Summerhall Arts is a new charitable arts organisation in Scotland that will deliver vital support and opportunities to local and national creative arts practitioners, while making a lasting contribution to the cultural fabric of Edinburgh and beyond.
The team behind the charity believe this action is now urgent and necessary at a time of drastic cuts in the arts and culture sector and have the aim to provide a platform for companies and individuals to come together to make work.
Summerhall Arts organisation has independent governance from a diverse team and board of trustees but will be based within the Summerhall arts venue and will champion the voices of emerging and early career artists and creatives and provide a nurturing safe space for artistic experimentation and new writing.
CEO of Summerhall Arts Sam Gough, said “There is a moment just before it’s too late, that if nothing is done at that point, all you can then do is stand by and watch what is treasured become lost. I think that pivotal moment is now… we have ambitious plans to unveil a programme of support and development opportunities across the performance and visual arts sector, along with year round new writing commissions and performances. …. We are lucky to be able to house this charity and the work we will be doing in this fantastic Arts Village – the work Summerhall has done over the years is phenomenal, but as invariably everyone is cutting back and being more cautious about how many and whom they support Summerhall Arts is looking to enable so much more, bring it all under one roof and give the incredibly talented artists in Scotland more opportunities to be able to compete on the world stage.”
Their mission is to provide a dynamic and community-focused platform for emerging artists, nurturing expression and engaging audiences through a diverse programme of new writing and enabling opportunities through the visual and performative arts as well as live music and theatre. The goal is to promote cultural understanding, spark dialogue, and contribute to the thriving arts scene in Edinburgh and Scotland.
The Artistic Strategy of Summerhall Arts comprises of a Performance, Scottish Touring Circuit & Receiving House for New Writing; Professional Artist Development including Artist Residencies and Artist Showcases; Mentoring and Professional Development; Visual Arts Exhibitions, Installations and a Cinema programme; Local Live Music Programming and Inter-disciplinary Arts & Community Engagement.
Professional Development will include development spaces, Lab weeks, artist residencies and surgeries, industry networking sessions, talks, workshops and writing spaces.
The Visual Arts programme will see Summerhall Arts curated as well as associate exhibition seasons, while in-house curated Cinema programme will offer regular screenings of independent and art house cinema from around the globe, a home for film festivals and screening opportunities for independent film makers.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 