SAMIZDAT

Out of the Blue Newsletter Autumn 2006

Welcome to the Samizdat Autumn issue. Looking at the sheer amount of projects that Out of the Blue (OOTB) have championed over the last few months you could be forgiven for expecting that cultural fatigue would set in post-Festival. However, the successes of the summer have only sharpened artistic appetites here and generated even more opportunities to collaborate and create.

None of the Above

Coming up, OOTB’s genre-hopping, avant garde music night None of the Above (NotA) returns to the Bongo on Wednesday October 18 for the last in the current run of three. The night more than lives up to its anything goes reputation with a one-off collaboration between modern day Scottish troubadour Michael Marra and NotA house band Mr McFalls Chamber topping a talented bill that includes a rare solo appearance from jazz luminary Sandy Wright and poetry from Elspeth Paterson. Tickets are only £6 concession from 0131 558 7604, just quote Samizdat to claim your exclusive discount.

Radical Book Fair

Edinburgh’s finest independent bookshop Word Power Books has chosen the OOTB Drill Hall as the venue for its tenth Radical Book Fair from October 11 to 15. Billed as the alternative Edinburgh book festival, its packed programme of events, stalls, music, debate, lectures, screenings and exhibitions always boasts big names from literaure and politics. This year is no exception with Scottish author James Kelman, leading environmentalist George Monbiot and whistle blowing ex-British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray among those appearing. Check www.word-power.co.uk for full listings.

Drill Hall Cafe

As part of the ongoing refurbishment of The OOTB Drill Hall, a licensed café is set to open to the public soon. Logically dubbed The Drill Hall Café, it will serve wholesome, fair trade food and drink to hungry resident artists and the public alike. A busy calendar of cultural events and exhibitions is planned for the space, so if you have any ideas for readings, recitals, events or exhibitions drop Samizdat a line on hugo@outoftheblue.org.uk.

The Bongo

OOTB sister organisation and Edinburgh’s orginal multi-arts venue The Bongo Club builds on its Festival success – sell out shows across the board and a Fringe First for comedy Finer Nobler Gases – with an exciting line-up for October and beyond. Hip hop legend and Gangstarr MC Guru makes a rare live appearance on October 25 with dates from jungle originator Shy FX, seminal techno DJ and producer David Holmes and rare groove hero Norman Jay MBE all confirmed for the coming weeks. Keep checking www.thebongoclub.co.uk for the latest listings.

Bongo Club manager Ally Hill says “This Festival really underlined the Bongo’s unique status among Edinburgh venues as a true multi-arts space rather than a commercial nightclub. Nowhere else promotes events such as DJ workshops for the homeless, swing dance classes, live web tv broadcasts and award winning theatre alongside a jammed line-up of the best in underground and left field music. Our close relationship with a cutting edge arts organisation such as Out of the Blue allows us to promote cultural and artistic projects that other venues simply do not support.”

Park Life

The OOTB community arts project Park Life to revitalise the much-loved but somewhat neglected local Dalmeny Street Park got a welcome boost this month with news of a £30,000 City of Edinburgh Council grant to the scheme. A further £70,000 is promised for the next financial year. OOTB is currently canvassing support from the business community in a bid to secure match funding. OOTB-spin off organisation The Friends of Dalmeny Street Park are now working in partnership with the Council and local residents to draw up plans for the park. If you are interested in getting involved in the project please contact Friends of Dalmeny Street Park coordinator Rob Hoon on rob@outoftheblue.org.uk.

Rob comments “The Park Life project is an example of how Out of the Blue are becoming established and firmly rooted in the local community. From the moment the Drill Hall was a mere gleam in the eye, we have been talking to local people and organisations about how we can work together to provide creative opportunities of benefit to local people and the area. We are using the arts to engage with people who want to actively make changes which will have a fundamental effect on the local quality of life. It helps that all of OOTB’s core staff live within half a mile of The OOTB Drill Hall, and are deeply committed to continue to make Out of the Blue a force for the good.”

Studio Space

A rare opportunity to rent a studio in Edinburgh’s newest, most vibrant multi-arts hub, The Out of the Blue Drill Hall, has come up. Located in Leith’s Dalmeny Street, this stunning Edwardian building was formerly an army drill hall and is now home to a thriving community of artists, designers, crafts-people, media companies, arts organisations and film-makers. The studio offered is the largest of OOTB’s new purpose built complex of studios with specifications to office standard with heating and ventilation. It is situated on the ground floor, allowing wheel chair access. If you are interested then please contact OOTB Artist Services Manager Nicole Lambeng on 0131 555 7100 or nicole@outoftheblue.org.uk.

Portobello Arts Market

Artist and OOTB Portobello Studio resident Caroline Moorhead is organising an Arts & Crafts Christmas Market at Portobello Community Centre on December 2 from 1.30pm to 4pm. Artists and craft makers will be selling their own work so it’s a great place to buy unique Xmas gifts. There will also be cakes, candy, tea and coffees. If you are interested in hiring a table at £10 a throw (2 people maximum if sharing) then contact Maggie or Caroline before November 24 on 0131 669 8275 or maggielemay@portobello.cc or caroline.muirhead@yahoo.co.uk

Chinese Culture

OOTB Drill Hall-based arts organisation In2national is organising a series of Chinese dance classes every Saturday from 9.30 to 10.30am at the Gateway Theatre on Leith Walk until December 8. Tickets are £5 and £4 concession from tutor Chang Zhang on 0798 139 6878 or oceaninscotland@aol.com. The group is also set to create a virtual Chinese tea house with Tai Chi, traditional Chinese music and dance on November 18 at The Royal Museum in Edinburgh. Performances are at 12.45 and 2.45pm and are free. For more information, call 0131 554 0661 or email oceaninscotland@aol.com. Finally, the group is also planning to offer Chinese and intercultural music classes soon. Further information from contacts as above.

Traditional Song

St Andrew’s Day is the lost national holiday this side of the border but the Traditonal Music and Song Association (TMSA) is marking the occasion with a series of jam sessions sponsored by those nice people at McEwans lager beer. The sessions are an opportunity to for all musicians to swap traditional songs and to meet like-minded new people. TMSA also holds its annual general meeting on November 4 at 1.00pm. More details on www.tmsa.org.uk.

Festival Round-Up

Building work prevented any shows being staged at The OOTB Drill Hall this Festival, but OOTB still managed to co-produce a hit show at The Zoo Southside with Indian promoters Teamwork. Dance spectacular Transposition won four star reviews from newspapers such as The Herald and played to sell-out audiences for the duration of its run. Also singled out for critical praise was circus No Fit State whose blend of jaw-dropping aerial stunts and live music pulled the crowds at The Out of the Blue Tramworks for the second year running.

Mela

Despite a torrential downpour on its opening day, innovations such as the introduction of visual arts into the programme for the first time and eclectic acts from as far afield as Uganda and Nepal meant the OOTB-produced Edinburgh Mela 2006 still attracted some 45,000 people on September 1 and 2. This is the second year that OOTB has produced the event and it has now firmly established itself as Scotland’s biggest and best intercultural festival.

Mela Programme Director and OOTB Special Projects Manager Dana Macleod comments “On Saturday it rained for most of the day so we couldn’t have the outdoor activities as planned, but we had covered space and they were full so I suppose people got the best of both worlds. But it was great to see people coming down despite the weather and it shows how popular the Mela really is. Even in the rain it was still very colourful.”

Gallery 37

This summer’s Gallery 37 training-for-work initiative at The OOTB Drill Hall (see Samizdat Summer 2006) exceeded expectations with nearly all of the 50-odd unemployed youngsters completing courses in printmaking, film-making, jewellery and millinery. City chiefs such as Leader of the Edinburgh City Council Reverend Ewan Aitken and Edinburgh Lord Provost Lesley Hinds queued up to heap praise on the Capital City Partnership-backed (CCP) and OOTB-coordinated scheme.

OOTB and CCP also won plaudits for their key role in this summer’s high profile public art project Cow Parade Edinburgh (see Samizdats passim). The eight so-called ‘cow-munity’ cows which were decorated by local community groups led by professional artists proved a big hit with tourists and local residents alike with three of the cows raising nearly £10,000 for charity at a star-studded auction in September.

CCP’s Arts and Inclusion Officer Kate Wimpress explains “Capital City Partnership has developed an effective working relationship with Out of the Blue in the delivery of projects contributing directly to the Scottish Executive, and the city’s, regeneration aims. This has been evidenced through Cow Parade Edinburgh and this summer’s Gallery 37 programme and we will be looking carefully at how to build on this success in future.”

Screen Printing

Finally, OOTB now plans to offer a screen printing facility within months at The OOTB Drill Hall. The fully-equipped area would be available to the public and residents alike for a small rental fee to cover administration and materials. Further details will be publicised once final arrangements have been made.

Like Fred Quimby mostly said: that’s all folks, at least until the next Samizdat. Until then keep checking www.outoftheblue.org.uk for the latest news.

Out of the Blue Arts & Education Trust (charity number SCO22812) supports and promotes cultural ventures. It has an established track record as a vital catalyst for creativity in Edinburgh and beyond including the launch of cutting edge multi-arts venue the Bongo Club (www.thebongoclub.co.uk). OOTB gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scottish Arts Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Capital City Partnership, Communities Scotland, Fresh Futures, Social Investment Scotland, Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian, Triodos Bank, Social Enterprise Edinburgh, Scottish Community Foundation and IKEA.