WHALE News

---

WHALE Arts Makes a Big Splash!

In March, WHALE Arts was awarded a grant by the Make a Splash project, part of the cultural Olympiad linked to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. Make a Splash! is a Scotland-wide series of information and training events being run by Voluntary Arts Scotland, encouraging people to think about how they can increase participation in their activities. Either by attracting new and diverse members and audiences to an existing group – or by plugging a gap in their area by setting up a new group.

WHALE Arts used the grant to spend three days working in the Westside Plaza with three artists - a textile artist, a musician and a photographer. They engaged local people passing through to participate in the activity and gave the opportunity to try out something new and learn more about WHALE Arts. You can watch a short film made by Make a Splash of Gavin talking about why this project was beneficial and how it fits in to the ethos of the 2012 Olympiad by clicking on the link below.

Make A Splash Film.wmv

LAUNCHING IN JULY 2010

SOUTH WEST SOUNDS - A Musician in Residence project in South West Edinburgh

WHALE Arts Agency is the lead partner in a new Musician in Residence project which we hope will engage hundreds of local people playing, composing and recording music in the next two years. We are delighted that our Musician will be ROD JONES, guitarist from the internationally renowned rock band IDLEWILD and now recording and performing as a solo artist.

Rod has just taken up the post and will be starting to visit communities, play at recitals and lead taster workshops over the summer. Watch this website for more details. Regular workshops will start in September at WHALE Arts, Carrickvale Community Centre and St Bride's Community Centre. If you are a local musician (over 16) and want to get involved, please get in touch:

Call us on 458 3267 or email mir@whalearts.co.uk

Hailes Quarry Park - the Youth Shelter Project (news from January 2010)

We are delighted to have been invited by the Edinburgh Greenspace Trust to work with them on their development of Hailes Quarry Park. As part of the Street Arts project, we will be drawing together a group of local young people to create a unique and vibrant piece of outside art on the walls of the brand new youth shelter. The hope is that more young people will feel welcomed into the Park and begin to enjoy the outside spaces on offer there. Watch this space for pictures of the completed shelter...

WHALE Building Development (news from December 2009)

WHALE has been awarded a piece of funding from the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Capital Grants fund to support the development of the performance and gallery spaces in the building. This means that, by July this year, we will have a fully equipped performance space ready to welcome local performance groups or touring companies and artists. We'll also be able to exhibit visual art in the newly refurbished public spaces inside and outside the building.  This new space will be ready for use by the summer and we are excited to begin programming work for local people to enjoy.

Music Mondays at WHALE (news from June 2009)

We are delighted to be launching an 18 month period of music projects for young people, funded by the Scottish Arts Council Youth Music Initiative and managed and delivered by partners, the City of Edinburgh Council Cultural Co-ordinators, Wellington School and the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin.

From May, young people aged 8 to 14 will be able to learn to play traditional Scottish music with the EYG, with classes starting in fiddle, guitar, whistle and song. The experienced tutors regularly teach children in Edinburgh and the method of aural learning and group work has been successful in launching 100s of young people into playing traditional music for over the ten years. 24 young people will be given this opportunity, with no audition process and complete beginners encouraged to join. Musical instruments will be provided and lent to learners for the period of the project so they can practice at home. We would hope that this project would launch a confident and talented group of Scots traditional musicians in the area and might even encourage some adults to get involved too.





As part of a programme of music at Wellington School, young people aged 14+ are being offered the chance to take part in 18 months of training in DJing and digital music. Three young people from the Wester Hailes area will be grouped with pupils from the school and sessions will be held weekly here at WHALE until late 2010. This is a unique opportunity for participants to become highly skilled in this music form, which often is offered as a taster or one off session. We hope participants will make more and more use of our decks and music software as they become skilled musicians.  

See courses for more information on how to get involved in either of these projects.


 

email us

Last updated 26 January 2010