In 2023 Granton Youth staff and City Arts Centre ran a project called “Our Spaces” – an art project culminating in an exhibition of work by thirteen young people from North Edinburgh. This event is the culmination of a six-week, Friday afternoon creative programme led by Hannah Nugent (Artist and Schools Engagement Officer, Museums and Galleries Edinburgh) and Ryan McGlone (Youth Work Team Leader, Granton Youth).
Over the course of the project young people ranging from ages 14-18 years old participated in a variety of creative sessions exploring the theme of place. We visited the City Art Centre and experimented with printmaking in response to Paul Duke’s exhibition ‘No Ruined Stone’, took part in a relaxing sketching afternoon at Museum of Edinburgh and visited Granton waterfront to capture photographs of local surroundings. Three workshops were held in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre where the group were given freedom to further explore collage, printmaking and drawing at their own pace whilst receiving practical 1:1 guidance and advice from an artist.
The aim of the programme was to enable young people to learn creative skills, visit new places, experiment with art outside of the school curriculum and to create extra work to enhance their folios for school and further education pathways. Hannah and Ryan remain extremely proud and impressed with this talented group and look forward to running this programme with another cohort in the near future.
Interviews from Lucia, Laura, and Firdaws featured.