Creating Inspiring Connections…
In 2025, we co-founded a local arts initiative called Pentlands Open Studios, a collective of professional artists whose studios are united by their location near the upper valley of the Water of Leith, Edinburgh’s principal river, and its adjoining walkways. Nestled in the southwest of the city at the foot of the Pentland Hills, the artists work across a variety of media and craft disciplines. Their mission is to connect with both the local community and the broader public through an annual open studio art trail, complemented by a variety of creative events.
The 2026 Art Trail with 12 open studio venues and 25 participating artists and makers, was hugely successful with well over 700 hundred visitors attending, a 40% increase from last year.
The Origins of the Art Trail…
Over a decade ago, we had helped organise a series of open studio days, recruiting artists and makers who lived within our local area, to come together and form a collaborative group called Art44, named after the number of the bus route which loosely linked our studios together. These events were very successful and allowed our friends and neighbours the opportunity to meet with some of the creatives who lived and worked within their community. From artists’ sales, it also raised substantial sums of money for charity donations for refugee aid within some of the war ravaged countries of that era.
