Granton. This event will give a chance to chat over a cup of tea/coffee and view the posters that the ECA studenst will have made.

To take part, please book the relevant day(s) on Evenbrite. A researcher from ECA will contact you to arrange a suitable time slot. 

All in-person meetings and the Friday event will follow current government COVID guidelines.

After the event, ECA will produce a document outlining their findings, for presentation at Una Europe, hosted by Universite Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. Your input would therefore shape a collaborative generated dossier of information about Granton to be presented at European level.

If you have any questions please contact artingranton@grantonhub.org

Address: Madelvic House, Granton Park Avenue, Edinburgh EH5 1HS

Madelvic House is just off the cycle path, has a dedicated car park and is a 2 minute walk from the number 19, 16 and 200 bus stop.

Image credit: Ed Hollis

Edinburgh women to Flourish in jewellery design

Funded by Creative Scotland, The Flourish Jewellery Project is an exciting craft jewellery project. Working in partnership with North Edinburgh Arts and Four-Square’s Womanzone, Jewellery Artists, Lisa Arnott and Jessica Howarth have enabled women who are recovering from trauma from domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, social isolation, and economic hardship to develop new skills in jewellery design and making.

Working with a variety of organisations who support women, Lisa and Jessica created a series of outreach jewellery sessions introducing and enabling the women to make rings, pendants and bangles from silver. For these participants, being part of this project has provided a space for them to dare to dream and have a moment in their week where their creativity is realised.

From the outreach session, 12 women then went on to engage with the project on more intensive weekly jewellery and metalwork sessions. During this time, they learnt the foundations of metal and jewellery work which included saw piercing, soldering, texturing and shaping metal.

Despite the various challenges the women experienced, the project has provided materials, travel and childcare alongside safe and high-quality jewellery workshops.

Having never made any jewellery out of metal at the start of the project, the women from the Flourish Jewellery Project have now produced a small collection of silver jewellery which will be on display at the project’s exhibition, which takes place from 22nd until the 25th January at Custom House in Leith.

The exhibition, which is sponsored by fine jeweller, Hamilton & Inches, with support from the Scottish Goldsmith Trust and Scottish Historic Building Trust, will display beautifully handcrafted items.

Lisa Arnott (above) and Jessica Howarth said: “We were both delighted to have received funding from Creative Scotland for the Flourish Jewellery Project.

“By working in partnership with Foursquare’s, Womenzone project and North Edinburgh Arts in Muirhouse we have been providing jewellery making opportunities for women from across the city.

“This project has enabled women who have experienced trauma, social isolation and/or economic challenges to develop traditional jewellery making skills.”

A Flourish participant said: “The Flourish Jewellery Project has made me find myself. I’m shocked at who I was when I first started coming as to who I am now”.

Earlier this Autumn the Flourish Jewellery Project was featured at The New York Jewellery Week 2021’s the ‘Power of Jewellery’ and was shortlisted for a Creative Edinburgh Award for Best in Collaboration. 

Lisa and Jess (above) have also taken part in research undertaken by University College London and Birmingham City University and collaborated with a host of local artists and designers.

This has included Professor Sandra Wilson from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, furniture designer Colin Parker, web designers Erin Smith and Zena Walczynska, illustrations by Kinship Press, Photographer Shannon Tofts and Media Scotland who are co-producing a film reflecting the women’s experience of the project.

The project is now becoming a community interest company and has secured further funding to enable six women to continue to develop their jewellery training further.

Croft Coorie-in all set for Saint Andrew’s special!

Get your dancing shoes ready! 💃🏼

We’re very excited for our next Croft Coorie-in which will take place on November 27th at Leith Community Croft ✨

From 11am we will have flea market stalls, (email greta@earth-in-common.org for a stall), a whittling workshop (sign up: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/introduction-to…), as well as a crafting corner ✂️

From 3pm we will have a Ceilidh with wonderful ‘Flaming Nora’ 🎶🎻 – we can’t wait to have a boogie together, so make sure to save the date!

Earth in Common: Croft Coorie-in

We’re so excited to introduce our first “Croft Coorie-in”, coming Saturday 30th October – 11am-4pm!

The Croft Coorie-in is a new exciting community day hosted by Earth In Common on Leith Community Croft.

We want to create a warm inviting space to come together and embrace our community for a better and more just future for all!

Come and warm yourselves up at our Coorie-in where you’ll find: environmental workshops, a craft corner for carving pumpkins and making placards for COP26, flea market stalls, local organisations discussing their work, and a film screening of “NOT WITHOUT US” by @takeoneaction

#COP26

#coorie

#cooriein

#leith

#leithcommunitycroft

#notwithoutusmovie

Today at Leith Links: Family fun at Edinburgh Climate Festival

The Edinburgh Climate Festival 2021, a free, family friendly & community-led marketplace event taking place for the first time in Leith Links East today from 12 noon to 7pm.

It aims at celebrating and inspiring climate action. Featuring performances, stalls, kids’ and adults’ activities and more, this is not to be missed! 🌎 💚 ♻️ 🌳

Highlights of the ‘marketplace’ festival include:

• Family/Kids area 👪

• Market and stalls 🎪

• Background music, Live DJ 🎵♪

• Upcycling workshops ♻️

• Henna painting ✋

• Seed planting workshops 🌾🌱

• Storytelling and arts and craft 🎨

• Free clothes repairs 🧵 ♻️ 👚

• Free bike repairs 🚲 🔧

• Electric bike trials 🚴

• Free shop with clothes, books, shoes & more! 👚👠👗📚

• Free Yoga classes 🧘🏽‍♀️

Please join share the facebook event for more updates: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/125587702982065 

#EdinburghClimateFestival

Free Theatre Auditions in Edinburgh this Weekend

Renowned talent management and theatre training programme, Stagebox, will be hosting its Edinburgh auditions at Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, on Sunday (16th May 2021). 

If you know a young performer aged 8-18 years old who is looking to take their talent to the next level, Stagebox is inviting auditionees to take to the stage at this weekend’s in-person audition workshops.

Successful talent will enjoy the exclusive award-winning performance training programme during the school holidays, as well as benefitting from the talent management at Stagebox.

For the first time, auditions are free of charge, with Stagebox founders keen to encourage everyone with a love of theatre to come along and audition.

https://youtu.be/ACfjwCqHAgY

Stagebox recently released a video featuring its Edinburgh cast performing an original medley from Disney’s The Little Mermaid on YouTube, so hopeful auditionees can envision just what it’s like to be part of the Stagebox world. The video has already amassed an impressive 5,000 views in less than a week.

With Stagebox alumni starring on stage and screen, many securing lead roles for Disney, Netflix, in the West End and beyond, Stagebox offers rising stars the chance to train smart, build industry connections and gain unrivalled opportunities in theatre, television and film.

Stagebox’s General Manager, Jasmine Quinlan Gardner, said: “It’s been a turbulent period for the performing arts industry to say the least, and we’re so delighted to be holding the free auditions in Edinburgh.

“Stagebox is about opportunity, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating the country’s budding talent.”

Kirsti Bagger, Head Agent at Stagebox said: “We’re looking to meet new performers with passion, ambition and star quality.

“We’re very passionate about accessibility and inclusivity which is why we’re removing audition fees this May – we welcome children from all backgrounds, from newcomers all the way up to advanced level and we can’t wait to see what the young people of Edinburgh have to offer!”

These auditions are guaranteed to fill up fast and limited spaces apply. To register your spot for the Edinburgh audition date, please visit Eventbrite.

To find out more about Stagebox, please head to: https://www.stagebox.uk/

*Auditions will be socially distanced in adherence with COVID-19 guidelines.

Help your workmates save money and stay warm this winter

Many of us have been working from home since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Research from June 2020 (PDF) showed most Scots felt their energy use increased during lockdown, and almost 60% of households were worried about their bills going up as a result.

As lockdown measures continue and cold weather means the heating is on for longer, you and your workmates might need some help to manage your energy costs while keeping warm at home.

Learn simple ways to stay warm at home

The good news is, we can help. As well as impartial advice to householders, we also offer fun and interactive online workshops for employers across Scotland.

Workshops are completely free and can be tailored to suit your workplace. And they’re a great way to connect with and support your colleagues, especially when many may be concerned about rising bills.

You and your workmates will pick up practical tips to reduce your bills and keep your home warm, like:

  • Getting to know your heating controls, so you can get the best out of your heating system and make your home more comfortable
  • Keeping the heat in by draught-proofing your home
  • Making sure you’re not wasting energy – just turning your appliances off instead of leaving them on standby could save you £30 a year
  • Finding out what support is available to help you make your home warmer and more energy efficient through energy saving home improvements

We’d love to help you and your colleagues stay warm this winter – email us to book your workshop. We also offer workshops on travelling sustainably (for essential journeys of course!), and saving water in partnership with Scottish Water. If getting everyone together for an online workshop will be tricky, our home energy e-learning is also full of useful advice on saving energy and money at home

Pick up tips to make the food shop go further

While we’re all cutting down on supermarket trips and many household budgets are getting tighter, it helps to make the food shop go further. Love Food Hate Waste workshops, delivered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of Zero Waste Scotland, can help attendees save up to £437 a year by reducing food waste, through simple tips like: 

  • Menu planning, to make sure you don’t buy more than you use and don’t have to dash out for missing ingredients
  • Storing food correctly so it lasts longer
  • Using up leftovers and kitchen cupboard ingredients with crafty recipes

Interested? Get in touch to book a workshop.

Support for communities as well as workplaces

We also offer free online workshops for community groups on saving energy and water at home, travelling sustainably, and cutting food waste.

These are a great way to get your community group together remotely.

Find out more about our support for communities, and drop us an email if you’d like to book a workshop.

‘So, What Now?’

A new course to support locals who want to make North Edinburgh stronger launches next month

‘So, What Now?’ a new course to support locals who want to make North Edinburgh stronger launches in November.

Firstport, Scotland’s support agency for start-up social enterprises, has launched a new workshop series ‘So, What Now?’  as part of their What If… North Edinburgh Programme.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on communities big and small, and this course is designed to tackle those concerns arising out of the pandemic, as well as existing ones, and provide an opportunity for people to plan for the future.

The six-week workshop series will help individuals identify actions to take to help their local community and develop the skills to get these ideas up and running.

Starting on the 2nd November 2020, the ‘So, What Now?’ group will meet weekly to discuss concerns, take part in upskilling sessions, and access tailored training to support their ideas. Participants will finish the course with the skills and knowledge to get their ideas off to the best possible start.

The course will be run by the What If… North Edinburgh manager, Julie Smith, who already lives and works locally to the North Edinburgh Area to support individuals and groups starting community focused projects and businesses.

Julie Smith, workshop lead, said: “It can be difficult to talk about hope when we are in the middle of a pandemic – but throughout this time we have seen how people power makes a difference.

“The course we’re running – So, What Now? – is designed to provide space and opportunity for people to meet, share their experiences with each other and explore the possibilities for creating new ways of solving old problems in the community. It is about travelling hopefully towards the future, embracing opportunities to develop as a person, a group, and a community.

“The course is really for anyone who wants to get involved in their community, people who have ideas about developing projects or businesses but are not sure what to do, and those who would like space and time to think about what they want to do in the future.”

The workshop series is open to anyone living or working in North Edinburgh, particularly individuals passionate about social concerns in the area, with insight into what needs to be changed, and looking for inspiration and support to make a positive difference in the community. 

An information session will take place between 10.00am-11.30am on Wednesday 28th October for anyone interested in finding out more.

This course will be held digitally; however, it will be as interactive as possible.  Anyone requiring assistance to take part in the course is encouraged to get in touch with What if North Edinburgh so they can support their request.

More Information:  

Register for the course here: https://www.firstport.org.uk/business-support/what-if-edinburgh/wine-registration/  

Sign-up for an informal coffee/tea chat with Julie: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/so-what-now-what-ifnorth-edinburgh-course-info-event-tickets-126041903727  

More information about the What if North Edinburgh programme as a whole: https://www.firstport.org.uk/business-support/what-if-edinburgh/   

What can you use the internet for? A digital survey

What If…North Edinburgh? (WINE) is a programme run by First Port to support local people to develop social enterprises to create jobs and do something worthwhile in the community. Run by the manager, Julie Smith, it has assisted people over the last year to start up businesses doing sewing and tailoring, running markets and making crafts.

WINE offers workshops, training and discussions on various topics from ‘what is a social enterprise’ to managing your finances. It started a digital training course for local people just before lockdown, to include things like using social media, creating your own posters, how to sell online. That had to stop, but Julie is keen to offer training, this time online. She wants to know what would be useful for people.

“I got a really good tutor in from an organisation called Mhor Collective”, Julie explained. “They do a lot of work around what people want to learn, their motivation etc and don’t just have a set course they deliver. It’s tailored to people’s needs.

“Since lockdown, we’ve all seen how important having access to the internet it. But it’s hard if you can’t afford broadband or data – and if you have to share one tablet or phone between a whole family. I know a lot of people will have been doing home schooling too online, a very new thing for everybody!

“I’m doing a survey of people in north Edinburgh to find out what they’d like to learn to do, or do better using technology. We can then put on a course based on those needs. It’ll be great to build on the skills people already have and maybe identify some digital champions locally who can then go on to support others.”

The survey is straightforward and shouldn’t take too long.

“It’s important we get as many views from as many people as possible. If you need a paper copy of the survey, let me know. And pass it on to others!’’

The survey can be found online here WINE digital survey

If you have any questions about the survey or the other work WINE is doing, please contact Julie Smith: julie@firstport.org.uk or phone 07763 869 556.