(Image: Eva Milne)
Leith creatives are ramping up their efforts to secure £3 million in funding as the deadline to submit the town’s bid to be the UK Town of Culture 2028 approaches.
Leithers of all ages have been invited to Leith Imaginarium on October 25 from 12pm to 4pm.
The drop-in event, to be held at the Wee Museum of Memory at Ocean Terminal, will ask residents to share their ideas and priorities for Leith through a range of free interactive activities.
Ideas gathered will feed into the bid, which must be submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) by November 30. The winning bid will receive £3m to support shape cultural projects and initiatives in the town.
The town is one of 15 finalists across the UK, from a pool of 400 applicants.
Bid co-ordinators Jenny Mugnall and Susie Gray (L-R). (Image: Eva Milne)
"This isn't about bringing ‘culture’ to Leith. It's about celebrating what's already here, backing the creativity and communities that make this place special, and giving Leithers a real say in what comes next,” said Susie Gray and Jenny Mugnall, co-ordinators of Leith's UK Town of Culture bid.
“Whatever the result, 2028 will be a special year as Leith celebrates 900 years and looks forward to the future.
“The ideas and relationships coming out of the process of this competition belong to this place, and we want to keep building on them to preserve what makes Leith so distinctive and celebrate living in such a brilliant place."
Drop-in sessions will also be held at Printworks Cafe on Constitution Street on Friday, October 16 from 9 to 11am and at Leith Library on Monday, October 19 from 6.30pm to 8pm.
“We knew we kind of had to move fast,” Ms Mugnall said of the origin of the bid.
“I had a coffee with Susie as I knew she was the only person who could help make that happen. The two of us have just been 100% committed to making it happen,” she told The Herald after the bid was shortlisted in July.
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“We both work in culture and we've known each other for years and years,” Ms Gray added.
The pair’s efforts have resulted in the creation of the Leith Culture Partnership, chaired by native Leither and executive director of the National Theatre of Scotland Liam Sinclair.
More than 80 community groups, national organisations, and public figures have given their backing to the campaign.
Supporters include author Irvine Welsh, restaurant critic Chitra Ramaswamy, the Edinburgh International Festival, Ben Macpherson MSP, the Port of Leith Distillery, The Proclaimers, and chef Tom Kitchin.