A big welcome to the Broomhouse Centre, our new tenants and neighbours in the WHALE Centre.

The Broomhouse Centre office will be based at WHALE while work is completed on a new Community Hub in Broomhouse- an essential and integral community resource, set to open in Summer 2019.

With projects and services for all the community, including Youth Befriending, Young Carers, Vintage Vibes and the Beacon Club among others, the Broomhouse Centre delivers activities for all ages and makes an excellent addition to the varied and vibrant community activity running at WHALE on a daily basis.

Bridie Ashrowan, Chief Executive of the Broomhouse Centre says:

‘Thank you from the community and ourselves, to all of our funders who have got alongside this us to createa new hub at its heart for the future. The hub can cope with more than twice the existing footfall and thecommunity will have a facility that is fit for purpose with a wide range of activities. The organisation has always punched above its weight, with innovative services and enterprises, some of which are city wide, but this gives us the boost we need to really make a difference as a community-owned and managed asset.

We will continue with all our existing services beside the site at St David’s Church for one year until the new hub opens, the café, the catering social enterprise and all our services for young and old.

We have an on-going fundraising target of £500,000! This is to be able to complete the building: the garden, suitable for all, the very young and old, including people with dementia, and the furnishings, such as kit for a cinema night. If members of the community want to donate, our ‘Buy a brick’ for £10 campaign, will help us reach our target (**). We want it to be a truly vibrant centre.”

At WHALE, we are delighted to be able to support the Broomhouse Centre, promote their fantastic activity and find opportunities to work together over the coming year.

If you would like more information about the project, a press release can be downloaded via the Broomhouse Centre website.

If you need to get in touch with the Broomhouse Centre, they can be contacted by:

Telephone: 0131 455 7731
Email: admin@broomhousecentre.org.uk

 

WHALE Arts’ textile group Stitch ‘n’ Time is taking part in PROCESSIONS on 10 June, a once-in- a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a mass artwork to form a living portrait of women in the 21st century.

In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave the first British women the right to vote and stand for public office, a landmark for women’s equality and British democracy. 100 years on, 14-18 NOW and Artichoke, the UK’s largest producer of art in the public realm, invite thousands of people who identify as female or non-binary from across the UK to walk together in public processions.

Stitch ‘n’ Time is one of hundreds of community groups to take part in a nationwide programme of banner making. Echoing the artistic practices of the women’s suffrage campaign, their beautiful handmade banner is a visual snapshot of women’s achievements since 1918. They will join thousands of people wearing green, white or violet, the colours of the suffrage movement; the PROCESSIONS will appear as a flowing river of colour through the streets of Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London.

This will be the second time the group has been involved in a march for women. On 10 October 2009 the Stitch ‘n’ Time group participated in the Gude Cause march to commemorate the work of Scotswomen involved in the suffrage movement. The event marked 100 years since the women’s suffrage procession in Edinburgh in 1909.

Meghan Bidwell, Arts Engagement Manager (Adults), WHALE Arts says:

“WHALE Arts is proud to participate in PROCESSIONS, marking the centenary of women’s suffrage. Our textile group’s banner draws on the rich heritage of female protest and activism, illustrating how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go.”

Download (PDF, 108KB)