Following a record-breaking year of applications, the successful projects for the 2024-25 Places for Everyone (PfE) ArtRoots fund can now been revealed.
The ArtRoots fund empowers Scottish communities to plan and deliver what they want and gives them the tools to make it happen, and this year was no exception.
Assessed against select criteria, grants of up to £6000 were available to community groups and artists across Scotland aiming to increase awareness and uptake of active travel through the scheme.
This could include the installation of a locally relevant sculpture, an engaging mural or even a colourful walking tour along one of our recently completed Places for Everyone routes.
Previous examples of projects which have benefitted from ArtRoots funding include the stunning mural delivered outside Granton Hub in Edinburgh as well as artistic support for the inaugural Walking & Wheeling festival in Glasgow.
ArtRoots mural in Ardrossan painted by artist Tragic O’Hara. Credit: Tragic O’Hara, 2023
The popularity of this year’s fund was evident with this being the highest number of Expressions of Interest received through the programme within one application window.
Indeed, by the time of the application deadline on 31st October 2024, the PfE ArtRoots fund was already oversubscribed with applications.
Of these, we were able to select four projects to receive funding from the ArtRoots programme:
- Agile City – Civic Street & Glasgow Canal-Gateway Artwork Proposal
A colourful and engaging art work that acts as a ‘wayfinding beacon’ for the active travel routes that converge at Civic Street
- The Edinburgh Collective C.I.C. – Roseburn To Union Canal Cycle Path: Art Trail
Art trail along the Roseburn to Union Canal Cycle Link. Murals, rain paint patterns and other small artworks are planned
- Earth In Common – Croft Active Travel Art Project
Local community designing and painting artworks related to active travel on four storage containers situated on Leith Community Croft
- R2 – Musical movement
An active travel event on the path between Gypsy Brae and Bricks Beach in north Edinburgh, including the completion and unveiling of murals on the planters at Gypsy Brae
Caroline Austin, Project Officer, is delighted with the interest received in the fund stating:
“The addition of an artistic intervention is a wonderful way to get the local community involved with new active travel infrastructure. Previous artworks funded by ArtRoots have proven this to be true, such as a fantastic new wall mural by the artist Tragic O’Hara in Ardrossan (pictured above) – or the artistic input into Glasgow’s first ever Walking and Wheeling Festival by the artist duo Walker and Bromwich (pictured below).”
Artist: Walker & Bromwich. Credit: Eoin Carey, May 2024
The artist duo Walker & Bromwich worked with communities in Glasgow living near the Glasgow Avenues Plus areas of Duke Street, Cowcaddens and the Gorbals in the run up to the festival. The festival was a celebration of walking and wheeling with an aim to get local people involved. Partnership working allowed for an ambitious programme of guided walks across the city. Themed walks were led by the Glasgow Women’s Library, the Glasgow Countryside Rangers and the Avenues Plus Programme team to name a few. This proved to be a great way to ‘kick-start’ positive behaviour change in terms of active journeys.
The awarded projects will engage closely with local communities to help embrace creativity within infrastructure projects and ensure designs are inclusive of everyone.