Shopping centre art hub offers food for thought
Community wellbeing might not be the first thing you associate with art – or a major art festival.
But, for the past three weeks, a mini-wellbeing revolution has taken place in a former off-licence in Westside Plaza Shopping Centre, Wester Hailes, Edinburgh…with a little help from a group of artists.
The seeds of this creative revolution began in 2020, when Edinburgh Art Festival invited Dutch artist Jeanne Van Heeswijk, known for her work in communityengaged art, to research a co-production with people in Wester Hailes. The brief was to “imagine ways to create a space for all”.
Fast-forward to August 2022 and, as well as a programme of events, all-comers have been encouraged to drop into the hub in the heart of Wester Hailes. There, sessions devoted to a range of wellbeing techniques – such as colour meditation, mindfulness and juicing – have offered actual food as well as food for thought.
In 2020, Wester Hailes was named in a Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation study as being in the most deprived 5% in Scotland.
As Community Wellbeing Collective member Lorna Baxter explains, there are huge inequalities in the area. “Poverty, poor education, poor health services, poor housing, lack of support, lack of accessibility to organic foods, poor nutrition,” she says. “All this creates stress, mental health issues, low self-esteem and a feeling of being ‘stuck’ and hopeless.”
In an attempt to tackle these issues, the collective worked with Wester Hailes arts organisation, WHALE Arts. The result is a vibrant, month-long series of talks, concerts and workshops.
Last weekend actor Eunice Olumide, who was raised in Wester Hailes, led musicians outside at Westside Plaza as part of a day of “healing collective trauma through creativity”. This weekend, the theme is “care by the people for the people”.
Hopefully, the seeds sewn by this artistic endeavour will take root and flourish.
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