#visibleedinburgh
Six weeks, 3000 visitors and an opening attended by the Rt.Hon. Nicola Sturgeon – our Edinburgh stop was a fantastic success. Thanks to Historic Environment Scotland https://www.historicenvironment.scot. The Scottish capital really went to town on the project, creatively integrating the show with its annual Government-organised, Scotland-wide themed project: the Year of Young People.
Scottish youth were invited to let the Visible Girls Revisited Exhibition inspire a piece of art that they then created over 6 months, all of which were exhibited as ‘Invisible Spaces’ next to the VG:R show.
The whole experience was exuberant, poignant and spontaneous. A deeply inspiring and moving visit, housed at the magnificent Summerhall.
Our heartfelt thanks to the dynamic support of Neil Gregory and Andrew James (AKA The Wonderboys), Historic Environment Scotland, Nina Lehrfreund and the entire Summerhall team. Who all helped to make our 5th Stop on the tour absolutely fabulous.
“Our identity and the places we identify with are the backbone of our daily lives. Working creatively with Anita allowed us to bring two generations of young people together to celebrate their culture, past and present“
Neil Gregory and Andrew James, Historic Environment Scotland
And finally massive gratitude to the young people of Scotland - we hope their experience was a fortifying and a change-inspiring one.
Hill Street Design House
Tribe: Graphic Nerds
Nick & Tom
‘It’s not the talking about work that we come here for, it’s the talking about life stuff.’ Tom
Hill Street Design House
Tribe: Filmmakers
Duncan & James
‘It’s like an accidental family – we annoy each other and bounce off each other quite a lot.’ James
Hill Street Design House
Tribe: Curators
Stacey & Jenny
‘We treat people how we want to be treated, we care about being respectful.’ Stacey
Hanging Bat Beer Café
Tribe: Weird, Unique Beasts
Karan & Connor
Hanging Bat Beer Café
Tribe: Beer Fans
David & Adam (café manager)
The Caley Picture House
Tribe: Postmodern Punk
Chloe & Nina
‘We met on Tinder. This is our first date! I think we’re like our own kind of emo; I would call it ‘postmodern punk’ Nina
The Caley Picture House
Saturday Night Rockers
Lebowski’s
Tribe: Ska Chefs
Declan & Michael
‘I’ve got a lot of mates with shaved heads and Doc Martens. Kinda repping the old vibes of Ska. We’re chefs, but if you’re into that kinda music, it doesn’t matter what you do.’ Declan
Lebowski’s
Christmas Jumper Crew
Lebowski’s
Guy & Scott
The House of Automata
Tribe: Puppetry and Psychologism
Caroline & Kim
‘I am one of a handful of people in the country looking at ‘Parapsychology’- the study of paranormal beliefs and experiences. Because of that we’re a close-knit group.’ Caroline
The House of Automata
Tribe: Automata and Magic
Richard & Michael
‘In the 80’s, I was in the magicians’ tribe. It still exists and we’re very strong and secretive. Sometimes you meet up, and you have no idea that the other people are even in the tribe. That’s how secretive we are!’ Richard
The Royal Mile
Tribe: Aussie Genealogists
Julia & Lauren
‘We’re in Edinburgh to research our own tribes – our family. And we are on the hunt for our tartans!’ Julia
The Whisky Trail
Tribe: Whisky Boys
Sunny & Luke
Assai Records, Grindlay Street
Tribe: Vinyl Specialists
Dominic & Mark
‘We’re friendly and welcoming, trying to buck the trend of arsey record shop guys. We say hello and goodbye to every customer.’ Mark
The Royal Mile
Tribe: Chinese Tourists
Fiona Geng (daughter, Jia Geng) & Molly Xu (mother, Yanmin Xu)
‘We love Edinburgh, it’s size, it’s heritage … and we especially love the Cashmere!’ Fiona
Visible Girls Revisited Show, Summerhall
Tribe: Independent Women
Grassmarket
Tribe: Creatives
Maud & Sophia
‘We are young creatives, thrust into the world at 100 miles an hour. We work 9-5’s, which is fabulous – you can just be yourself, and if they don’t like it, they can lump it! We love everything beautiful and shiny, spending whole days prowling car boots and charity shops. If we can’t find it, we make it!’ Sophia
Caley’s Picture House
Kara & Friend
Shrub, Bread Street
Tribe: Storytellers & Casual Tech Hippy
Joshua & Cuba
‘Our tribe sounds like a juxtaposition…but I discovered that’s the community I live in, and I love it.’ Cuba
The Royal Mile
Tribe: Tartan Tourists
Jessica & Marie
‘We’re on a girls’ weekend. As young women living at home, travel gives us a sense of independence’ Jessica
Dalry
Tribe: Life Models
Hayley & Topaz
‘There are lots of unique experiences to life modelling – you can only understand them within that tribe.’ Hayley
‘There are subjects that only a life model would understand; aches and pains, cold, awkward artists, awkward poses, awkward leg waxing, erections and periods.’ Topaz
The Caley Picture House
Tribe: Reggaeton
Carlos & Javi
‘We are international students from Spain. We love cars, and of course, hanging out with girls. We’re mature when we have to be mature and immature the rest of the time!’ Carlos
The House of Automata
Tribe: Mechanical Debutantes
Nancy & Maria
‘Nancy and I are like sisters. She’s a late 19th Century stage automaton, driven by a hand crank under the stage. She breathes as she sews, and she has aged very well. I am a late 20th Century living automaton, and I too, have aged quite nicely.’ Maria
The Smoking Room at Hanging Bat Beer Café
Tribe: Besties
Emily and Katie
‘We’ve got each other’s back – that deep contact feeds the longevity of the friendship.’ Maria
The Principal Hotel
Tribe: NHS workers
Christmas party Belles
Visible Girls Revisited Show, Summerhall
Tribe: The Bears
Shrub, Bread Street
Tribe: Contemporary Hippies
Laura & Rosamund
‘We are all kinda niche in the same way. There’s a lot of encouragement within our groups to get out of our shells. It’s like, yeah! It’s Monday, let’s go do some fire spinning!’ Rosamund
Shrub, Bread Street
Tribe: Bacchus
Robbie & Lawry
‘I feel like we’re all part of a wider tribe, of people really bringing back traditions that are still there. Specifically, in Scotland, we have a lot of old Celtic traditions. For me it’s that cliché of the old meets the new.’ Robbie
Shrub, Bread Street
Tribe: Co-operatives
Sophie & Sophie
‘I think of Edinburgh as a village. We live in a co-op and we really live seasonally. People describe our way of life as sort of hippy/new-age but the subculture is deeper than that. We want to create a community vibe, something very natural to all humans.’ Sophie
WHAT Edinburgh SAID....
‘Visible Girls Revisited was the highlight of my trip,
I smiled all the way through’
‘I found the exhibition so joyful’
‘Wonderful exhibition, brings back so many memories’
‘Brilliant – some of the portraits made me cry’
Gillian
‘Really impressive life-spanning work’
Esther
‘What an absolute treat to get to see this exhibition for free. Brilliant that we are documenting our recent cultural history. What better way to get you thinking about changing fashions and attitudes than looking at these visible girls in their own spaces four decades
apart. Thank you’
‘As a girl of the 80s and a woman of the new millennium,
it has been enormously thought-provoking.’
Fiona
‘I really enjoyed seeing the contrast of then and now – the fierceness!’
‘A stunningly raw depiction of youth and adulthood – beautiful growth into the women of today – thank you for this brilliant exhibition’
‘Such pure emotion – yet subtle’
Alma and Rafik
‘I want to go and talk to each and every one of them and find out their stories. Thanks too for showing our young girls that they are part of a continuum of cool friends forever’ Love love love. X
‘Well worth the trip from Glasgow.’
Adele
WITH THANKS TO
Visible Girls; Carrie, Lisa and Claire who graced us with their presence on the opening night.
BBC Scotland
Our sponsors COLD TOWN BEER and PICKERING’S GIN
All the young people who collaborated with the ‘Invisible Spaces’ sister exhibition
Rt. Hon. Nicola Sturgeon for her empowering speech!
Stills Photography ‘Who Am I Really’ Workshop
This active practical workshop was a fantastic day learning about how to capture identity on film.
The Stills facility was brilliant and I want to offer particular thanks to the six fourteen year olds who made the day a delight. – Anita Corbin
UPLOAD & TAG THEM ON INSTAGRAM: @visible_girls #visiblegirls #visibleedinburgh