Craigmillar Festival Society
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The Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS) was a
community arts Community art, also known as social art, community-engaged art, community-based art, and, rarely, dialogical art, is the practice of art based in and generated in a community setting. It is closely related to social practice and social turn. Work ...
organisation that existed in the
Craigmillar Craigmillar ( gd, Creag a' Mhuilleir, IPA: ˆkʰʲɾʲekˈaˈvɯʎɪɾʲ, from the Gaelic ''Creag Maol Ard'', meaning 'High Bare Rock', is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about south east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and Ne ...
area of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
from 1962 to 2002. It is regarded as important contributor to the Community Arts Movement. Starting in 1967, many of its productions involved
Craigmillar Castle Craigmillar Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is south-east of the city centre, on a low hill to the south of the modern suburb of Craigmillar. The Preston family of Craigmillar, the local feudal barons, began build ...
.


Inception

The Craigmillar Festival Committee was established in 1962, when a mothers group at Peffermill Primary School, south-east side of Edinburgh, created a Festival to celebrate local talent with the aid of then local councillor Jack Kane. By 1962, Craigmillar was suffering from all the social ills of 20th century urban living and decay. The crunch came when the school's reply to a request for music lessons for her son from local mother
Helen Crummy Helen Crummy MBE (10 May 1920 – 11 July 2011) was a founder of The Craigmillar Festival Society, and served as the Organising Secretary for the group until 1985. Biography Helen Crummy was born in Leith, Helen Murray Prentice. She became on ...
was ... "it takes us all our time to teach these children the 3Rs far less music." Biting their tongues the frustrated mothers in Peffermill School Mothers Club responded by knocking on doors, pulling out local talent and staging a People's Festival of music, drama, and the arts. The Festival was an instant success which brought joy, colour and fun to a drab and grey environment. The festival married fun with passion for intensive political action. This led to politicians working not just for, but WITH, the local people. Combining culture with satirical criticism, the people wrote and produced their own community musicals and historical productions, basing them on the area's multitude of social concerns and issues.


Growth and development

In 1970 the Craigmillar Festival Committee gained official recognition, charitable status and changed its name to the Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS). By 1976 the Society was employing 600 people and involving 1500 volunteers. That year, 17000 people either took part or attended the annual festival. By this time, it had received a major anti-poverty research grant from The
European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
. A prime example of what the CFS did in the community was through the tireless work of the Bingham neighbourhood worker Claire Elder. In 1970, she persuaded some neighbours to go dressed as a gypsy tribe to the Mediaeval Fayre. Later calling themselves the Bingham Belles, they formed a drama and music group and became stars of the Festival's Old Tyme Musical Hall. Entertaining in and beyond Craigmillar, they successfully campaigned to obtain much needed amenities for Bingham, including their own community centre and youth facilities. Several CFS workers AND volunteers who came from AND lived in the community went on to become teachers and trainers of the CFS ethic in their later lives with other organisations and even government quangoes. But they were first and foremost at the heart of the CFS activities in the community. The CFS created and developed many concepts including Communiversity, Arts As The Catalyst, Creative Shared Government, Neighbourhood Workers Scheme and the hugely influential planning document "The Comprehensive Plan for Action" where Art and culture were the catalyst in all aspects of regeneration. One of the CFS founders,
Helen Crummy Helen Crummy MBE (10 May 1920 – 11 July 2011) was a founder of The Craigmillar Festival Society, and served as the Organising Secretary for the group until 1985. Biography Helen Crummy was born in Leith, Helen Murray Prentice. She became on ...
created an MBE in 1973 (later awarded an honorary doctorate), produced a book called "Let The People Sing" that provides an account of the background and development of the CFS.


Achievements

Many artists, politicians and researchers came to Craigmillar, either to see or become involved in the community activities. Each of these have taken the seed and rooted it worldwide, from The Easterhouse Festival Society,
Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966
and also in the work of Neil Cameron and Reg Bolton in Australia. Craigmillar Festival Society helped create many things, amongst them; The Mermaid Sculpture by Pedro Silva; The Gentle Giant Sculpture by Jimmy Boyle; The
Bill Douglas William Gerald Douglas (17 April 1934 – 18 June 1991) was a Scottish film director best known for the trilogy of films about his early life. Biography Born in Newcraighall on the outskirts of Edinburgh, he was brought up initially by his m ...
Trilogy, in particular "My Childhood" (funded by
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
).{{citation needed, date=December 2008 The Craigmillar Festival Society was the recognised leader in the production of The Community
Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical â€“ humor, pathos, love, anger â€“ are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
productions, where professional actors worked very closely with local people. In effect, since 1962, local people came together and produced well over 100 productions. From 1973's first Community Musical "The Time Machine", 1974's "Castle, Cooncil & Curse, 1975's "Time and Motion Man", 1976's "Willie Wynn", 1977's Culture Vultures" and 1978's "Oh Gentle Giant", to the 1980s with "Shoo", "For A' That & A' That", "Dampbusters" and "Watch It", the 1990s and "Fit For Heroes", "Kicking Up A Stink" and "In Your Dreams" and the more recent "Grease Niddrie Style". All included songs such as "Craigmillar Now", "When People Play Their Part", "Arled Bairn", "Candy Barrie" and "He Promised Me". Many local people who began performing in Community productions went on to become successful professional performers, Alice Henderson and Johnni Stanton, who went on to form their own companies, but most notably, Faye Milligan (The Steamie), and James (Micky) MacPherson, whose company Plum Films won a BAFTA award. Both returned to Craigmillar and directed local productions. Craigmillar was at the forefront of the Golden Age of artistic expansion in Edinburgh in the early 70s and helped to create several lasting institutions, among them, Theatre Workshop Edinburgh. It also has links with Professor
Eric Trist Eric Lansdown Trist (11 September 1909 – 4 June 1993) was an English scientist and leading figure in the field of organizational development (OD). He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London. Biography ...
and The
Tavistock Institute The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations is a British not-for-profit organisation that applies social science to contemporary issues and problems. It was initiated in 1946, when it developed from the Tavistock Clinic, and was formally establ ...
,
Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
,
Richard Demarco Richard Demarco CBE (born 9 July 1930 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish artist and promoter of the visual and performing arts. Early life He was born at 9 Grosvenor Street in Edinburgh on 9 July 1930 the son of Carmino Demarco and his wife Elizabet ...
,
Anne Lorne Gillies Anne Lorne Gillies ( gd, Anna Latharna NicGillìosa) is a Scottish singer, writer, and activist. Early life Gillies was born in Stirling, Scotland in 1944 and moved to Oban at the age of 5. She attended Rockfield Primary School, Oban and ...
,
Joan Bakewell Joan Dawson Bakewell, Baroness Bakewell, ('' née'' Rowlands; born 16 April 1933), is an English journalist, television presenter and Labour Party peer. Baroness Bakewell is president of Birkbeck, University of London; she is also an auth ...
,
Michael Marra Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk clu ...
and Bill Paterson.


Commentary

The effectiveness of the Society's work began to be noticed from both near and far with distinguished commentators making reference to it. *The Social Impact of Participation in the Arts Seminar, 1997 at The House of the Art Lover, Glasgow, organised by
Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the ...
, chaired by
Seona Reid Dame Seona Elizabeth Reid (born 21 January 1950) is a Scottish arts administrator who was director of the Glasgow School of Art from 1999 to 2013, and former director of the Scottish Arts Council from 1990 to 1999. Early life Reid was born o ...
, Director. *Donald Campbell (Cities of the imagination/Edinburgh, 2003, Signal Books) *
Eric Trist Eric Lansdown Trist (11 September 1909 – 4 June 1993) was an English scientist and leading figure in the field of organizational development (OD). He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London. Biography ...
(New directions of hope, 1979) *
Eric Trist Eric Lansdown Trist (11 September 1909 – 4 June 1993) was an English scientist and leading figure in the field of organizational development (OD). He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London. Biography ...
(QWL Quality of Working Life and the 80's (The Closing Address to the International Conference on QWL and the 80's, Harbour Castle Hilton,
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, 30 August – 3 September 1981) *Rafael Ramirez (The Beauty of Social Organization, Accedo, Munich, 1991) *Alan Barnett (Community Murals, The Peoples Art, 1984, Associated University Press) *Malcolm McEwen (‘The Other Edinburgh’, New Statesman, 18 August 1972.) *George McRobie (Small Is Possible, London: Jonathan Cape, 1981 — this is part of the E. F. Schumacher
Small Is Beautiful ''Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered'' is a collection of essays published in 1973 by German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher. The title "Small Is Beautiful" came from a principle espoused by Schumach ...
trilogy) *
Kenneth Calman Sir Kenneth Charles Calman, HonFAcadMEd (born 25 December 1941) is a doctor and academic who formerly worked as a surgeon, oncologist and cancer researcher and held the position of Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, and then England. He was Wa ...
(Arts The Catalyst, Craigmillar Communiversity Press, 2004) *from ‘A GIANT STEP’ An Appraisal of The Craigmillar Festival Society's Approach to Community Development, Relative to the Craigmillar (
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
Programme of Pilot Schemes and Studies to Combat Poverty, Abstract, p. 6. By M Stephen Burgess in consultation with
Eric Trist Eric Lansdown Trist (11 September 1909 – 4 June 1993) was an English scientist and leading figure in the field of organizational development (OD). He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London. Biography ...
November, 1980.) *Professor Albert Cherns of
Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...
(in a letter to the Michael Young Rt. Hon. Lord Young of Dartington, 2 August 1982) *Dr. Helen Wood (‘Festivity and Social Change’, Leisure in the 80's Research Unit, Department of Social Sciences, Polytechnic of the South Bank, London Road, London SE1, December, 1982) *Charles Landry and Franois Matarasso (Art of Regeneration, Comedia, 1996) *David Harding, Head of Environmental Art and Sculpture (1985–2001),
Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...
. (Art with People, AN Publications, 1994.) *David Harding (Arts The Catalysts, Craigmillar Communiversity Press, 2004) It has also been compared to
The Peckham Experiment The Peckham Experiment was an experiment designed to determine whether people as a whole would, given the opportunity, take a vested interest in their own health and fitness and expend effort to maintain it. The experiment took place between 192 ...
and
Bromley by Bow Centre The Bromley by Bow Centre is a community centre in Bromley-by-Bow, in the East End of London. It was founded by Andrew Mawson, Baron Mawson, Andrew Mawson in 1984 alongside community members such as Chilean artist Santiago Bell, with the aim of t ...
and The Healthy Living Centre concept. In recent years The
Bromley by Bow Centre The Bromley by Bow Centre is a community centre in Bromley-by-Bow, in the East End of London. It was founded by Andrew Mawson, Baron Mawson, Andrew Mawson in 1984 alongside community members such as Chilean artist Santiago Bell, with the aim of t ...
has taken up The Communiversity concept to develop its education programme.


Into the future

By 2002 after a public investigation into alleged improper use of funding, funding was cut off and the remaining CFS projects were made independent organizations. Although the original CFS organization is now defunct, its spirit lives on within the community and it continues to attract attention through the "Arts As A Catalyst" Exhibition at The City Arts Centre,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 2004 and an award-winning documentary, which won The Saltire Award at The
Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
in 2005. The local arts scene is also kept alive by two community organisations currently existing within the community, Craigmillar Community Arts, who provide a variety of arts based projects at Craigmillar Arts Centre on Newcraighall Road and the Greater Craigmillar Archives who are devoted to recording and preserving a physical and digital record of the Craigmillar community through the years.


See also

*
Community art Community art, also known as social art, community-engaged art, community-based art, and, rarely, dialogical art, is the practice of art based in and generated in a community setting. It is closely related to social practice (art), social practice ...
*
Not-for-profit arts organization A not-for-profit arts organization, also known as a nonprofit arts organization, usually takes the form of a not-for-profit organization, association, or foundation. Such organizations are formed for the purpose of developing and promoting the wor ...
*
Niddrie, Edinburgh Niddrie is a residential suburb in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated in the south-east of the city, south-west of the seaside area of Portobello, and west of Musselburgh in East Lothian near Fort Kinnaird retail park. History The place ...


References


External links


A Pictorial History
Organisations based in Edinburgh Arts organizations established in 1962 Arts organizations disestablished in 2002 Scottish art Culture in Edinburgh Arts festivals in Scotland