Local Cultural Festivals & Events Fund: Recipients
01 Dec 2021
The City of Edinburgh Council’s Local Cultural Festivals and Events Fund aims to celebrate Edinburgh’s diverse local cultural festivals and events whilst contributing to sector recovery. The funding was allocated as a result of the city’s role in supporting the recovery of live activity as part of local cultural festivals and events affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and to offer wider access to Council cultural funding opportunities, ensuring Edinburgh is a city of creative opportunities.
The deadline for submissions to the Fund was Friday 27 August 2021. A total of 21 applications were received requesting support from the Local Cultural Festivals and Events Fund. The projects submitted represented a variety of activities, including community, emerging talent and heritage festivals and events celebrating Edinburgh’s diverse communities through engaged with performing and visual arts taking place across the city, including neighbourhood such as Craigmillar, Granton, Old Town, Cramond, West End, Grassmarket, Leith and Fountainbridge.
The assessment panel comprised of Bridie Ashrowan (EVOC), Julia Amour (Festivals Edinburgh); and David Waddell (The City of Edinburgh Council) met online on 2 September 2021 to discuss submitted proposals. They considered the quality of the submitted proposals as well as the impact of outlined activities on the applicants and the communities they engage or plan to engage. 16 project proposals were awarded funding on the basis of the panel assessment notes and recommendations.
The following festivals and events are in receipt of the 2021/22 The City of Edinburgh Council’s Local Cultural Festivals and Events Fund:
• Africa in Motion (29 April - 6 May 2022) hosted by Africa in Motion brings the best of African cinema to Scotland and has established itself as a major annual event within the Scottish cultural calendar [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Batizado 2021/22 (5-6 November 2021 and 18-19 June 2022) hosted by Axé Boom Boom Ltd. - a celebration of the passion, dedication and commitment of the capoeira students and their families through movement and music workshops and performance [Grant Award: £8,305.50].
• Bright & Wild Festival (3-4, 10-11 June 2022) hosted by Lyra - a celebration of the achievements of Lyra's Young Artists with 4 days of devised performances for the local community and schools at Artspace [Grant Award: £9,380].
• Dusherra 2021 (17 October 2021) hosted by Scottish Indian Arts Forum (SIAF) – a flagship event of the ethnic minority community bringing people together and keeping the tradition alive [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Echoes (12 February 2022) hosted by Drake Music Scotland - Edinburgh’s only live disabled-led platform for disabled musicians and composers with an event at The Queen’s Hall in January 2022 [Grant Award: £6,400].
• Edinburgh Diwali 2021 (21 November 2021) hosted by Edinburgh Diwali - the only Public Diwali celebration in Edinburgh - truly multicultural event which is free to attend and open to all [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Edinburgh Durgotsav (11 – 15 October 2021) hosted by SABASH (Scottish Association of Bengali Arts and Sanskritik Heritage) - the biggest cultural festival of Eastern India celebrated across five days to commemorate the “victory of truth over evil” [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Edinburgh International Magic Festival (27 Dec 2021 - 5 Jan 2022) hosted by Edinburgh International Magic Festival - presents magical events around the city and celebrating the limitless possibilities of human imagination [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Edinburgh Official Chinese New Year Gala (13 February 2022) hosted by Asian Association of Culture Commerce and Education in Europe - The Edinburgh Official Chinese New Year Gala 2022 celebrates Chinese New Year, through Chinese art, culture and language seeking to promote Edinburgh to China and worldwide and encourage integration, mutual understanding and cooperation between communities [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Hidden Door Festival 2022 (10-18 June 2022) hosted by Hidden Door Charitable Company Ltd - a nine-day festival in Edinburgh, promoting work by a selection of some of the most exciting emerging artists/performers in Scotland [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Leith Festival (11-19 June 2022) hosted by Leith Festival Association Ltd - a unique 9-day community event, including a Pageant and Gala Day established in 1907, local events and our own Leith Tattoo [Grant Award: £6,450].
• LeithLate22 Festival (17-19 June 2022) hosted by LeithLate - a popular multi-arts festival will return in 2022 with live events and art installations staged in a range of venues around Leith [Grant Award: £10,000].
• Play Poland Film Festival (PPFF) (20-21 November 2021) hosted by Weeblob.blog Ltd - the only Polish Festival in Edinburgh that celebrates Polish cultures and artists and is back after a four year break with a new format [Grant Award: £6,250].
• STRONGER:TOGETHER (18-23 July 2022) hosted by Sandy's Community Centre - a week-long multicultural festival comprising participatory art, photography, storytelling, music and food-based fun for all, celebrating diversity and culminating in an accessible extravaganza! [Grant Award: £5,307].
• Ramadan 2022 (1-8 May 2022) hosted by Scottish Indian Muslim Association – the only Public Ramadan celebration in Edinburgh - a truly multicultural event that is free to attend and open to all [Grant Award: £3,000].