We were delighted to take part in Doors Open Days Edinburgh 2026, showcasing the creativity of our participants and celebrating some of the incredible places and stories that make Edinburgh such a special city.

Over the weekend, St Michael’s Parish Church in Slateford opened its doors to the public as part of Doors Open Days, with artwork from three of our Edinburgh programmes on display; CashBack to The Future, Impactful Parents and Craft Café.

It was a fantastic opportunity to share the creativity, skills and achievements of our participants with visitors, while giving people the chance to learn more about the work we do across Edinburgh.

Celebrating creativity and community

Our young people also played a part in the wider Doors Open Days experience, creating a map highlighting some of the amazing venues taking part across Edinburgh. The map was available for visitors to pick up at St Michael’s, encouraging people to explore more of the city and discover the many buildings and spaces opening their doors.

We were also delighted to be involved in the Doors Open Days press launch at Camera Obscura, alongside The Cockburn Association, Invisible Cities and other partners involved in making the festival happen.

It was brilliant to come together with organisations who share a passion for celebrating Edinburgh’s heritage, communities, creativity and stories.

A huge thank you

A big thank you to The Cockburn Association and the Doors Open Days team for including Impact Arts in this year’s programme, and to everyone who visited St Michael’s over the weekend.

Most importantly, thank you to the participants and young people whose creativity made our contribution possible. It was fantastic to see their work displayed and appreciated by members of the public.

We’re proud to have been part of Doors Open Days Edinburgh 2026 and to have helped shine a light on the creativity happening across our programmes.

Impact Arts is a community arts charity based in Scotland. Since 1994, we’ve been delivering creative arts and support programmes for children, young people, adults, families, and older people who are facing disadvantages or barriers to progress in life. Our mission is to tackle inequalities, address poverty, and transform lives through art and creativity.  

Impact Arts is delighted to be taking part in Doors Open Day Edinburgh 2026, showcasing creative work from some of our Edinburgh programmes at St Michael’s Parish Church, Slateford, on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see artwork created by participants from CashBack to The Future, Impactful Parents and Craft Café, celebrating the creativity, skills and achievements of people involved in our programmes.

Young people have also been getting involved in Doors Open Day by designing a map highlighting some of the amazing venues taking part across Edinburgh. The map will be available to download here, or pick up in person when you visit our exhibition at St Michael’s.

Come along and explore the artwork, discover more about Impact Arts and pick up your Doors Open Days map!

📍 St Michael’s Parish Church, 1 Slateford Rd, Edinburgh
📅 Saturday 26 September, 10am–4pm
📅 Sunday 27 September, 10am–3pm

We look forward to welcoming you!

Impact Arts is a community arts charity based in Scotland. Since 1994, we’ve been delivering creative arts and support programmes for children, young people, adults, families, and older people who are facing disadvantages or barriers to progress in life. Our mission is to tackle inequalities, address poverty, and transform lives through art and creativity.  

Tucked within the bustle of Edinburgh’s Kirkgate, Trinity House of Leith offers a unique glimpse into Scotland’s maritime past. Now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, the Georgian building, once home to the Master Mariners of Leith, houses a rich and eclectic collection, from ships in bottles to intricately carved scrimshaw, each object telling a story of life at sea.

Over the past three years, Impact Arts participants from our CashBack Hubs and Impactful Starts programmes have been working in partnership with Trinity House, alongside Nicola Wright and Karen MacKenzie from Illuminate. Together, they’ve explored the stories behind the collection and uncovered the hidden histories of migration to and from Leith.

During our most recent programme (January–March 2026), participants were guided through Trinity House by Nicola, who brought the collection to life through storytelling. These encounters inspired a wide range of creative responses.

The Impactful Starts group developed a series of three animations, each exploring journeys connected to Leith. One tells the story of John Sakeouse, a Greenlander who arrived in Leith in 1816 and whose portrait now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. Another reflects on the women known as the “Moorish Lassies” at the court of James IV of Scotland. The third draws inspiration from the scrimshaw of whalers and the global journeys that connected places like Leith to South Georgia.

Meanwhile, the CashBack Hubs group created a series of 2D and 3D artworks for display in the Convening Room. Their work reimagines maritime histories through drawing, printmaking, sculpture and mixed media. From a ship in a bottle inspired by the quiet creativity of seafarers at sea, to a reworked coastal map based on an 18th-century chart of the Firth of Forth, each piece reflects both historical research and personal interpretation.

Other works include a clay sculpture inspired by the animals encountered on whaling journeys, and a piece responding to the stained-glass memorial window at Trinity House, which honours members of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives in the World Wars.

Together, these works highlight the power of creativity to connect past and present, bringing hidden histories to life through the voices and perspectives of young people today.

A selection of artworks and development materials, including storyboards from the animation projects, are now on display at Trinity House for the public to explore. So if you are in the area, be sure to pop in and check them out.

Impact Arts is a community arts charity based in Scotland. Since 1994, we’ve been delivering creative arts and support programmes for children, young people, adults, families, and older people who are facing disadvantages or barriers to progress in life. Our mission is to tackle inequalities, address poverty, and transform lives through art and creativity.  

We’re delighted to see our commissioned artwork, “Artistic Mosaic Tiling: Showcasing Govan’s Healthcare Legacy,” proudly displayed in the brand new Health Innovation Hub (HiH) in Govan!

Last summer, Impact Arts was commissioned by the University of Glasgow Living Laboratory, in collaboration with Elderpark Housing Association, to deliver Artistic Mosaic Tiling: Showcasing Govan’s Healthcare Legacy. 🎨

Working with local primary schools (St Saviours, Riverside, St Constantine & Pirie Park along with Govan High) and community groups (GalGael, Tea in the Pot, Govan Community Project and Men’s Shed), we delivered a consultation session with each of the groups followed by the making of the mosaics, the sessions also featured smaller paper and clay mosaic workshops. 

The participants created a series of community-inspired mosaic tiles that celebrate Govan’s rich history of healthcare innovation while looking ahead to the future of the new Health Innovation Hub (HiH). Each tile reflects a blend of symbolic and abstract interpretations of science, precision medicine, and STEAM, alongside the participants’ pride and love for their local area. Together, the individual pieces form a striking mosaic that tells the story of Govan’s past, present, and future in healthcare.

We’re incredibly proud to share that the completed artwork is now on display in the Health Innovation Hub, where it can be enjoyed by visitors, staff, and the wider community.

Last week, staff from Impact Arts and members from Craft Café Govan attended one of the opening days of the new building to celebrate its launch and see the artwork in its new home, alongside TEA in the POT, Meet Me in Govan, Govan Community Project, and Gilded Lily. It was fantastic to explore the space, enjoy a guided tour of the lower ground floor, visit the Digital Health Validation Simulation Lab, explore the Co-Design Room and take part in interactive activities.

We also had the privilege of meeting Dugald Cameron, the artist who created the first designs of the ultrasound scanner developed in Glasgow. Dugald later became Director of the Glasgow School of Art and is the last remaining member of the original team who created the ultrasound scanner – making it a very special moment to hear about this important piece of Glasgow’s healthcare innovation history.

At Craft Café Govan, we support those aged 60+ who are looking to renew social networks, connect with their local community and grow in confidence, through creative activity, and wellbeing through arts and community engagement. Seeing the mosaic tiles come together and be permanently displayed in such an inspiring space is a wonderful celebration of community creativity and collaboration.

We’re delighted that the artwork can now be seen by all who visit the Health Innovation Hub – a lasting tribute to Govan’s innovation, creativity, and community spirit.

Impact Arts is a community arts charity based in Scotland. Since 1994, we’ve been delivering creative arts and support programmes for children, young people, adults, families, and older people who are facing disadvantages or barriers to progress in life. Our mission is to tackle inequalities, address poverty, and transform lives through art and creativity.  

The sanctuary at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children has been given a colourful facelift featuring artwork created by its patients following a residency by young artist Phoebe Roze.

Commissioned in partnership by Impact Arts and Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, Phoebe, 21, worked with 50 children resident at the hospital to revamp the space following storytelling and arts workshops.

The sanctuary – which offers a place for peace and contemplation to children and families – was transformed following a consultation process involving staff, volunteers, children, young people and patients’ families.

Phoebe’s workshops led to the creation of prints, drawings and collages, which were then scanned and enlarged for vinyl panels and attached to walls.

Previously a blank space, the aim of the project was to create a more welcoming environment for those who use the sanctuary.

As well as being a place for contemplation, it will now be used for training and community events, including mindfulness classes and baby yoga.

Phoebe, a recent graduate of Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone University, says it was important that the refurbishment included the children’s own artwork.

“It’s amazing for me – but the best part is that it’s the kids’ work on the wall.

“They are the most important part of the hospital and kids’ art is so strange and imaginative. The fact that they have contributed 90% of what is up there is hopefully very special for the kids, the parents, the staff and volunteers.”

“Having your child in the hospital is obviously a traumatic experience, and that is why it was so important to make the sanctuary a calming, inviting and positive space.”

Rev. Jim Meighan, the chaplain of the Royal Hospital for Children, says the artwork has already made a dramatic change.

“The sanctuary is important for everybody who uses the hospital – patients, families and staff. It’s a place where people can take a breather from the hustle and bustle.

“There are people using the sanctuary that haven’t been previously, and that’s all to do with the artwork on the wall.

“We wanted people to claim the space as their own – and the artwork has already achieved that.

Kirsten Sinclair, Director of Fundraising at Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, said:

“The artwork that Phoebe has created with the help of the children and their families is beautiful. It totally transforms the space, and makes the entrance to the Sanctuary feel so warm and welcoming”.

This project was part of Impact Arts’ commissioned work, which involves professional artists in creating public artwork for community settings. If you are interested in commissioning us to complete a piece of work, please contact our Head of Development Carrie Manning on 0141 575 3001 or email carrie.manning@impactarts.co.uk.

 

A new block of Make it Your Own kicked off this month in Paisley!

This is a project in partnership with Renfrewshire Council’s Housing Support service that aims to make council tenancies more sustainable through offering people the chance to take part in creative workshops.

Those moving into first time tenancies work closely with Impact Arts’ artists-in-residence to plan and design exactly what they want to do with their new homes to make it feel somewhere that is truly theirs.

Participants are given a shopping budget and are then taught a variety of creative skills that can be used to upcycle and make decorations and furnishings for the home.

After a hugely successful pilot at the beginning of this year, Impact Arts are now delivering a block of Make it Your Own for the next 9 months.

Those engaging in workshops have taken to them fantastically so far; in the last week:

  • Angela took up two sets of blinds and primed several large canvases for some statement wall art pieces, while receiving a sewing masterclass from tutor Linda
  • Rosie has also been sewing away, making a new set of cushions from scratch
  • and Eddie is hard at work on a tiled bathroom mirror

As well as putting across some of their own personality in their new home, these are skills that will be passed on for any personal projects they choose to try their hand at in the future.

For more information about the Communities portion of Impact Arts’ work, please visit this section of our website.

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Site visit

The project is all go, with site visits, artwork planning and the creation of an interactive map all under way. If you’re wondering what it’s all about, hear it from the young people involved in this video about the project!

Young people have been finalising their designs and you can have a sneak peak at their creativity ideas for a ‘Banter Bench’, ‘Totem’ and ‘Living Lounge’!

Our Urban Green Cranhill project came to a close on Friday. We celebrated the end of a fantastic programme with an exhibition of work, bicycle cinema and poly-tunnel disco. More than 100 people came to celebrate a year of hard work by Cranhill’s residents with fabulous food from Soul Sisters and free copies of our community resource pack.

One resident said: “I love what’s been going on, there has been so much change! I hope it continues and gets better.”

Another commented: “I’ve never seen Cranhill look like this, its beautiful!”

We made a video about Urban Green and Cranhill, you can watch here.

We’re looking forward to seeing Cranhill continue to flourish at the hands of its environmentally concious residents!

*Photos courtesy of Tom Finnie.