The final showcase of our Edinburgh Creative Pathways young people’s artwork was a huge success last week, with a good turnout at Canongate Youth in the city centre taking in some bright, intricate and imaginative paintings, drawings, collages, patterns and sculptures.
The centre-piece was the Orchestra of Art Noise – electro-acoustic instruments designed and handmade by the participants. A mixture of percussion and string instruments, each had a unique sound that created a distinctive atmosphere within the exhibition space.
The young people received certificates from Impact Arts’ Director Fiona Doring for their hard work on the 10 week project. It was also a significant evening for partner organisation Canongate Youth, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year – a fact that was incorporated in some of the collage artworks hanging on the wall.
Creative Pathways is an arts-focused employability project, meaning that as well as taking part in creative workshops, the young people are given CV and interview skills and offered a work placement. They also pick up other skills through being part of the project, building confidence and becoming better communicators.
Caitlin, 16, is one of the participants. She feels she has taken a lot from the project.
“I draw all the time and want to be a tattoo artist,” she said, “so it was great to have something that was both an art course and an employment course.
“It’s showed me a different way to look at art. When the tutor, Mo, first said that we’d be drawing sounds – that was something I’d never thought about until I came here.
“At the start I was quite nervous but after coming for a while it was really good because the people were really nice. We’ve built up confidence for doing interviews and I’m now working on a portfolio with the tutors, doing loads of different types of drawings.”
Mo Odling is the lead tutor on the project. She has been impressed by the participants’ willingness to experiment and try new things in their work.
“We are very proud of the young people – this showcase was the result of them stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something new, and the great feedback they received tonight is testament to this.”
The project was delivered in partnership with Canongate and is funded by Skills Development Scotland, Inspiring Scotland, Calton Youth Trust, Edinburgh Airport Community Trust and John Watson’s Trust.
For more information about Creative Pathways and our other work with young people, please visit the Young People section of our site. Photographs from the showcase are available to view on our Facebook page.