I Love Winchburgh - West Lothian Council

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WINCHBURGH
FREE ART WORKSHOP
SATURDAY 14th FEBRUARY
1.30pm - 4.30pm
Winchburgh Community Centre
Craigton Place Winchburgh EH52 6RW
This St Valentine’s Day we want to find out what you LOVE about Winchburgh.
Please join us for a free art workshop exploring what makes
Winchburgh special through collage, badge making & card making.
The event is open to all ages and abilities. No need to pre-book.
This workshop is one of a series of events contributing to the creation of a public art strategy for
Winchburgh - The BIG W. At the workshop we would also like you to be a matchmaker, marrying
up potential sites for public art with creative ideas relevant to Winchburgh.
If you would like further
information about the
event, please contact:
David Pierce on
david@dp-q.com
THE BIG
A vision for
Public Art in
Winchburgh
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EXTR for
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badg
Introduction to The BIG W
In the next few years funding will become available
from the new housing developments for commissioning
Public Art for Winchburgh.
Artists David Pierce and Jonathan Dallas of the
collective ‘Dallas Pierce Quintero’ have been
commissioned to write a Public Art strategy - The BIG
W - that will inform how money is spent in the future.
These artworks will be delivered over many years,
however the artists will be producing one permanent
bespoke piece of Public Art for the village in 2015.
In the meantime David and Jonathan will be working in
the village to deliver a number of arts-based community
events. The free art events will give participants a
chance to share their thoughts about living in the area.
If you would like to know more about the project and
be involved, please contact: David on david@dp-q.com
The history of Winchburgh can act as a basis for some
of the Public Art. This will mean that in future when
public art is commissioned for WInchburgh, it is truly
specific to the place. These are some of the themes
that the artworks may be inspired by:
Shale Oil Works
The two shale oil works in the village,
Hopetoun (c.1872) and Niddry Castle (c.1903)
were pioneering; they built housing including
the Rows, and were the first to use electricity.
We have been exploring the village and the landscape
around it to find potential sites for public artworks. At the
event on 14th February visitors will be asked to vote for
their prefered sites for artworks whilst taking part in art
activities.
Gardening & honey:
John Reid, author of ‘The Scots Gard’ner’
(1683) was born at Niddry Castle. The walled
garden he planted and beehives villagers kept
made Winchburgh famous for honey.
Gala Day:
Still going today, Gala Days take place in
mining villages and were a chance to dress up
and focus on the children of the community.
Agriculture:
Before the shale industry Winchburgh was
primarily agriculture-focused. Being part of the
Hopetoun Estate the farms were advanced.
The Railway:
The railway station opened in 1842, but closed
in 1930. Winchburgh Junction even has a
piece of music named after it by Billy Connolly.
Mary Queen of Scots:
After her escape from captivity in Loch Leven
Castle, Mary Queen of Scots stayed at Niddry
Castle on 2 May 1568,
.... and the Future
Winchburgh is once again in a period of
transformation and growth with new arrivals
and opportunities. What does the community
imagine is the future of Winchburgh?
The Union Canal
The last canal to be built in the UK, hundreds
of Scottish and Irish navvies worked on
building it with every spadeful shifted by
human toil.
Miners’ pastimes:
Pigeon racing, keeping and racing
greyhounds, Pitch and Toss, and bowling
were all popular pastimes.
Date for your diaries... Saturday 14th March
Have a first look at the designs for the trailblazer
artwork for Winchburgh. A pop-up exhibition will move
around the village over the course of the day. Come
along and leave your comments on the designs and
enjoy free refreshments.