Craigmillar Festival Society
| Company type | Community arts organisation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Arts and culture |
| Predecessor | Craigmillar Festival Committee |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Founder | Group of mothers at Peffermill Primary School, supported by Jack Kane |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Fate | Ceased operations |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh , Scotland |
Area served | Craigmillar district, Edinburgh |
Key people | Jack Kane (inaugural chairman and honorary president until 1999), Helen Crummy, Claire Elder |
| Products | Community arts festivals, theatre productions, social support services, publications (Craigmillar Festival News, Craigmillar Chronicle, The Chronicle) |
Number of employees | 5 (initial paid community workers in 1969) |
The Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS) was a community arts organisation based in the Craigmillar district of Edinburgh, Scotland, operating from 1962 until 2002. It was instrumental in the Community Arts Movement, with numerous productions from 1967 onwards featuring Craigmillar Castle as a central element.
Origins
Established in 1962 by a group of mothers at Peffermill Primary School, the Craigmillar Festival Committee received backing from local councillor Jack Kane. Kane, who had represented Craigmillar since 1949, took on the role of inaugural chairman and held the honorary presidency until his passing in 1999.
During the 1960s, Craigmillar ranked among Edinburgh’s most economically challenged public housing areas. When local mother Helen Crummy sought violin lessons for her son, she was informed that the school prioritized fundamental education. Crummy became involved with the Peffermill School Mothers Club and initiated a festival to highlight local talent. The club rallied community members to create a People’s Festival encompassing music, drama, and visual arts. Crummy recalled that encouragement from the headmaster enabled them to independently organise the event.
An early highlight was the Craigmillar Pageant focused on Craigmillar Castle, which eventually led to the establishment of an annual Craigmillar Festival that played a significant role in rejuvenating the neighbourhood’s cultural and artistic life.
Expansion and evolution of the Craigmillar Festival Society
In 1969, following the British government’s 1968 Urban Aid Programme, the Craigmillar Festival Committee officially gained charitable status and was reconstituted as the Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS).
Beginning with a team of five paid community workers, CFS offered local guidance, support services, and referrals to social agencies. They initiated social clubs such as lunch gatherings and groups for residents confined to their homes. These workers were also actively involved in Festival events including grammar workshops and pantomimes.
In early 1970, CFS launched Craigmillar Festival News, which developed into a monthly publication serving the community for nearly three decades until March 2000. Its successor titles, Craigmillar Chronicle and later The Chronicle, continued publication from June 2000 until early 2011.
The organisation’s ethos was codified in a 1976 Comprehensive Plan for Action that underscored art and culture as essential components of community regeneration. That same year, CFS secured substantial anti-poverty funding from the European Community.
Among its notable projects was the Bingham Belles, founded in 1970 by community worker Claire Elder as a drama and music troupe performing at the Festival’s Old Tyme Musical Hall. Their success helped promote local amenities such as new community and youth centres in Bingham.
While CFS maintained year-round programming, its annual summer Festival remained a focal cultural occasion featuring politically charged musical theatre produced by local participants addressing pressing social themes.
Accomplishments
The Craigmillar Festival Society attracted numerous artists, politicians, and scholars who engaged with its community initiatives. Its model inspired similar efforts nationally and internationally, including The Easterhouse Festival Society, Notting Hill Carnival, and projects led by Neil Cameron and Reg Bolton in Australia. CFS played a role in significant works such as Pedro Silva’s The Mermaid Sculpture, Jimmy Boyle’s The Gentle Giant Sculpture, and the Bill Douglas Trilogy—most notably "My Childhood," funded by the British Film Institute.
Since its foundation, CFS has participated in government employment training programmes. Despite recent reductions in funding, it has successfully facilitated full-time employment for over 100 individuals annually. Presently, it runs the innovative 'YtE Unify' initiative combining adult and youth traineeships within workshops at its Castlebrae business centre, offering skills training including joinery.
CFS is acknowledged as a pioneer in Community Musical theatre productions where professional performers collaborate closely with local residents. Since 1962, it has staged over 100 productions such as "The Time Machine" (1973), "Castle, Cooncil & Curse" (1974), "Willie Wynn" (1976), "Oh Gentle Giant" (1978), along with later shows like "Fit For Heroes" and "Grease Niddrie Style." These works featured original compositions including "Craigmillar Now" and "When People Play Their Part."
Several performers who began with CFS productions went on to successful careers; notable examples include Faye Milligan of The Steamie fame and James (Micky) MacPherson, founder of award-winning Edinburgh-based Plum Films.
The Festival and CFS were profiled in the 2004 documentary Arts: The Catalyst, The Craigmillar Story, produced by Plum Films under Simon Hynd’s direction. Supported by the Craigmillar Partnership, this film won the Saltire Society short documentary prize at Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2005.
CFS sustained relationships with prominent figures such as Professor Eric Trist from The Tavistock Institute, Billy Connolly, Richard Demarco, Anne Lorne Gillies, Joan Bakewell, Michael Marra, and Bill Paterson.
Legacy and Recognition
The contributions of the CFS have garnered international acclaim from a range of distinguished figures, including:
- The 1997 Social Impact of Participation in the Arts Seminar held at The House of the Art Lover in Glasgow, organised by the Scottish Arts Council and chaired by Director Seona Reid.
- Donald Campbell in Cities of the Imagination/Edinburgh (2003, Signal Books)
- Eric Trist through his works New Directions of Hope (1979) and QWL Quality of Working Life and the 80's (1981)
- Rafael Ramirez’s publication The Beauty of Social Organization (Accedo, Munich, 1991)
- Alan Barnett’s Community Murals: The People's Art (1984)
- George McRobie’s Small Is Possible, part of the E. F. Schumacher trilogy Small Is Beautiful (1981)
- Alison Jeffers and Gerri Moriarty’s Culture, Democracy and the Right to Make Art (2017)
- Kenneth Calman’s Arts The Catalyst, published by Craigmillar Communiversity Press (2004)
- Charles Landry and François Matarasso’s Art of Regeneration (Comedia, 1996)
- David Harding, who led Environmental Art and Sculpture at Glasgow School of Art from 1985 to 2001 and authored both Art with People (1994) and Arts The Catalysts (2004)
The CFS has been likened to other community-driven projects such as The Peckham Experiment, Bromley by Bow Centre, and the Healthy Living Centre model. Significantly, the Bromley by Bow Centre has incorporated The Communiversity approach to broaden its educational offerings.
Disbandment
The CFS ceased operations in 2002, with its final Craigmillar Festival taking place that summer. Journalist Mark Stephen reflected in a 2021 episode of BBC Scotland's Our Story that the withdrawal of funding resulted in the fragmentation of initiatives into independent programs vying for limited resources.
'Craigmillar Now'
The spirit of the CFS endures through Craigmillar Now, an arts and heritage initiative established in 2020. Founder Rachel Cloughton emphasized that the project seeks to safeguard the area’s innovative legacy while creating a locally driven resource with national importance.
The Craigmillar Festival was reintroduced in 2021.
See also
References