Canongate Youth’s budding film makers and artists teamed up with Scotland’s Urban Past to explore and celebrate the history of the Dumbiedykes area

EDINBURGH, 2015-7-30 — /Travel PR News/ — Budding film makers and artists from Canongate Youth have teamed up with Scotland’s Urban Past (SUP) to explore and celebrate the history of the Dumbiedykes area.

SUP, a nationwide initiative that puts local communities in charge of recording the history on their doorsteps, helped a group of 5-11 year olds find inspiration for their creative endeavours through outdoor workshops, training in photography and film, and lessons in recognising key features of Scottish architecture.

Older children from Canongate Youth worked with the SUP team to produce a short film about the history of their community, inspired by local landmarks. The group took on the roles of researching, script writing, acting, filming and directing to create a fun and inspiring film that highlights the importance of their favourite places, and explains what they feel should be done to protect them for future generations.

Meanwhile, The Banana Club, one of the children’s services provided by Canongate Youth, used their new understanding of Dumbiedykes to create cardboard city sculptures with help from professional artist Charlotte Duffy from Waste of Paint Productions.

The young people will showcase their talent and artwork at Canongate Youth’s end of summer term event on Monday 31st August. Members of the public are invited to attend the event at 6 Infirmary St, Edinburgh, EH1 1LT from 4:30pm.

Describing her cardboard sculpture of the Scottish Parliament, 5 year old Rowan said: “It has a wheelchair ramp because stairs are difficult to get up and there is a lift because I get tired after climbing too many stairs so other people will too.”

Victoria Robb, SUP Learning Officer, said: “These summer workshops with Scotland’s Urban Past have given the young people at Canongate Youth an opportunity to learn new skills, interpret the everyday spaces around them in new ways, and share those interpretations with enthusiasm and creativity.”

“Youth-led projects like this enable young people to create a sense of place, boost confidence and appreciate the rich and diverse historic built environment around them. As demonstrated in our work with Canongate Youth, we are keen to see young people take the lead on projects and learn new skills for life.”

“We’re delighted that the children’s creative work will be on display at the end of August and we hope that they will be an inspiration for more young people in Scotland to get involved with their local heritage.”

Clare Jamieson, Youth Development Worker at Canongate Youth, said: “The Scotland’s Urban Past projects have been fantastic and the children have had lots of fun. They have gained new knowledge about their local community, as well as the opportunity to develop new creative skills and ideas.”

SUP invites groups and individuals of all ages to discover and share the fascinating stories of Scotland’s towns and cities by taking the lead in community projects. The initiative is led by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) and Historic Scotland, supported by the National Lottery with a grant of £1.65m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Notes to Editors:

• Historic Scotland and RCAHMS are coming together to create a new lead body for the historic environment. The new body, which will legally be known as Historic Environment Scotland (HES), will come into effect in October 2015 and will deliver Scotland’s first strategy for the historic environment, Our Place in Time. For further information please visit the Historic Scotland and RCAHMS websites or sign up to our e-newsletterfor updates.

• About the Heritage Lottery Fund: Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help build a resilient heritage economy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported almost 36,000 projects with more than £5.9bn across the UK. www.hlf.org.uk

• For further information on Scotland’s Urban Past visit our website www.scotlandsurbanpast.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @ScotUrbanPast. You can also share comments and stories with us on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ScotUrbanPast

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Media contact:
Bryony Jackson, Events and Communications Officer
Scotland’s Urban Past
+44 (0)131 651 6736
bryony.jackson@rcahms.gov.uk

RCAHMS
Press and Media
+44 (0)131 668 8703
hs.communications@scotland.gsi.gov.uk