I was Lead Tutor on Impact Arts' Gallery 37 a summer programme which uses a variety of artistic and creative approaches to engage young people aged 14-19 who are at risk of disengaging from school.  Over the years I was involved Gallery 37 took place in the National Museum of Scotland, taking inspiration from the collections and involved close collaboration with the museum staff.  It is an intensive programme, participants attend full days, Tuesday – Friday over a period of 4 weeks, everyone works hard towards creating an impressive showcase of art and performance which is programmed as an event at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

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Inspired by the film ‘1 Nation, 5 Million Voices’ which is housed within the Scotland: A Changing Nation gallery. Through a variety of art forms, young people were able to interpret the theme of ‘Heritage’ whilst considering the similarities and differences of people living in Scotland today.

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Each morning the introductory time centred around creating a large black and white collaborative drawing which was worked on across the 4 weeks.  This allowed a gentle ice breaker and team building for the diverse group of young people.

During the 4 weeks young people were introduced to a range of artistic methods and media through drawing, printmaking, collage, etc cumulating in each participant devising their own personal project linking a personal passion with the theme of 'Heritage'. 

Final works were displayed in the Natioal Museum of Scotland as part of the Gallery 37 Showcase event.