The Edinburgh International Festival has been working closely with Space @ The Broomhouse Hub’s Living & Learning Group and international residents to explore how experiencing different cultures connects us.
Participants of the Welcome to the International Festival course developed conversational skills through engaging with creativity, contributing to workshops with International Festival artists, and learning about different jobs involved in welcoming audiences to the annual event. They even helped organise an international community meal featuring dishes from their own cultures.
Those experiences are now featured in the third edition of Festival City Stories, a collaboration between Edinburgh Festivals, BUILDHOLLYWOOD Scotland, and, new for 2025, Mark Kirkham (aka Edinburgh Sketcher).
The project—which previously highlighted our very own Beacon Club—includes imagery and words from Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival, and the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.
Kirkham attended workshops and events from across the festivals’ work with local communities, schools, and organisations, like Space @ The Broomhouse Hub, to capture their projects through a series of artwork, which was transformed into postcards for participants to share their own stories and experiences.
View the the full series of stories and artworks online, or—and we definitely recommend this option—visit the site and explore the artwork in person on Dundee Street (next to Edinburgh Printmakers).
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.