The Edinburgh International Festival has been working closely with Space at The Broomhouse Hub’s Beacon Club, providing live music and creative workshops to people with dementia and those facing social isolation.
Those events, led by Festival facilitator Lucy Drever and musicians Colm O’Braoin and Calum Huggan, are now featured in Festival City Stories.
A collaboration between Edinburgh Festivals and creative street advertising agency Jack Arts Scotland, the project includes imagery and words from:
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society & Oaklands School, along with artist Niamh O’Loughlin, curated a multi-sensory interactive show drawing on importance and exploration of objects
- Imaginate & Forthview Primary School took a child’s rights-based approach to highlight the views of young people
- Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival & Passion4Fusion & St Augustine’s RC High School centred Black hair stories, exploring key historical and political moments and how these are diverse representations of ‘Blackness’/Black culture
- Scottish International Storytelling Festival developed an inclusive series of storytelling sessions for groups interested in using storytelling as a wellbeing tool and for developing performance skills
- Edinburgh Art Festival & Rhubaba co-created free workshops and events to connect marginalised artists with creativity through film, theatre, photography, ceramics, writing, and more
View the full series of stories and artworks online, or—and we definitely recommend this option—download a map of the site and explore the artwork in person on London Road and Wishaw Terrace through 2 March 2025.
In June 2024, Space became the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival Community Connections Hub.
The multi-year partnership explores opportunities for collaboration and connection between the International Festival and our beloved Broomhouse community: From a free virtual reality (VR) experience featuring EIF orchestra-in-residence Philharmonia to behind-the-scenes work experience for WOW! (Wellbeing Onto Work) Project participants.