Arcade is a series of artist commissions for the 10th Art Walk Porty Festival developed in partnership with Nobles Amusements that respond to Portobello’s showground era of seaside variety entertainment.
We are currently inviting artists to propose site specific works that embrace aspects of play, playground, games, chance or travelling showpeople communities in celebration of seaside showground culture. We particularly welcome artists working within the field of performance, live arts, multimedia, installation, participatory or interactive art to apply.
Nobles Amusements is the last remaining site from Portobello’s showground resort history. At one time home to seaside variety shows, a music hall, a roller rink, and also at one time a zoo, Nobles has a rich history connected to the entertainment era of Edinburgh’s seaside. Full reading material is available from here.
These unique commissions invite artists to develop contemporary site specific works in response to these histories, as well as to sites of play in and around the location of the physical amusements on Portobello Promenade. Works are planned to either be installed inside the amusements or within the outdoor promenade area surrounding Nobles.
We strongly encourage applications from people who are LGBTQ+, global majority, living with disabilities, and from working class or low socio-economic backgrounds.
3-4 Artists will be selected with each receiving:
Artist fee: £1,750
Materials budget: in region of £250
Timescales:
Proposals open from 10 April-11 May 2025
All artists informed by 23 May 2025
Commissions commence from 1 June 2025
With works in place from 4 to 14 September 2025
How to Apply:
Please apply by sending a word doc or pdf (no more than 3 pages) to include:
- an outline of your proposal idea, of how it connects to the Arcade themes detailed above, including areas of potential research and nature of outcomes
- a brief artist statement and cv
- 6 images of your recent work (sent as separate jpgs attached to your email)
Send by email to rosy@artwalkporty.co.uk by 11 May 2025
We are also happy to receive applications in alternative formats such as video or audio recordings. Please get in contact by emailing (info@artwalkporty.co.uk) if you have any questions in advance of applying for this commission opportunity.
Please also complete our equality monitoring form, which can be found here – https://forms.gle/BtJrh1rYUiVabNZ67. Responses to this form are anonymous and not linked to your application.
Arcade is curated by Rosy Naylor and supported by funding from Creative Scotland