The Edinburgh Reporter January 2024

8

Colin Hattersley

Crisis for festival

Quiet Concert to be held at St Cecilia’s

By STAFF REPORTER

A SCHEME TO encourage members of the

local community to “get chatting” in cafés

in a bid to tackle loneliness and social

isolation is being launched at local charity

LifeCare Edinburgh’s community café,

CaféLife, in early 2024.

Part of the Chatty Café Scheme, the

“chat and natter” tables offer a designated

space in CaféLife where customers of all

ages can come together to meet new

people and have a chat. The scheme is set

to turn “blue Monday” to “brew Monday”

as customers will enjoy free tea and coffee

between 11am and 2pm, as well as the

opportunity to meet lots of new and

friendly faces, at the launch on 15 January.

LifeCare Chief Executive, Sarah Van

Putten, said: “Our community hub and café

is a unique space, embedded in the local

community, that brings together

generations for activities, classes, and

groups. Signing up to be part of the Chatty

Café Scheme with the addition of our “Chat

and Natter” table will further enhance our

already significant social value.

A LONELY CITY

“Around 100,000 older people in Scotland

feel lonely all or most of the time, with

Edinburgh named recently as one of the

loneliest cities in the UK2. Loneliness is an

epidemic that can affect anyone,

regardless of age, gender, race or

background. Something as simple as a

regular conversation could change a

person’s life. We’re delighted to be turning

Blue Monday to Brew Monday by offering

free tea and coffee on the day of the

launch, and we hope it will make the start

of 2024 a little bit brighter for those in our

local community who need it.”

The Café holds a special place in the

heart of Sofiya and her friends. She said:

“We’ve been coming to the café every

Wednesday for over 10 years. In the

beginning there were four of us, one

person sadly died, the other person is

now living with dementia and is about to

go into a home so there’s now only of us

left. We think the staff are exceptional.

We’ve got to know them all very well

over the years and we have a good laugh

every week.”

The “chat and natter” tables will be a

permanent addition to CaféLife following

on from the launch, with two-hour

sessions, supported by volunteers, taking

place on a weekly basis. All proceeds from

CaféLife fund the charity’s vital services.

‘Chatty Café’ for

a Brew Monday

‘Chatty Café’

Edinburgh Deaf Festival under threat despite Scottish Government pledges

By PHYLLIS STEPHEN

EDINBURGH DEAF FESTIVAL faces a funding

crisis despite a new Scottish Government pledge

to make Scotland the “best place in the world for

British Sign Language (BSL) users to live, work,

visit and learn”.

The only deaf-led event of its kind in Scotland,

it “provides a vital platform for the country’s

many talented deaf performers and a showcase

for deaf arts, culture and heritage”.

The rejection of two successive funding bids by

Creative Scotland – despite positive assessments

from the agency – mean the 2024 festival is now

in doubt. Organisers say it also casts doubt the

ability of the government to achieve the aims set

out in its newly published 2023-2029 BSL

National Plan.

This promises that: “BSL users will have full

access to the cultural life of Scotland, and equal

opportunities to enjoy and contribute to culture

and the arts, and are encouraged to share BSL and

deaf culture with the people of Scotland”.

The plan also says The Scottish Government

will “Work with Creative Scotland to help

embed BSL further within culture and the arts

in Scotland”.

Losing the festival would mean this aspect of

the plan risks falling at the first hurdle.

Philip Gerrard, photographed right, is CEO of

charity Deaf Action which founded and runs the

festival. He said: “Creative Scotland’s failure to

award funding to Edinburgh Deaf Festival is

devastating. Losing the festival would mean fewer

opportunities for deaf artists to fulfil their

potential, and for young people to see deaf role

models on stage - inspiring the next generation of

deaf talent.

“And this is happening at the very moment the

Scottish Government is pledging that it will work

with Creative Scotland to ensure the power of the

arts are used as a key means to make Scotland the

best place in the world for BSL users to live, work,

visit and learn.

“In the space of just two years the festival has

established itself as an integral part of the

Edinburgh Festival family. It has created a cultural

space where deaf communities can celebrate their

identity, culture, language, and heritage.

“Importantly it is a deaf-led initiative,

empowering the deaf community to express itself

through the arts and welcoming in hearing

audiences to discover more about our vibrant

culture and heritage.

“Given that the festival is unique in Scotland,

and so completely meets the aspirations of the

Scottish Government and Creative Scotland, we

are at a loss to understand how the needs of the

deaf community will be met, if not by us.

“Is it now considered enough to provide access

to the arts through the use of interpreters?

Access without representation cannot meet the

aims of the National Plan. No other cultural

and linguistic minority is expected to settle for

access alone.”

The festival was started in 2022 by Deaf Action

• the world’s oldest deaf charity and first formally
  constituted deaf organisation.
  Having demonstrated the potential, value and
  demand for the event two funding applications
  were made to Creative Scotland in 2023.
  A vital bid for funding of just under £110,
  to support the running of the festival was rejected

A CONCERT for people

who experience sensory

issues will be held on 13

January at St Cecilia’s

Hall. The environment

will be welcoming and

accessible for those who

find attending traditional

concerts a bit

challenging. Quiet

Concerts are designed

for those who might be

overwhelmed by

excessive noise.

The concert will be

similar to a relaxed

performance and will

offer a calm low noise

space - sometimes called

a chilled or sensory-

friendly performance.

Other adjustments

include subdued

lighting, shorter

performance times,

regular breaks and a

separate chill out room.

The concert hall will have

rugs, cushions, benches

and chairs for those

attending to sit where

and how they like.

Dr Ben Fletcher-

Watson, a researcher in

performance at the

University of Edinburgh,

said: “This series is a great

addition to the live music

scene in Edinburgh. At

this time of year, many

pantomimes offer

relaxed or chilled

performances for

neurodiverse audiences

to enjoy, but it’s harder

to find concert

experiences aimed at

autistic people and their

families. By making some

key adjustments, more

people can encounter

the magic of live music.”

in July 2023, just weeks before the festival was

due to start.

But having received a positive assessment and

been encouraged to reapply, Deaf Action dug

deep into its own resources and worked with

corporate sponsors to deliver a version of the

festival that, whilst scaled down when compared

to its original ambitions, was still something the

deaf community could be proud of.

However, on their second application, a

£216,000 bid to secure the future of the festival in

2024 and 2025 was also turned down. The charity

says it just cannot make up this level of shortfall.

Mr Gerrard said: “We have now written to

Creative Scotland, to the Scottish Government

and to MSPs calling on them to review this

decision or help us find another way forward.

“We are determined to do all we can to fight

for the future of this festival, of our community,

and for the chance for deaf people to have the

arts and cultural opportunities that the rest

of society enjoys.”

NEWS

Philip Gerrard (CEO of festival organiser

the Deaf Action charity), with Nadia Nadarajah

(performer and Edinburgh Deaf Festival Ambassador)