January 2011: Wikipedia turned 10 years old, The King’s Speech premiered, Djokovic won the Australian open… and Summerhall officially opened as an arts venue! Over 13 years later, its reputation as a hub for the creative industry is well known not just in Scotland but around the world.
This summer, a campaign was launched to protect Summerhall after the owners tried to privately sell it, and thankfully for those in residence there and all of its visitors, it has been granted a new lease of life. So why is this arts venue so important, and why was this campaign supported around Scotland?
Studio space is expensive, and one of the main reasons that many people struggle to enter an artistic profession: securing a space to create their work is often financially impossible. Summerhall provides cheap, or even free, studio space to over 60 people or small companies.
This widens accessibility and allows people from many diverse backgrounds to work here: people from around the UK as well as Poland, Iran and Russia come to Edinburgh to work in Summerhall’s studio spaces. This is so valuable not only to artists’ emerging careers but also to Scotland’s reputation as a cultural hub. Having this diversity of talented artists brings so much cultural value to Edinburgh through displays of new and innovative art which inspire younger people.
Specifically, Summerhall’s role in the Edinburgh Fringe as one of the go-to venues is essential. It provides a platform for emerging creatives to exhibit their talent, which models them for wider audiences, and can be so important in their career.
As a free venue, it widens accessibility to art as anyone can visit Summerhall and see the hundreds of artworks on display here. Not only does it showcase painting and sculpture, but is important in hosting poets, musicians and other unheard voices. Coming up are ceilidhs, open mic nights and various gigs. By having free entry, and extremely reduced studio prices, it makes art approachable and accessible to people from all classes and age groups to both enjoy and create: it is not just a hobby for the wealthy who can afford to engage in this piece of culture.
There is so much to be said about the importance of public sector venues in widening accessibility, and making art something everyone can take part in. The charity Summerhall Arts, based at Summerhall, runs a series of free mobility schemes and educational programmes every year to develop the artistic community in Edinburgh, as well as fundraising events to help cover the running costs of Summerhall.
The founder Robert McDowell has said, “According to our annual accounts since 2012 and verified by our independent accountants, Summerhall Mgmt Ltd. has in fact made a loss annually.” This is, in part, due to the budget cuts that the art sector has faced in the last 15 years under the Tory party. Since 2010, this sector has lost around £178 million of funding each year and the Creative Scotland’s yearly budget was cut again in February 2023 meaning they lost out on a further £6.6 million. For this reason, many public art institutions, including Summerhall, are struggling as they don’t make the revenue to fund themselves and no longer receive much support from the state.
By having this public art venue in the city-centre, it creates a vibrancy. Imagine if, rather than winning a renewed contract, this building had been privately sold and turned into offices and housing. The artists currently in residence there would have been pushed out to the periphery of the city (to reiterate, studio spaces are simply not affordable, least of all in the centre of Edinburgh) and the centre would have lost this venue which provides so much cultural value.
Summerhall’s commitment to innovation in supporting artists who don’t necessarily fit trends as well as its commitment to making the arts accessible and fostering a dynamic cultural environment mean that it is one of the most important locations in the contemporary art scene in Edinburgh. The amount of support it received this summer after its closure was announced suggests just how important the arts venue is considered by the locals and artists alike.
“Summerhall Virus, Edinburgh” by Graeme Pow is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
