A collaboration between WHALE Arts, Edinburgh Art Festival, Canal View Primary and Walker and Bromwich – in celebration of May Day.

On Friday 4th May artists Walker and Bromwich will bring their 2017 Edinburgh Art Festival commission to Wester Hailes, which will see their giant inflatable dragon paraded across the community accompanied by every child from Canal View Primary School, who have been working with artists over the past year.

The artists and WHALE Arts have been running a Family Art Club over the past few months, in which the participants have created costumes, banners and placards for the parade. The week of the parade we will see more workshops and a dance lunch club all leading up to the parade, play and performance on Friday. The whole school will follow ‘The Dragon of Profit and Private Ownership and a group of actors across the school grounds at 11am on Friday 4th May.

The school will be gifted photographic prints taking from the day to display throughout the school as a legacy of the project.

In 2017 the Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF) commissioned artists Walker and Bromwich to make ‘The Dragon of Profit and Private Ownership’ responding to the the 2017 EAF theme ‘The Making of the Future’. The inflatable ‘Dragon of Profit and Private Ownership’ encouraged viewers to question how our society is run, taking inspiration from the original town planner Patrick Geddes, whose vision centres around bringing the triangle of ‘Work/Folk/Place’ together.

In developing the original commission the artists worked with children from Canal View Primary, a selection of whom participated in the festival opening parade with the dragon along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, dressed as leaves referencing Patrick Geddes famous quote ‘By leaves we live, not by the jangle of coins’.

Zoë Walker and Neil Bromwich are an established collaborative duo based in Glasgow, Known for their ambitious large-scale sculptural works and participatory events. They say;

“It’s been incredibly enriching working in Wester Hailes with WHALE Arts. Canal View Primary school has a refreshingly visionary approach to teaching and the children and families that have taken part in this project have been brilliant, bringing their own inspiring ideas to the artwork. It has been a great opportunity to take our project, ‘The Dragon of Profit & Private Ownership’ back to the community that was so influential in its development.”

Helena Barrett, WHALE Arts Creative Placemaker says; ‘

“The partnership with Edinburgh Art Festival and collaboration with Walker and Bromwich has been a fantastic opportunity for WHALE Arts 3 year placemaking programme, in which we are working across Wester Hailes to run creative outreach activities with community partners, cross-community wide events and commissioning artists to create public artworks. The project has enabled us to extend our outreach and relationship with Canal View Primary School and their wider school community bringing high quality arts and cultural experiences to their families.”

Ann Moore, Head Teacher, Canal View Primary says:

“The engagement with artists Walker and Bromwich, as well as the Edinburgh Art Festival and WHALE Arts has been an amazing experience for the children and families here at Canal View Primary School. They have been involved in so much exciting work in the expressive arts and it has been great to have the opportunity to be able to share that with the local community.”

Chief Executive of WHALE Arts Leah Black says:

“We are delighted to be part of such an exciting collaboration between creative minds which has the children of Canal View Primary School at its heart. We are all looking forward to the parade and – over time – witnessing the legacy of the project as part of Helena’s role as Creative Placemaker in Wester Hailes.”

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Notes to Editors

About WHALE Arts

Since being set up by local people in 1992 WHALE Arts has firmly established itself as the cultural anchor organisation for Wester Hailes. As a community-led arts charity and social enterprise, WHALE Arts’ mission is to be the creative heart of a vibrant, thriving community.

WHALE acts as a conduit between our community and creative opportunities through the direct delivery of projects, programmes and events and by connecting our community with city and national cultural partners. We are based in the purpose built WHALE Arts Centre – ‘The WHALE’ – a unique community asset that provides a range of high quality creative spaces including an Arts Workshop, Performance Space, Darkroom and Digital Media facilities for our community.

About Walker and Bromwich

Zoë Walker and Neil Bromwich are an established collaborative duo based in Glasgow, whose work has been presented at Tate Britain, London; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Glasgow International Festival of Visual Arts; Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Thessaloniki Biennale, Greece; and other international venues in Europe, Asia and the Pacific region. Awarded and Fellowships include Welcome Trust Production Award, Arts and Humanities Research Council Award, The Nelson Mandela Legacy Project, SA/UK, Pretoria; Art and Architecture Fellowship Kielder, Northumberland; Pier Art Centre Fellowship, Orkney; HIAP International Fellowship, Helsinki. A monograph on their work is published by John Hansard Gallery and is available through Cornerhouse Publishing. walkerandbromwich.org.uk

About Edinburgh Art Festival

Founded in 2004 and now in its 15th edition, Edinburgh Art Festival is the platform for the visual arts at the heart of Edinburgh’s August festivals, bringing together the capital’s leading galleries, museums and artist-run spaces in a city-wide celebration of the very best in visual art. Each year, the Festival features leading international and UK artists alongside the best emerging talent, major survey exhibitions of historic figures, and a special programme of newly commissioned artworks that respond to public and historic sites in the city. The 2017 Festival attracted over 315,000 visits. Edinburgh Art Festival is a registered charity supported by Creative Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council. For more information, please visit www.edinburghartfestival.com or follow the Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram@EdArtFest #EdArtFest

Media information

• For enquiries, interviews please contact Leah Black on leah@whalearts.co.uk or Helena Barrett on helena@whalearts.co.uk or call 0131 458 3267.
• Free-to-use images are available by contacting Jenny Salmean on jenny@whalearts.co.uk

WHALE Arts is delighted to announce the launch of a new partnership with Dance Ihayami, supported by the Cashback for Creativity Fund through the Scottish Government’s Cashback for Communities programme.

Over £250,000 has been awarded to creative and cultural activities for young people across Scotland, including WHALE Arts. The fund offers a chance for young people to get involved in creative activities within their community. The Inspire: Indian Dance Project at WHALE will allow young people to participate in Indian Dance, choreography, costume and set design, and will be taking place this summer.

The funding was announced at WHALE by the Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson. We were also pleased to welcome local MSP Gordon Macdonald, Gabi from Dance Ihayami, representatives from Creative Scotland and a group of amazing young people to WHALE, to showcase our young person’s programme.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said:

“Today’s investment of £252,000 in 32 CashBack for Creativity projects underlines the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling inequalities across Scotland by helping young people reach their full potential in life.”

“Since 2008 we have committed £92 million to CashBack and other community programmes with £6.3 million invested in CashBack for Creativity initiatives. I am keen to ensure that such opportunities continue to be provided to help young people develop skills for the workplace, gain confidence and find employment.

Leah Black, WHALE CEO said:

“The WHALE Arts team are delighted to have received funding from Cashback for Creativity for the Inspire Indian Dance Project in partnership with Dance Ihayami which will allow young people to participate in Indian dance, choreography, costume and set design and music activities at WHALE Arts Centre in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh.

“We are pleased to welcome Michael Matheson to WHALE, in partnership with Dance Ihayami, for the launch of the CashBack Open Fund, and look forward to introducing the dancers and young people involved, and discussing the wider community-led creative programme that takes place at WHALE and across Wester Hailes.”

More information can be downloaded here:

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Are you looking to try something new, meet new friends, or learn a new skill? With activities for all ages and abilities, the WHALE spring term showcases the best of the WHALE, from sewing to painting, drama to cooking, and much more.

Working with artists, trained workshop leaders, local people and our city-wide partners such as the Scottish Poetry Library, Screen Education Edinburgh and Starcatchers, among others, you have the opportunity to get involved and learn something new.

This programme covers the term from April to June 2018. Check out the activities online, or pop into the WHALE reception to pick up a printed programme.

To register for activities, or to request a large print guide please email info@whalearts.co.uk or phone 0131 458 3267.

 

 

 

 

Vacancy: Create Development Worker

Funded by the Aspiring Communities Fund, which is supported by the European Social Fund and Scottish Government, ‘Tasting Change’ is an exciting project that seeks to respond to local priorities and aspirations in order to support community development and empowerment in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh.  To achieve this, the project will develop and deliver sustainable community-led solutions that tackle deprivation levels and inequalities created by food insecurity.

Tasting Change is being delivered through the Living Well Wester Hailes partnership which includes local organisations, GPs and CEC colleagues. The partners in Tasting Change have signed a consortium agreement that lays out how they will work together across a number of integrated project strands including the Create programme which will be delivered by WHALE Arts.

Working with local people, the Tasting Change project team, and other community partners, the Create Development Worker will be responsible for the development and delivery of activities that connect people creatively with dignified food provision, skills development opportunities and their community.

The Create Development Worker will be a key member of both the WHALE Arts staff team and the multi agency Tasting Change project team.  Excellent communication and a collaborative approach will be central to the success of this innovative role which blends creative programming and community development with project management.

Main Activities and Key Responsibilities

• To ensure the views, assets and aspirations of local people underpin all aspects of the Tasting Change project.
• To manage and, at times, directly deliver a programme of creative activities to support dignified food provision in Wester Hailes – including regular sessions with partner organisations.
• Recruit and line manage artists, sessional workers and volunteers to deliver and support projects.
• Setting and controlling project budgets in line with WHALE Arts’ finance systems.
• Develop and manage a range of volunteer opportunities within the ‘Create’ strand of the Tasting Change project.
• To work as part of a multi-agency project team, including participation in regular steering group meetings.
• Create partnership opportunities with local community organisations, public bodies, creative and cultural partners.
• Plan, coordinate and deliver community events – including community meals.
• Utilise and develop volunteering policies, procedures and databases.
• Monitor and evaluate participation using central WHALE Arts’ systems and participative methods, in line with funding requirements.
• Ensure a legacy of best practice and sustained community participation.
• Monitor and evaluate performance of the Create programme towards target outputs and outcomes.
• Support the Tasting Change Coordinator to ensure all project funding requirements are met, reports buy ambien next day delivery completed and effective communication maintained with funders.

Other Duties

• To be a key holder, opening and securing the building out of office hours where required.
• All WHALE staff help to provide occasional reception cover duties.
• To support the development of the WHALE Arts Agency programme, systems, policies and procedures.
• To comply with relevant WHALE Arts Agency policies.
• To undertake any relevant training in relation to the post.

Job descriptions cannot be exhaustive and the post-holder may, from time-to-time, be required to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

Recruitment Details

Essential skills 

• Educated to degree level in a creative arts, food science or related discipline.

Minimum 3 years experience in:

• Conceiving and delivering community arts projects as a creative practitioner.
• Managing the development and delivery of creative projects and programmes.
• Successful partnership working with a range of stakeholders.
• Project management including managing budgets, monitoring and evaluation, recruitment and management of staff and volunteers.
• Community engagement and community event management.
• Supporting volunteers in creative or community settings.
• A commitment to and understanding of the importance of community-led development.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to work without supervision and as part of a team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Desirable Skills

• Experience of community food provision
• Understanding of nutrition
• Experience of working in a multi-agency project team
• Knowledge of Wester Hailes community, local organisations and services.

Application Process
Apply in writing or by email to info@whalearts.co.uk, enclosing/attaching

• An up to date CV detailing relevant education and employment experience.
• A covering letter demonstrating how your skills meet the Essential and Desirable Skills criteria of the job description.
• Details of two referees, including at least one previous employer.

Applications should arrive at WHALE Arts Agency no later than 12:00 (midday) on Monday 23rd April. Late applications will not be considered.

Interviews will be held Monday 30^th April.

The successful candidate will be appointed to the role subject to confirmation of PVG Scheme Membership.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring:
WHALE Arts Agency is committed to recruiting high quality candidates whose skills and experience are most suited to the job regardless of sex, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion (or beliefs), marital status, sexual orientation (or perceived sexual orientation), disability, age or political affiliation.

Please complete the Equal Opportunities form enclosed with the application pack. This information is for monitoring purposes only, will be treated as confidential and will not be used in the selection process.

Contact Details:

Leah Black (CEO)
WHALE Arts Agency
30 Westburn Grove
Edinburgh
EH14 2SA

0131 458 3267

info@whalearts.co.uk

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Check out our Easter programme, bursting with fun and creative activities for kids during the Easter holidays