Posts filed under 'Leith Open Space Events'
A week later, it is still hard to believe that last Saturday’s event in the Botanics was such a wonderful experience for audience and performers alike. If the morning forecast was bad the evening weather was much worse. This was no midsummer magic. Yet people queued patiently in the downpour to get into the Temperate Palmhouse for the opening improvisation between FOUND, Shanghai Jazz and Korphai, and then out again (maybe a little reluctantly) to follow a watery trail to the Chinese Hillside.
On the Chinese Hillside, Chang Zhang danced in the rain while the audience of at least 200 people filed past smiling beneath umbrellas. On the bridge above, Bob Lowey’s Taichi Action group turned with one easy fluid movement as sounds of flute and cello floated up from the pond below.
Earlier in the day, performers had practised here in sunshine under the direction of Kimho Ip but he left them free to improvise. “I wanted to create the kind of thing you see in a Chinese park.”
Then he laughs because Wind and Bamboo has produced an unexpected intercultural discovery. “You know, all the performers agreed with me. If this had been happening in Taipei or Hong Kong as soon as it started to rain all the audience would have gone home and the musicians and dancers would have been moaning and complaining. But here, we all stayed and everyone did their best, including the audience, and we all had a wonderful experience.”
See (and hear) more on the Dialogues of Wind and Bamboo website – and podcasts.
June 28th, 2008
Susie Brown puts finishing touches to 600 bamboo poles: her sculpture Natural Progression becomes a stage setting for dance in the Botanics on midsummer night.
There’s a serious theme rippling beneath the music but right now enjoy the sheer, mad fun of it all. Listen to robots playing Chinese instruments in the Palm House and watch Tai Chi dancers on the lawn while Bamboo percussionists from Thailand beat out a trail of discovery to the Chinese Hillside. Fay Young reports from behind the scenes…
I have to declare an interest because I am helping to organise the spectacular Dialogues of Wind and Bamboo, now being rehearsed for the midsummer happening in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. On Saturday evening around 50 artists, musicians and dancers come together from Far East and across Scotland to create a unique
intercultural experience in the Garden. And it is all free.
I sometimes ask director Kimho Ip (that’s him on the right) why he is doing it and he laughs, “I could make my life easier,�? he admits. Trained in the classical western tradition this talented young composer musician could earn a good living if he just stuck to Mozart or Bach. But he is gaining a reputation for helping audiences rediscover traditional Chinese music – with a contemporary twist.
Instead of the concert hall, his venues are more likely to be museums, market places and cafes. And now, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh where he mixes experimental pop of the Edinburgh band FOUND with evocative Shanghai Jazz and old Cantonese melodies.
The serious purpose is to help people reconnect with both nature and culture in a fast changing world. “I am not particularly Chinese,�? says Kimho who comes from Hong Kong but finished his education in Germany and Edinburgh. “But this culture is part of my DNA and it seems a shame if we lose such precious pieces from the past.�?
The Botanics holds the biggest collection of Chinese plants outside China; a resource now being used to reintroduce threatened species to the natural world. In the same way, Kimho’s intercultural performance reconnects with Chinese cultural traditions that are fast disappearing in their original habitat.
Stephen Blackmore, the Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, has welcomed Kimho’s production with the infectious enthusiasm of a man who enjoys music (he owns and plays a collection of guitars). For him, music adds a vital element to the Garden.
“We want people to engage with huge issues of environmental change in the world,�? he says. “So the richer the experience we can provide, the more senses we can connect with, the more likely we will achieve that life changing experience.�?
Find out much more on the website: Dialogues of Wind and Bamboo. There’s a YouTube video of the robots in the Palm House and both sculpture and sound installations are open until at least 29 June.
Found’s Ziggy Campbell tests robots playing the Chinese dulcimer in the sound installation Three Pieces he has invented with Simon Kirby for Wind and Bamboo.
PS I also posted this report on Greener Leith website
June 18th, 2008
To celebrate National Refugee Week here is an extract from a poem by Sifiso from Zimbabwe, written during poetry workshops involving Scots, refugees and poets.
Scotland
Scotland here I come –
To my surprise you are different
From what I have heard.
Cold but welcoming
Drunkards, racists, unemployed, yes,
But just like any other country…Good people you have Scotland
Good places of interest you find them
Beaches, you have them
What else can I say
Warm heart you have Scotland
You take care of the homeless
You take care of the troubled ones
You are a refuge for the orphans
And the refugees
You choose no colour
You choose no tribe
Long live Scotland
This poem was written during poetry workshops involving Scots, refugees and poets Gerry Cambridge and Iyad Hayatleh through the Oxfam Asylum Positive Images Project in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library.
June 18th, 2008
Francis Kahembwe meets Sarah Boyack MSP at the Scottish Parliament for the first of two days observing her work in environmental issues.
Welcome to Francis Kahembwe, the first person to take part in Opening Doors 2008, the Leith Open Space political ’shadowing’ scheme. As Francis, a forestry expert from Uganda, is particularly interested in the politics of conservation and environmental management we began by introducing him to Sarah Boyack, Labour spokesman on the Environment and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament. As luck had it we arrived the day of the Climate Change debate!
Sarah Boyack, who has gained respect (and awards) for her contribution to environmental policy, had drawn up a busy two days for Francis to give him a broad view of her work in parliament and as constituency MSP for Edinburgh Central. Now we hope to offer Francis opportunities to observe how different voluntary organisations set about influencing government policy.
Francis brings experience of a career in conservation forestry in Africa and the Caribbean where he worked as adviser to the IUCN (the World Conservation Union). Since arriving in Scotland six years ago he has not been able to get work to fit his qualifications but (with two children at school here) he has gained employment as a sessional worker in the mental health project, Men in Mind, and has a long list of voluntary involvements including the Africa Centre, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers and the Carbon Centre in Dumfries.
As Francis explained when he applied for Opening Doors: “I want to acquire knowledge and awareness on how politics impact on the environment and then learn how to use that knowledge to influence environmental policy.”
This may be the first step in an interesting new direction for Opening Doors which began in 2006-7. We want to increase opportunities for people interested in taking part in local and national politics but, of course, politics extends far beyond parliament and city council chambers. Our mentors are likely to include teachers, trade unionists and environmental activists as well as elected politicians.
June 11th, 2008
Jonathon Baxter unmissable in Guantanamo orange suit draws a crowd to Poets’ Corner which opened in the glorious sunshine of Parklife 2008. Another great success for Friends of Dalmeny Street Park.
“Imagine a Speakers’ Corner. The sort of thing that takes place in Hyde Park, London… Well, Poets’ Corner is a variation on this theme: the only difference is that its a little more creative and, we hope, less rhetorical!” That was Jonathon Baxter’s vision and the pictures show how he made it happen.
Meanwhile a blue grass band played, Mongolian singers sang their magical sound, and the wooden planters made with the help of the WoodSchool and funding from Scottish Natural Heritage drew suitably admiring glances. All in all, as Lise Bratton co-ordinatory of Friends of Dalmeny Park sums it up: “Saturday was glorious and Parklie 2008 was a huge success.
June 10th, 2008
If you have time to spare why not join the Leith Museum campaign stall at Leith Festival Gala in Leith Links on Saturday 7 June.
“If you are able to help, even if just for an hour or so, that would be most welcome,” says Mark Lazarowicz MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, who will be helping to collect signatures supporting the campaign for a museum.
The busiest time is from about 12 noon to 4 pm. If you can help, please send an email to:
ja@in-activity.co.uk
June 2nd, 2008
Here’s an opportunity to get involved in an inspiring intercultural project working with young people from low-income families. The YWCA Roundabout Centre is looking for volunteers to help with their summer school and play scheme during July. No qualifications needed (training is given) and volunteers from black and ethnic minority communities are particularly welcome.
YWCA Roundabout is a women’s community centre dedicated to eradicating racism. Much more than that, since 1968 their Summer School has provided fun and exciting activities for children who have often experienced discrimination.
This year’s summer scheme runs throughout July at Drummond High School with the help of volunteers. So far there are 18 volunteers from many different cultural backgrounds.
If you would like to know more contact Emma or Lorna on 0131 556 1168 or 0131 557 4695. EMAIL info@ywcaroundabout.org
May 30th, 2008
If you are interested in politics there is still time to apply for the very interesting political mentoring project about to be launched by LINKnet, Edinburgh’s minority ethnic mentoring service. But only just! The deadline is Monday 19 May.
We have found out about the scheme just as we are about to launch our own more informal shadow scheme Opening Doors (and more about that next week). But we are passing on the information in case you pick the news up in time to apply.
LINKnet was set up in 2000 with the aim of encouraging people from disadvantaged groups to take part in Scotland’s political and public life. Now, with the help of a grant from The Equality and Human Rights Commission, LINKnet is launching a nine month mentoring programme open to people from all disadvantaged groups.
The idea is to prepare 15 people to take up positions in Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh and Lothians Councils, and other public bodies with a role in making public policy.
If you want to know more contact Lisa Lam for an application pack. The closing date is Monday 19 May. Short listed applicants will be interviewed the following week.
Call LINKnet on 0131 225 or email lisa@linknetmentoring.org.uk
May 17th, 2008
Another busy month in Leith and this newsletter offers just a glimpse of what is going on. There is groundbreaking discussion between faith groups (Seeking World Peace and Faith and Feminism) and hard work in community gardens (see Persevere and Redbraes). There is also sad news that Edinburgh Refugee Centre is closing but we congratulate them on their achievements over the last four years and look forward to their celebration in June.
May 12th, 2008
Edinburgh Refugee Centre is closing after four years of service to asylum seekers and refugees in the city. But they are not just fading away. During International Refugee Week in June the Centre will end with a party to celebrate what they have managed to achieve for hundreds of vulnerable people.
If previous parties organised by the Centre are anything to go by this will be a heartwarming event. The meeting place for people far from home has a wonderfully welcoming atmosphere. That was the first thing we noticed when we went to a winter party in the upper room at St George’s West nearly three years ago.
So Leith Open Space, among many others, are sorry that a reduction in public funding means the Centre must close. But numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Edinburgh have dropped steadily since the city stopped providing accommodation for people seeking refuge from civil war, torture or religious or political oppression in their own lands.
Glasgow, currently home to more dispersed asylum seekers than any other part of the UK, is the only local authority in Scotland to receive asylum seekers. Although it is notoriously difficult to give accurate figures, there are an estimated 4,000 - 5,000 asylum seekers in Glasgow. In Edinburgh where there is no local authority housing for asylum seekers, the number of asylum seekers is around 30 and falling.
According to the statement from Edinburgh Refugee Centre: “The number of asylum seekers staying in Edinburgh has reduced significantly in recent months and the demand for our services has dropped accordingly. This has had an effect on the funding available from our partners for working with refugees and asylum seekers.”
There are many myths about asylum seekers so it is worth quoting this detail from the Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees:
Since 2003 it has been very difficult to claim asylum in Scotland. Although the Home Office has Immigration Service offices in Glasgow, they will only register asylum claims for families, unaccompanied minors or for people with ’special needs’. Other asylum seekers who arrive in Scotland have to travel to Asylum Screening Units in Liverpool, Croydon or Solihull in order to claim asylum. As a result of this policy, asylum seekers who arrive in Glasgow are unlikely to settle in the city [Scottish Refugee Council 2003].
Back in the capital city, Edinburgh Refugee Centre is justifiably proud of what they have managed to achieve over the last four years. Working in partnership with specialist and mainstream agencies, the Centre has provided advice to hundreds of vulnerable people, connecting them with the support they need and helping those who gain refugee status to integrate into life in Edinburgh.
For the next few weeks drop-in sessions offering advice on housing, health, immigration and English language classes, will run as normal until Thursday 5 June. The Centre will close to the public on Thursday 12 June.
Centre manager Neil McCulloch ends news of the last monthly programme with an invitation: “The Refugee Week Celebration will take place on Thursday 19th June from 7-10pm. There will be some food and drinks, an international music DJ, a live band, and children’s entertainment such as face and henna painting. Entry is free and I hope that you will be able to join us for one last celebration.”
The Edinburgh Refugee Centre is in St George’s West, Shandwick Place.
May 12th, 2008
Previous Posts
