Projects & Residencies

ART WALK develops social practice year-round projects working with artists and local communities engaging with the public realm at Edinburgh’s coastline in and around Portobello & associated neighbourhoods, many of which feed into the annual Art Walk Porty Festival.



Fallow Land

Henna Asikainen, Rudy Kanhye & Lauren La Rose, Hanna Paniutsich, James Wyness

2024-2025 Agriculture Coastal futures

This new autumn/winter residency programme centres around subjects of farming land, agricultural waste, land ownership and migration linking historical agricultural land around Portobel…

Craigmillar & Communities Walking Residency

Jonathan Baxter

2021-2025 Ecology Walking

Working with communities in Craigmillar and surrounding areas to explore a range of approaches that embed an ecological way of thinking about Craigmillar’s past, present and future th…

The Neighbouring Orchard

Annie Lord

2021-2025 Planting Trees

The Neighbouring Orchard is a living artwork by Annie Lord of 200 apple trees planted across coastal Edinburgh and East Lothian, now in the process of extending to areas within Craigent…

Deluge

Linde Ex, Dana Olărescu & Oscar van Heek

2022-2025

Begun in 2022, Art Walk Projects invited three artists to collaborate on a project that would link three saltmarsh locations: in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria; East Lothian, Scotland; and …

Thrift: Climate Conversations

2024 Food UnderCurrent

Portobello

Research Award from The Royal Society of Edinburgh: Healthy Planet, Healthy People

COAST-R

2024-2027 Coastal futures

New resilient coastal communities and seas network announced to generate knowledge, action and resilience for UK coastal communities and seas

Granton Eastern Breakwater Lichen Project

Scientist Toby Mills, in collaboration with artists Frances Lingard, Sam Della-Valle and Finn Rabbitt Dove

2024 Ecology UnderCurrent Walking

A new interdisciplinary walking project centred on lichen at Granton Breakwater, being produced by scientist Toby Mills, in collaboration with artists Frances Lingard, Sam Della-Valle a…

Buoyancy in unprecedented times

Jenny Pope

2023 Vessel Water

Jenny Pope is linking early innovations in maritime travel with today’s climate crisis in order to address questions of collective anxiety and resilience.

Field-Studies in Radical Mycography

Myceliart Collective

2023-2024 UnderCurrent

As part of our ongoing Climate Cafe series we delve into the world of medicinal fungi with this series of walking workshops

5 walks, 5 trees, 5 poems

Jonathan Baxter

2024 Ecology Trees

Starting in September and ending in November, participants are invited on 5 walks through Craigmillar Castle Park. We’ll be walking together in friendly conversation, enjoying moments…

Measuring Time through the Fall of Water

Huniti Goldox

2023 Vessel Water

An immersive video installation from artist collective HUNITI GOLDOX (Areej Huniti & Eliza Goldox) – Jordan/Germany

Stool to Stool

Murray Morrant

2023 Architecture Vessel Waste

Murray’s ongoing exploration of the built environment and subterranean infrastructure landscapes examines the intricate relationship between the individual and the collective, and its…

Tired Water

Vira Putri

2023 Vessel

Vira Putri’s work draws upon jamu, the Indonesian traditional healing practice which the artist likens to cooking, used to cure fatigue and rheumatic symptoms

Slow Coast 500

Claudia Zeiske

2023 Tourism Vessel Walking

Claudia Zeiske’s Slow Coast 500 is a long-distance walk from Dunnet Head to Berwick-upon-Tweed along the entire coast of the North Sea in Scotland.

Repel and attract

Tonya McMullan

2023 Planting Vessel Water

Developing connections between waste, water, ecology and scent, Tonya McMullan explores the growth of tomato plants

Wing Cradle

Henna Asikainen

2023 Migration Vessel

Weaving together myths and politics with ecological concerns, Wing Cradle connects the migration of birds with testimonies relating to lived experiences of human migration.

Braid Walk

Jonathan Baxter, Helen Boden, Sarah Gittins, James Spence

2023-2024 Climate Cafe Vessel Walking Water

From Mouth to Source: Walking the Braid Burn Watercourse Walking from mouth to source along three adjoining burns: Figgate, Braid and Bonaly, these walks take their inspiration from…

ecollaborate

Scott Hunter & Keira Tucker

2023 Climate Cafe Ecology Science

A collaborative art/science project working with participants from Access to Industry led by artist Scott Hunter and scientist Keira Tucker (Ascus Art Science Lab)

The School of Pedestrian Culture

Lucas Priest

2023 Climate Cafe Vessel Walking

A residency project as part of our Climate Cafe programme providing an expanded walking forum featuring contributions from artists Iman Tajik and Johanna Koen

Quota

Christina Riley

2023 Vessel Water

Christina Riley’s latest work brings this unseen activity to the surface, asking what life looks like to those who live underwater.

Crude Floral

Tonya McMullan

2022 Ecology Salt Science

Tonya McMullan has been looking at future plans for the stretch of coast along the Seafield promenade and considering them alongside our need to adapt proactively to radical environment…

ENDLESS/BELLY

Natasha Thembiso Ruwona

2022 Migration Salt Water

Curatorial residency with commissioned artists Tanatsei Gambura, Khadea Santi, Lisa Williams and film programme

Tasting Stories from the Sea

Mahala Le May

2022 Food Salt

By focusing on the production of salt and its use in food, especially as a means of preservation, Mahala le May is connecting the Forth coastal area of Scotland to global questions rela…

I looked out and saw plumes of salty air

Joanne Matthews

2022-2023 Salt Water

Starting from Joppa Salt Pans, a former site of fossil-fuel-powered salt production, Joanne Matthews is exploring connections between capitalism, rising sea levels and over-salination…

PERIPHERI: tending to corners

Elise Ashby & Stephanie Whitelaw

2021-2022 Ecology Walking

Artists Elise Ashby and Stephanie Whitelaw developed a participatory walking project, that explored the ecology of place and the potential of growth within unmanaged sites on the edge o…

PORT

Henna Asikainen, Louise Barrington, Rosy Naylor, Elspeth Penfold, Stephanie Whitelaw

2020-2022 Salt Science Walking Water

Connecting together five coastal areas around the UK (Swalecliffe, Kent; Holy Island, Northumbria; Scapa Flow, Orkney; Seafield, Edinburgh; Musselburgh Lagoons, East Lothian) the PORT p…

Welcome to Portobello

Iman Tajik

2020-2021 All At Sea Assemble Migration

A two-year residency project with Iranian artist Iman Tajik exploring issues around migration such as freedom of movement, borders and displacement with a series of interventions and in…

Gatherings

Rhona Taylor

2020 All At Sea

An installation in response to the safe haven provided to four cruise ships in the Forth during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic

Present in this Place

Geri Loup Nolan

2020 All At Sea Place

During lockdown amid many reflective walks on the beach thinking about the implicit issues of isolation, wellness, containment, creativity, travel, purpose Geri collected 2,020 fragment…

Decorators of Portobello

Nicky Bird

2019-2021 Assemble Heritage Landmark Place

A two-year mult-generational oral history project working closely with Portobello Heritage Trust and a number of decorators who once worked in Buchan Potteries in Portobello during 1950…

Plot 55b

Felicity Bristow + Susie Wilson

2019-2021 Ecology Food Landmark Place

Felicity Bristow & Susie Wilson’s new artist book culminating their two year artist residency based at Craigentinny Telferton Allotments

Walksy Walking App

Art Walk

2021 Walking

‘Walksy.’ (or Walk & See) offers a creative way to record our outdoors whilst we walk.

Future Value

Deirdre Macleod

2019-2021 All At Sea Assemble Landmark Place

Deirdre Macleod explores how gesture-based performance might help tell the story of cities with this two-year residency as part of our Landmark series.

Material Land

Jenny Pope

2019-2021 All At Sea Assemble Heritage Landmark Place

Artist Jenny Pope led a research based residency from 2019-21 exploring the working conditions and materials used in many of Portobello’s industries. Three installations were produced d…

Footprint

2019 Cycling Landmark Walking

‘FOOTPRINT’ is a walking and cycling map + guide for East Edinburgh (Portobello, Leith) & Musselburgh with artist-led routes that intersect the urban with nature through the familiar a…

Keeping Shop

Fiona Hermse

2019 Heritage Place

An event based project held in Rosefield Park styled around a treasure hunt celebrating many of the old high street shops of Portobello, and the Victorian Splash events which once took …

Carousel

Fiona Hermse, Oi Musica and Portobello Older Peoples’ Project

2018 Pleasure Ground

Merry-go-round style sculptures and a musical parade along Portobello Prom involving collected memories of Porty’s pleasure industries

Pier to Pier

Greig Burgoyne

2018 Place Pleasure Ground

Invited artist Greig Burgoyne (Hastings, East Sussex) linked together the pier spaces of Hastings pier with the site of Portobello pier with a series of performative walking based event…

Festoon

Deirdre Macleod

2018 Place Pleasure Ground

A walk inspired by historical fairground illuminations and exploring our experience of urban darkness

Bandstand Project

Ross Whyte

2018 Heritage Pleasure Ground Soundart

8 bandstand soundspaces across Edinburgh & Musselburgh with immersive sound app performances & exhibition.

EdgeLands

2017 Place

The 2017 Art Walk Porty festival centred on a series of temporary interventions taking visitors on a journey along Seafield Promenade to Meadows Yard Nature Reserve exploring notions of…

Inside Lane

Jacqueline Donachie, Nathalie Holbrook, Deirdre Macleod, Rosy Naylor, City of Play

2017 Place

An art engagement project working with Sustrans and East Dunbartonshire Council to draw together public opinion relating to the developing of local public spaces in the centre of Lenzie…

ArtRail

Chris Dooks, Felicity Bristow, Deirdre Macleod, Andrew Pringle, Mark Timmins

2016 Artrail Heritage Place Soundart

A series of stories, journeys, art works, installations and events taking place in and around Portobello, Brunstane and Joppa, Edinburgh’s Seaside.