🪩 Edinburgh Culture Minute: 6 - 12 September 2023

Hello to all paying subscribers (and free subscribers getting a preview)! Welcome to the tenth edition of the Culture Minute, a weekly round-up of Edinburgh’s local creative news, events, jobs and opportunities. To contribute, please email me.

💰  The future of many Edinburgh-based arts organisations hangs in the balance as negotiations continue about a multi-million pound shortfall in Creative Scotland funding. Brian Ferguson has two key reports about this in The Scotsman: 

  ⮑  On Monday Creative Scotland published a damning report warning Holyrood’s culture committee that one in three arts organisations are at risk of insolvency and 900 jobs could be lost without urgent action. It says more than 500 organisations are bidding for grants, compared to 350 previously. 

“The indicative annual value of those applications is in excess of £113m. This is roughly three times the amount that Creative Scotland has available to support organisations on a multi-year basis, unless the budgets available to us increase.” - Creative Scotland. 

👀  Read the Creative Scotland report in full here (PDF).

  ⮑  The following day, First Minister Humza Yousaf responded: “The sector should be assured that this government values the role of culture not just for the substantial economic impact it has, but also for the incredible joy it brings to people in Scotland and around the world.” 
  ⮑  There was no mention of money when the First Minister set out key targets for the financial year. Culture secretary Angus Robertson has been ordered to: “Publish our culture action plan refresh, which will set out the next steps in delivering the aims and ambitions of the 2020 culture strategy, and complete initial actions to mitigate the impacts of Covid, Brexit and the rising costs of living and operating that have, in combination, created significant challenges for the sector.” 
  ⮑  🎸  Folk singer Calum Baird has been working for months with other cultural workers on a response to the funding crisis. He spoke to Skotia about his belief that local councils should be more involved in cultural funding and strategy. (There’s a longer discussion on YouTube). 

💬 What are your thoughts on the over-subscription of Creative Scotland funding? How should it be managed and should local councils be involved? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

📚  The Portobello Bookshop got a huge delivery this week as a pallet-load of Zadie Smith’s highly anticipated first historical fiction novel arrived. The author will be in discussion with Chitra Ramaswamy on Friday at the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre. - ‘Last few tickets remaining’ at time of publishing. 

📚  Staying on the coast, this year’s Portobello Book Festival programme is now live. All events are free and tickets can only be collected from Porty library. - See the full programme here.

📚  Michael Palin and Val McDermid have been announced for two exclusive October events organised by the Edinburgh International Book Festival. - Tickets go on sale 12 September.

🎞  Director Mark Cousins will be at the Cameo cinema on Friday for a Q&A following a screening of his latest film ‘My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock’. - Cameo ticketing.

👗  Fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford OBE and local textile artist Sequoia Barnes will discuss Black British fashion at the National Museum of Scotland later this month. - Details and tickets are here.

😓  Burnout is real, especially for creative workers and especially after the Edinburgh festivals. Later this month, Leith’s Out of the Blue Drill Hall venue will host an in-person group coaching workshop dedicated to tackling burnout as a creative worker. The session on 16 September will be led by Corine Orton, a qualified transformational coach with more than 15 years of experience working in the arts. She says the event is for anyone who says ‘yes’ to any of these questions: 

• Do you find it challenging to stay creative when juggling work and life responsibilities? 
• Do you feel burnt out when you’d rather feel energised by your creative work and environment? 
• Are you an artist that feels overwhelmed? 
• Are you an arts worker that feels undervalued? 
• ⮑ Learn more and reserve your place here.

🎨  Out of the Blue is also hosting a Riso printing workshop on Saturday 9 September. It’s a fully analogue session, so if you’re into collage-making and want to take it further, sign up here.

📆  A couple of useful events at Tribe Porty to put in the diary: 
  ⮑  ✍️  Writers’ retreat on Sunday: “Edinburgh writing retreat is a little haven for any writer in desperate need of time and space and support to write. Whether you’re working on a novel, bashing out some flash fiction, tweaking a poem, or researching for an essay, we can help you find the words and get ’em down.” - Details and booking here.
  ⮑  📲  Rescue the photos trapped in your phone: If you’re overwhelmed by the amount of pictures on your phone, Jo Tennant is hosting a workshop to guide you ‘through the art of bringing the photo memories you want to remember to life’. - Booking via Eventbrite.

🎭  The team refurbishing Leith Theatre will be on-hand to show visitors around as part of Doors Open Day on 23 September. “We are currently undergoing works to various parts of the building but will be offering interactive and fun explorations in the Thomas Morton Hall and Crush before allowing groups to discover the heart of the Main Auditorium.” - More info is here.
  ⮑  The full list of 93 Edinburgh buildings involved in Doors Open Days can be found here.

🍸  The line-up for Edinburgh Cocktail Week has been announced. The 10-day long October event involves 100 city bars and venues. The ‘cocktail village’ will return to Festival Square opposite the Usher Hall. - Details and tickets are here.

🎤  Singer, producer and self-described ‘tech nerd’ Chagall has been announced as a special guest at this year’s Creative Informatics Innovation Showcase. - See the full programme here. 

📙  After a break in August, the book clubs run by Leith bookshop Argonaut return for September. - There are four themes to pick from.

🎨  Art Walk Porty continues this week and ends on Sunday. - Find something to get involved with in the events diary.

🤝  Networking, jobs and funding opportunities: