Official launch of the Meadows Mural

Later today there will be music and celebrations to herald the official opening of the Mural on the Meadows between 5.00 and 7.00p.m.

Heather Goodare chair of Friends of Meadows and Bruntsfield Links (FOMBL) is very much behind the idea to cover the plain wall of the electricity sub-station with a mural.

Heather explained how the mural came about: “Scottish Power, the City of Edinburgh Council and FOMBL were all concerned at the upkeep and visual appearance of the site. The Council had suggested the use of advertising hoardings to ‘brighten it up’. FOMBL wanted to find a much more imaginative solution. At the same time, students from the School of Art came along to a South Central Neighbourhood Partnership meeting suggesting that artwork on the Meadows might be an interesting thing to encourage. We took the bait!

“South Central Neighbourhood Partnership awarded us a grant that has covered half the cost. Edinburgh Evening News made a contribution and the balance was funded by Scottish Power, who own the walls and kindly gave their consent.

“The mural depicts local landmarks, some of which date back to the ‘International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art’, which was housed in a huge pavilion on the Meadows in 1886. I hope it will encourage the local community and visitors to explore further and that it will, in its turn, become a landmark, enhancing the cultural amenity of the area.”

On the FOMBL website they explain a little of the story behind the paintings:

Heather’s Jig is a named for Heather Goodare. The mural poem ‘The Throng of Folk’ tells of the jig being danced with vigour and of ‘high-jinks on Bruntsfield Links’. This mirrors the verve and tenacity with which Heather has steered the mural project to fruition. It is Astrid and Rachel’s way of marking her contribution with heartfelt thanks.

They are delighted that Heather’s Jig has now been composed by Malcolm Goodare and will be premiered by his ensemble Fiddlers on the Ramp at the mural launch on 22nd September 2014. So the jig becomes another addition to the folklore of the Meadows.

You will find more information about the mural here.

Photo courtesy of FOMBL