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Six members of the Community Wellbeing Collective gather round a yellow table. Photo: Sally Jubb Photography..

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Who are the Community Wellbeing Collective?

Ayọ̀ Akínwándé, Lorna Baxter, Raymond Collins, Rungano Chigovanyika, Federica Cologna, Elizabeth Ann Day, Jj Fadaka, Alan Gordon, Jeanne van Heeswijk, Eoghan Howard, Devi A Kousalya, Eunice Main, Ruvimbo Heather Marufu, Fabien Merville, Tiki Muir, Ema-Sayuru Nyx, Seona O’Flaherty, Susi O’Rourke, Sindy Santos, Jogob Sarr, Bobby Sayers, Josie Tothill, Rumilla Uddin, Holly Yeoman:

Watch this Space

Between 2019-2022 Edinburgh Art Festival have been working in collaboration with WHALE Arts to support community engagement with contemporary visual art in Wester Hailes, working towards this commission major commission in 2022. Read more about the process here.

The Community Wellbeing Collective (C.W.C.) is a group of 28 people (and growing) living in and connected to Wester Hailes who run activities to support community wellbeing. The group was initiated by Dutch visual artist, Jeanne van Heeswijk.

As part of Edinburgh Art Festival’s 2022 commissions programme, the group developed Watch this Space – a space for all to develop together and to experience what community wellbeing is and could be. For the festival, they formed the Community Wellbeing Space at Westside Plaza, which hosted activities by C.W.C. members, with gatherings and workshops led by invited guests, expanding the context of community wellbeing and discussing its wider politics in relation to democratising social care, the question of who wellbeing is for, inequalities, and collectively imagining the future of community.

The C.W.C. continues to run a programme of events at the Community Wellbeing Space at Westside Plaza Shopping Centre. Tap here for directions.

Find the programme of events and activities at: watchthisspace.online

The space to be with To embrace all that life can bring A future, bright, fresh and bold Where colours shine through black and white And dark sunsets may well turn gold An open space to sing to the sky On a space ship leading to the stars When things are looking up again And giant steps are what we'll take One small step back to seize the time A space to think On what the old world meant for some In a new kind of congregation, to hang out and grow A quiet place where I can be Towards where better days belong A space to breathe and take stock Somewhere I can free my mind A safe, intimate community, supporting health and well being Carved out of where belief comes from Both Standing Still Whilst Moving On A space to grow Where good things happen Or what they might become It's worth reflecting for a while When thinking of how things once were A space To plan To hope To dream My house is my space, my sanctuary More greenery which brings more fresh air around It's a good space And I love and respect one another in my group Just watch this space
A Space (Collective Poem), poem design by Ema-Sayuru Nyx. Courtesy of Community Wellbeing Collective, 2022.

This commission was produced by Edinburgh Art Festival in partnership with WHALE Arts. It was supported by the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund and the PLACE Programme, a partnership between Edinburgh Festivals, Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council and Creative Scotland, with additional support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Mondriaan Fund. ‘Tales from the Hailes’ was supported by the UK Government‘s DCMS Digital Accelerator Fund, through Edinburgh Festivals.