The Art Walk Porty 2024 Festival “UnderCurrent” will give visitors a chance to experience the art event which celebrates the creative community of Portobello & Joppa.
It will be an opportunity to chat with artists, adding to an understanding and appreciation of their work, as well as to see inside the spaces where they live and work.
This year the festival will be focused on the weekends of 7-8 and 14-15 September.
The ART HOUSES is a curated programme that shows a range of work and disciplines in artists houses, studios and gardens. It will showcase artists new to Art Walk Porty alongside others who have exhibited before.
The Art Houses venues have been gathered around four walking routes – North, South, East and West – giving visitors the option of choosing one or more locations within Portobello, and divide their Art Walk Porty experience into more than one visit should they wish.
This year’s theme, UnderCurrent, is framed around marine health and the natural heritage of Edinburgh’s coast.
Our ART IN SHOPS and public realm strands of the festival will have a range of exhibitions, workshops and talks inspired by these topics. There will be work by 60 artists in 45 venues on display.
A spokesperson for Art Walk Porty said: “The funding environment has been extremely challenging this year and Art Walk Porty has not been immune to this. This has had an impact on our curated programme in 2024. We remain committed to delivering an Art Walk Porty Festival for all in September with an increased focus on Art Houses, at a time when it feels like culture and creativity are more important than ever.”
Art House Artist Stories:
VENUE 39 – JULIANA CAPES
AT VENUE 39, 10 Esplanade Terrace, local artist JULIANNA CAPES has installed an outdoor collection of ceramic and found object sculptures responding to the quantities of dead seabirds which are washing up along the coastline.
VENUE 30 – KARL STERN
Further along the prom at VENUE 30, artist KARL STERN is showing his characteristic collograph prints and the plates he uses to make them. Karl has been a fixture of the Art Walk for many years, and is one of the local artists who help to plan and organise the event. Last year Karl suffered a serious stroke just before Art Walk, with friends and family helping to hang his exhibition while he was in hospital. This year following a remarkable recovery he is back to full health, has had a successful show at House for An Art Lover in Glasgow, and will be showing recent work inspired by people and landscapes.
VENUE 44 – MARGARET SIMPSON
Towards Eastfield there is an opportunity to visit one of the landmark buildings in Portobello – ROCK COTTAGE at JOPPA PANS. This distinctive white cottage is well known and, new to Art Walk Porty, owner MARGARET SIMPSON is taking part as VENUE 44. Margaret, a native of Shetland, was the Art Teacher at The Royal Blind School, and in retirement has taken up her own work which she will be showing as part of this year’s programme. Her finely detailed pencil drawings of weathered objects found on the beach behind Rock Cottage will be on display, as well as her Fair Isle knitting, made of Shetland wool inherited from her family.
VENUE 11 – PAUL MACPHAIL
The beach plays a central role in the life of Portobello, and frequent visitors will sometimes spot enigmatic objects, delicate sculptures made out of driftwood, pebbles, flotsam and jetsam, which have seemingly been left in the sand. These mysterious creations are the work of local artist PAUL MACPHAIL who makes them on the beach, then photographs them in surprising ways, creating a surreal sense of space and scale. He then leaves them to be discovered by walkers – and washed away by the sea. Paul is showing his photographs and sculptural work at VENUE 11, 54 REGENT STREET, providing a rare opportunity to see a selection of his work.
VENUE 33 – ALISON CHISHOLM
It turns out there are a lot of artists living in Portobello – some of them have been inspired to resume their artistic practice by the Art Walk. ALISON CHISHOLM studied at Glasgow School of Art and then had a career in art education and for many years managed the Travelling Gallery. She helped to organise Art Walk Porty for many years, but never took part. However, during lockdown, Alison started drawing again through weekly online speed drawing sessions, and this year is participating in the programme, showing the work made as a result of this project. She can be seen at VENUE 33 on DALKEITH STREET.
VENUE 2 – DUNCAN BARRETT and SARAH LIPPETT
It could be argued that the Art Walk Porty Festival is encouraging artists to move into the area. At VENUE 2 IN CUNNINGHAM SQUARE, which is part of the recent Barratt Homes development on the Baileyfield site, two very different artists are showing their work. Painter DUNCAN BARRETT has been inspired by the local area to make a series of seascapes and landscapes, while SARAH LIPPETT is an award-winning illustrator who creates socio-political reportage comics focused on telling the stories of diverse communities in locations across the UK and abroad.
ART WALK FESTIVAL HUB – 268 Portobello High Street, Edinburgh EH15 2AT
ART HOUSES Open: Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September and Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September from 10am to 6pm
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