Capital City Partnership has been trialing a cultural planning approach in Edinburgh by developing practical projects which try to get under the skin of an area, or issue, and offer a creative solution.

The ‘Culture at the Centre’ report defines cultural planning as an ‘holistic approach to sustainable cultural and community development which embraces a broad definition of culture as a way of life, takes as its starting point the process of identifying, mapping and building on community assets, values and traditions, and develops those assets through creative activities which engage, involve and empower local people and involve artists in cross sectoral/inter-agency partnership working’.

The full report, Cultural Planning: A Strategic Approach to Successful and Sustainable Community-Based Regeneration in Scotland, by Lia Ghilardi was produced by the National Cultural Planning Steering Group with the support of the Scottish Executive, Capital City Partnership and the Arts and Communities Association, and is available to download here.

Examples of Capital City Partnership’s work linked to the Edinburgh Partnership’s Key Challenges include:

• ensuring clean, green and safe neighbourhoods

The Park Life project, run in partnership with local Arts Trust ‘Out of the Blue’ and the National Galleries of Scotland, engaged the local community in the creation of a photographic exhibition illustrating people’s aspirations for the run down park in their area. Out of the Blue then set up of the Friends of the Park group who have secured an initial £100,000 for the refurbishment of the park. CCP is currently involved again working in partnership with Out of the Blue and Streetwork, the city’s unattached youth agency, to engage local teenagers in the development of the park and encourage their contribution to the ‘designing-out’ of unsafe areas.

• provide affordable housing

The Fab Pad partnership, with five of Edinburgh’s Housing Associations and Impact Arts, is delivering a project which engages vulnerable young people entering their first tenancy. ‘Fab Pad’ offers them the opportunity to work with an interior designer to turn a new flat into a home. Through giving a sense of ownership, the risk of the tenancy breakdown is reduced so the young person concerned can stabilise their life and look to what they are going to do next, be it work, training, or education.

• improve educational achievement and promote lifelong learning

and

• improve labour supply

Gallery 37 Edinburgh recruits young people who live in disadvantaged areas or are experiencing disadvantage due to, amongst other things, homelessness, low levels of literacy, having been victims of violence, coming from a care background, having a disability, or drug dependency. The programme originated in Chicago in 1991 and has been developed as a programme for young people not in employment, education or training (‘NEET’) by Birmingham City Council over the past seven years.

The young people selected, known as Apprentice Artists for the duration of the programme, typically lasting 4 to 6 weeks, are given the opportunity to work alongside professional Artists, take part in a personal development programme, work towards creating products for sale, or a final performance. The project is located in the city centre, bringing people from different areas into a neutral work environment and the Edinburgh projects, co-ordinated by Capital City Partnership in 2005 and 2006, moved over 70% of the ‘NEET’ intake into education, training or employment.

• improve health for all

The Smoke Signals project has brought community, health and arts workers together to develop a smoking cessation resource for use in community settings. Created by current and ex-smokers, the medium of photography will be used to record and represent triggers for smokers, issues arising from the 2006 smoking ban, and diversionary actions and techniques that can be used by those wanting to stop smoking. The images will be brought together into a pack, designed with input from the participants, and will be available for use by groups across the city by next year’s National No Smoking Day.

• improve the city centre

Capital City Partnership and Out of the Blue Arts & Education Trust managed the community involvement elements of the 2006 Edinburgh Cow Parade. The Cowmmunity Programme enabled 75 young people from across the city to work with artists, designers and arts organisations in making a lively contribution to the world’s biggest public art event. The young people attending the workshops, delivered by North Edinburgh Arts, Craigmillar Community Arts, WHALE Arts Agency, Arts SE alongside Out of the Blue itself, learnt a range of new, transferable skills including verbal communication, arts and crafts, teamwork and presentation. This led to increased self-confidence and positive engagement with new challenges in both a formal working/learning environment and in everyday life.

The project was deemed a success as the numbers involved exceeded the set targets and the activities attracted many first time participants. The work produced by the groups also featured prominently in the project publicity and attracted widespread media coverage. At the final Cow Parade auction three of the Cowmmunity Cows were sold raising £8,800, 75% of which goes to the OneCity Trust and VETAID, positively recycling the initial investment in the project by the Edinburgh Safety Partnership, Capital City Partnership, East and South Local Development Committees, Edinburgh Evening News, Radio Forth and the OneCity Trust itself.

For further information contact:

Gillian Baxter
gillianbaxter@capitalcitypartnership.org
0131 270 6040

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