Grabbing the opportunity
In the late spring of 2007, flowers started to appear in the parts of the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh. Nothing very unusual in that, one might suppose, except that these blooms were painted on the burnt-out shells of cars that had recently served as an evening’s entertainment for some local joyrides. Not only did the giant yellow and blue decorations brighten up the macabre and somewhat sinister spectacle of these wrecks – it provided proof that there was an element of positive creativity in a sometimes cynically regarded and often maligned neighbourhood. This expressiveness was already echoing around Craigmillar and continued to spread throughout the rest of spring and early summer in the form of a project entitled itsmylife. Based at the Craigmillar Arts Centre, local residents were grabbing the opportunity to explore their experiences of life, their preoccupations and obsessions through the medium of (painting) art. With subjects ranging from Elvis Presley to the Great White Shark, from portraits of family members to social observations, these fledgling artists-in-residence produced a startlingly comprehensive body of work in a comparatively short period of time/a period of ten weeks. Painting techniques, memories and cups of tea were shared, motivations explained and energy spread as people created the images (on these pages/within this catalogue). Various local initiatives herald the ongoing development, regeneration and reinvigoration of Craigmillar and there is no doubt that the physical reality of the area needs this input. Perhaps it should be pointed out that not only does there continue to be vigour and life in the people and it is their life. The aim now is to maintain the momentum achieved by the original project and allow these artists to develop further. The goal: inspire people to work on; share their newly attained artistic experience; build more self-confidence from exhibiting and ultimately, even lead/teach further projects themselves.
Fiona Greig- artist
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