Art Walk Porty begins today and runs till next weekend. We were in Portobello yesterday for a special look inside the Kilns just behind the Prom. This building will form an integral part of one of the walks which you can join, or you can create your own walks.
There are so many events it is difficult to do any justice to the programme here but all roads lead to Portobello this weekend. And the best place to start is on the website or at Bellfield where they will give you lots of information about what is on and what you can see.
We met Rosy with Tommy Sheppard MP and some of the organisers outside the Portobello Kilns which are being opened to the public.
We spoke with Rosy Naylor about what you can see in Portobello over the next week and how to find out about the events. We then walked on the Prom with Jenny Pope who explained her installation and what it means. Just round the corner we met Rhona Taylor whose work Eponymous is on the outside walls of the pubilc toilets – and you would never guess what that is all about!
Listen to our podcast here while perusing the programme for this year’s events, talks and art. There was a surprise guest too as Tommy Sheppard MP was on a visit to meet with the organisers and we met him just as he emerged from Portobello Kilns into the sunlight.
Rhona Taylor explained to us that she was commissioned to create an installation which is based on shipping navigation lines, some of which are the shipping lines from the Firth of Forth on Friday. She was watching the ships on the internet and able to actually see a couple of them on the horizon while she created the artwork. She also explained that Portobello Edinburgh takes its name from Portobello Panama. There will be an information board, but she agreed it was not immediately obvious what the art is about!
Art Walk Porty have published a newspaper which you can read here
JENNY POPE has created ‘MATERIAL LAND’
Artist, Jenny Pope, begins her residency with a sculptural installation around the old site of Portobello’s industries. The industries around the Figgate Burn contain an infamous past, the Prussian blue works were involved in a court case about pollution in 1800. Jenny will construct sculptures reflecting the rich but deadly local colours: Prussian blue, blood red, mustard and white lead, and highlighting continued human environmental impact. The wind forms are now flying high from lampposts around the Figgate Burn, Westbank and the Prom.
Saturday 7 September, 3.00pm, Artist talk, Portobello Kilns – A rare chance to see inside one of Portobello’s remaining kilns, to hear about the processes of working the kilns, and to find out more about Jenny’s residency. The kiln will be open to the public: Sat 7th Sept 1-4pm & Sun 8th Sept 11am-4pm.
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