Email: artsdevelopment@btconnect.com

Arts Development Section, 1^st Floor, 50 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2LE.

Office hours 9am - 5pm Monday to Thursday, 9am - 3.45pm on Friday.

General Services

Edinburgh is a capital city with an international cultural and sporting profile. The quality of the City’s cultural and leisure services, and their future development, are of paramount importance to the Council. These activities play an essential part in enhancing the quality of life and personal well being of the people of Edinburgh. The Arts Development section, within the Culture and Leisure Department, has responsibility to assist with the development and implementation of the City’s cultural policy and the related artform strategies together with assessment, monitoring and evaluation of grant aided organisations.

Staff

Lindsay Robertson, Arts Manager

Rebecca Peppiette, Arts Strategy and Funding Manager

Steve Byrne, Arts Officer (Music and Traditional Arts) P/T

*Office hours 9am – 5pm Monday / Tuesday (*flexible)

David Francis, Arts Officer (Music and Traditional Arts) P/T

*Office hours 9am – 5pm Wednesday/Thursday/Friday morning (*flexible)

Jo Navarro, Arts Officer (Festivals and Communities)

Tracy Scodellaro, Arts Officer (Projects)

Julie Campbell, Support Assistant

Strategies

A Cultural Policy for the City of Edinburgh was published in 1999. This document describes the broad range of cultural activity which the Council supports as well as areas of achievement and provides an overview of the Council’s commitment to culture, its priorities and the areas in which it will provide support. This commitment is expressed in a number of policy objectives, which will be achieved through a series of individual strategies containing action plans and targets.

The Theatre Strategy, Festival Strategy, Events Strategy , Dance Strategy and the Music Strategy have now been completed. Please ring the general enquiry number 0131 243 1444 if you would like us to send hard copies of these documents.

Edinburgh Visual Arts & Crafts Artists Awards Scheme

In order to advance the City of Edinburgh Council Cultural Policy, the Scottish Arts Council and the City of Edinburgh Culture and Leisure Department have established a scheme of funding that addresses current gaps in resources available to individual artists. The scheme offers awards to individual artists and makers based or resident in Edinburgh towards costs involved in creating new work or developing current work.

Awards up to a maximum value of £1,000 are available. Applicants are encouraged to request the appropriate funds required for their project, and not automatically be awarded the maximum grant available.

The next deadline date for applications is Friday 27 January 2006. Please contact the Arts Development Unit for further details.

Music and Traditional Arts

The Arts Officers (Music and Traditional Arts) lead on two distinct projects:

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Music Strategy was published in 1999 to highlight the significant commitment from the Council and the diverse musical communities in the city to music development and celebration. The Strategy was the outcome of a substantial period of

consultation with music organisations and practitioners across the City. Dave Francis is working on the revision of the document with the Music Strategy Working Group, considering themes including middle-scale venue provision, community and amateur music.

Steve Byrne works with traditional arts groups in the city, as well as the national traditional arts organisations, to help promote, support and develop the various traditional Scottish art forms of music, song, dance and storytelling in Edinburgh’s communities. As part of this work Ceilidh Culture, a month-long celebration of traditional arts, is now entering its fourth year. The provisional dates for 2006 are 1 April to 30 April 2006. For further information and for details of how you can participate in this festival please contact see the Ceilidh Culture website: www.ceilidhculture.co.uk.