Edinburgh’s independent arts venue, Summerhall, that has set up home in the former
Royal Dick Veterinary College building on the Capital’s Southside, is a vibrant arts venue and a cultural hub, home to a diverse community of over a hundred artists and creative businesses, including a pub, radio station, record label, brewery, escape room, distillery and much more.
This week, the organisation announced Summerhall Surgeries – a brand new artist development initiative in partnership with the Fringe Society. Launching in August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the idea is to offer 16 artists or companies the paid opportunity to showcase excerpts of unfinished work to an audience of peers and industry figures. Summerhall Surgeries will provide a safe, collaborative and creative playground for emerging and early career artists to try out new ideas to local and international audiences, gaining industry and peer-to-peer feedback.
The concept of scratch performances is a major part of developing work and connections, outside the festival. Summerhall wants to encourage the Fringe this August to widen the possibility of peer to peer collaboration and feedback. Through happenstance, meetings and connections are created across the Summerhall courtyard and in venues all day throughout the festival, and this initiative will help build on those organic connections and give more room for ideas to breathe. Summerhall is the first major venue to offer this kind of platform at the Fringe, and hopes that other venues will follow suit, to celebrate artists at every stage of their career.
Summerhall Surgeries is the second initiative Summerhall is launching this summer that focuses on providing support which also includes The Support the Artist Ticket Scheme, an additional price option which is £2 more than the regular ticket – money that will go directly to the artists. Summerhall encourages audience members to be part of this scheme by selecting The Support the Artist Ticket at the point of purchase. The scheme is voluntary and can be for as many shows as the ticket buyer likes. This direct top up could really help those companies presenting work at the festival that are taking a huge risk to bring their work to Edinburgh.
Summerhall Chief Executive Sam Gough commented “Supporting the artists that make such sacrifices to come and spend the month of August with us is central to how we programme and deliver our Fringe. This year we are so delighted to be able to launch so many schemes that do just that. We are supporting those who have a show here this year with the Support the Artist Ticket Scheme, and those who plan to participate in the future with Summerhall Surgeries, and we are supporting all those who work amongst the fringe with our ‘Lanyard Drinks’. Summerhall stands with artists and couldn’t be prouder to do so.”
Applications for Summerhall Surgeries are open now, with applications closing at 5pm on Sunday 16 July: https://www.summerhall.co.uk/2023/06/summerhall-surgeries-artist-development-initiative-applications-now-open/
Tickets for Summerhall’s full Fringe programme are on sale now summerhall.co.uk
Listings
Summerhall Surgeries will take place on:
Tues 8 Aug: 16:05 – 17:05 (Main Hall)
Wed 16 Aug: 10:20 – 11:20 (TechCube0)
Sat 19 Aug: 16:05 – 17:05 (Main Hall)
Fri 25 Aug: 10:20 – 11:20 (TechCube0)
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 