Projects

CREATIVE FUTURES PROJECT

The North Edinburgh Arts Creative Futures project led by our CF Fellow Denna Jones is specific in its funding (March 2011 – March 2012), but project outcomes are being developed with one, five and ten year milestones. These milestones are based on a holistic S.S.U.R.G.E framework, which will be implemented across a range of creative outcomes delivered by NEA.

The NEA garden is underdeveloped, but recognised as a key resource within the Muirhouse and Pennywell master plan. Our garden will encourage and enable the community to move towards a SSURGE mindset.

We will share resources. We will enable “small” achievements so they grow into “big” successes. We will ensure that “small” thinking and ideas and results are not overwhelmed by the grandiose or relentlessly “big”. We will upcycle the forgotten, needlessly wasted or under-utilised to create useful positive outcome. Our upcycle philosophy applies not just to things but to human capital. We will ally our upcycle ingenuity with a recycle philosophy rooted in reduced, smart consumption.

We will grow. Grow our garden. Grow our community. Grow appreciation and stewardship of self, plants, animals and humans. All this will be achieved with energy. The energy of our staff. Our community, Our partners. The energy transferred from hand to seedling and back again when the plants in our garden are eaten in our community café, and the energy and buzz created in the community when SSURGE becomes not just a policy but a passion.

Creative Scotland’s ‘Creative Futures’ is an ambitious programme of residencies and related activities designed to promote the professional development, vision, connectivity and ambitions of Scotland’s creative practitioners and organisations.

 

Structured around key themes, and supported by independent evaluation, online networking and cross-programme events, Creative Futures will develop a powerful and coherent narrative for investment in individuals. With between 100 and 200 individual participants annually, it is the largest co-ordinated residency programme in Europe, and includes residencies that are single discipline, interdisciplinary, cross sectoral and international.

 

 

CREATE

The Create project provides quality art-making experiences for parents and carers that engages them in active play with the children, aged 5 and under, in their care. Delivered two mornings a week the project aims to provide active childhood experiences and underpins a range of learning skills, for the adults and children. The Create Project provides the resources, ideas, guidance and creative inspiration for a range of activities that can often be replicated in the home environment using recycled, cheap and easily obtainable materials. Create, supported Lloyds TSB Foundation and BBC Children in Need, takes place from 10am every Thursday and Saturday morning. Families with children aged 0 - 5 are very welcome to drop-in.

 

 

 

DANCER IN RESIDENCE

North Edinburgh Arts, working with Imaginate and Dancebase, has been awarded funding from Creative Scotland to host a Dancer in residence for 18 months from May 2011. Funded through the pARTners scheme the residency will focus on the health and well being benefits that dance can bring to children, young people and their families living in the Forth Ward.

The residency will take the form of three workshops per week during term times, plus a summer school.  The workshops will engage a range of young people and their families.  Each workshop will target a specific age group, i.e 0-5’s with their parents and carers, 5-8 years old, and 8 years old plus. Overall the programme aims to engage with up to 36 children per week, and 12 parents and carers.

Outreach sessions will also be arranged with groups, such as parents and toddlers, primary schools, youth groups, young carers groups and through liaising with community health groups and workers. This is to ensure the dance opportunities are made available to as wide a range of participants as possible, over and above families and young people are already using North Edinburgh Arts.  

Partners Imaginate and Dancebase will provide a professional development programme for the Dance Artist, Skye Reynolds who will use the knowledge gathered in working with these groups and their development opportunities to devise and develop her own work. The work created will be presented at North Edinburgh Arts, at the Imaginate Festival 2012 and at the Dancebase Festival in August 2012.

Watch news updates for further information on this project.