Nicky Bird's 'The Decorators of Portobello: In their own words' book publication has now been published culminating the end of her two-year residency, with copies available for sale from Portobello Bookshop - priced £10 per copy. Please also contact Portobello Bookshop for mail orders.
Nicky Bird: The Decorators of Portobello: In their own words
First edition of 100. 64pp.
Designed by Rosy Naylor
Published by Art Walk Press
October 2021
ISBN 978-1-7399400-0-3
UPCOMING: The Travelling Gallery @ Portobello High Street, by Town Hall -
Sat 30th October, open 11am to 5pm
SHAPES OF WATER (2021) Suzie Eggins, Amy Gear and Rhona Mühlebach
Neighbouring Orchard Project Apple Tree Care & Pruning Workshop, Sun 7th November, 2-4pm. Open to current growers of apple trees as part of the Neighbouring Orchard project, please book here
About Art Walk Porty (4 to 12 Sept 2021) Art as an action for change runs through many of the commissions and exhibitions which took place as part of this year's Art Walk Porty festival. Our central ‘Assemble’ show at the Art Walk Hub showcased the work of our residency artists (Jonathan Baxter, Nicky Bird, Felicity Bristow, Annie Lord, Deirdre Macleod, Jenny Pope, Iman Tajik, Susie Wilson) who have been developing projects around growing spaces, shifting boundaries, public spaces, & Portobello’s industrial heritage over the last two years, along with the publication of two books to be launched shortly.
Our accompanying strand ‘Sea Change’ focusses around environments for change and impending sea level rises in the build up to COP26 in Glasgow in November, with a number of outdoor commissions that invite debate and exchange.
We introduce you to a curated 'Art Houses & Cafes' programme this year.
Five artists exhibit works in local Portobello Cafes, and we have 24 venues for our Art Houses programme, with 32 artists showing & selling their works from their local homes, gardens & studios.
As always, the act of walking interweaves its way through our programme, bringing to the fore the important role walking has provided in recent times. A series of synchronised walks with other coastlines around the UK and further afield pairing Portobello with the Cape of Good Hope, are programmed, as well as encounters with our nearby & edges of the city, and a welcome return too to visit the exquisite Meadows Yard with a walk as part of the newly formed Seed Library.
View both our Assemble & Sea Change programmes
to see the varied walking based events.
'THE DECORATORS OF PORTOBELLO' project with Nicky Bird this year centres around the production of a book documenting the whole project & working lives of a number of decorators who worked at Portobello's Buchan potteries in the 1950s to early 1970s, to be launched at Portobello Bookshop. Along with an exhibition at the Art Walk Hub, a series of cabinets in Portobello's local charity shop windows, can be seen during the Art Walk, each focussing around one of the decorators.
Additionally a Mapping Workshop with AOC Archaelogy is taking place on Sat 4th Sept, at 11am by the Kilns. Anyone living in the area of Pipe Street or Bridge Street, or with a particular interest in the mapping of the past/present relating to the Decorator's project are very welcome to come.
