Hello from Nilaksiya, Mel, Calum, Chloe and Sam!
The Portrait Gallery
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Adrenalin kicked in as we confirmed our first location, jumping onto the first bus to the National Portrait Gallery. Arriving with high spirits, eager to begin our very first challenge, we were met with an unexpected problem as we spoke with reception. Pens in hands, cameras on the ready, we were told that we we early by an hour and there was no one there that could help us. We were distraught as the situation sunk in; we would be an hour behind the rest of our City Challenger’s and risk not making it to Whitespace on time.
This had reverberating effects throughout the entire day, which will be apparent as you read on. So after multiple calls back and forth between the Gallery and Napier, a mistake had been made with regards to timing, meaning we had one hour to devise a plan. Having been advised of our task already, we spent that time touring the gallery, getting a better sense of the space before the challenge. In particular, we closely studied the chairs and benches surrounding the gallery, and the commissioned curation that it overlooked. |
[The Great Hall - Specially commissioned installation]
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[William McTaggart - The Storm 1890]
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The time for waiting had finally reached an end, and we certainly felt like we had an advantage, having taken the time to thoroughly explore the gallery. Claire, the education officer for Museums Scotland, had finally arrived and was ready for us to begin our challenge. Claire told us a bit about her unconventional career path, teaching us the importance of adaptability and having experience in public facing roles.
She told us about a 6 years old girl that, when asked what she could see in the painting The Storm by William McTaggart, said “I can see the wind.” Claire runs many workshops for vulnerable groups such as tours with the homeless, the elderly, and workshops with the hearing impaired, which inspired our 15 minute creative task, designing a chair for the perfect gallery experience. We thought back to our extensive tour, considering the traditional Victorian leather and wooden chairs that were created especially for the gallery. The need was for the chair to blend into the space, maintaining the historic ambience of the gallery, with purposeful modern touches upon closer inspection. |
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We used a combination of wood and leather on a flexible structure that could adjust the tilt and rotation of the chair. The main modern feature was dedicated to Claire’s tours for people with impaired vision. We added a leather head rest that had build in headphones, integrating an audio guide on our chair. Furthermore, the headphones are adjustable in length and width, so not to exclude children from the all-ages learning experience that comes with our chair design.
But of course we couldn’t leave without taking a portrait of Claire!
The Filmhouse
With little deliberation on this next clue, we sprang off the bus and walked confidently through the automatic doors, having reached the center for moving images. Home of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Filmhouse was a distinguished Scottish venue that oozed artistic appreciation.
Films lined the windows, adding to the cinematic ambience of the old building. There were even some prehistoric VCRs! We were led through corridors lined with portraits of celebrity visitors where we were given an insight into the daily happenings at the Filmhouse.
The importance of volunteering as a career stepping stone was not lost on us as we spoke to Flip and James, Learning Coordinator and Marketing staff members at the Filmhouse. With free movies as a bonus incentive, they emphasized how much easier beginning their career would have been with more experience.
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As we wandered this building filled with like minded, passionate film lovers, we got a strong sense of community and thoroughly enjoyed realising that the Edinburgh International Film Festival had its own personal tartan.
It was an inspirational place to complete the challenge of creating our own short film about the Filmhouse, where Calum’s background in film really shone through. The restrictions were tough, not having any staff members or the general public in our film, but we are thoroughly happy with how it turned out.. take a look! |
Tayburn
Our next clue led us to Tayburn, an award winning creative branding and design company that has been up and running for over 30 years! It’s the only UK creative branding agency ranked in the top 10 for both creativity and effectiveness.
Upon arrival we were warmly greeted by Elaine and Gregor who had a treat in store for us which we certainly weren’t expecting! After an inspiring presentation about the big names they work with and a look at their jaw dropping award cabinet, you can only imagine the utter horror on our faces when Elaine and Gregor placed a selection of circus equipment in front of us - well, points for creativity, Tayburn!
After practicing hoola-hooping and plate spinning - we weren’t quite brave enough to attempt juggling - for a minute or so we felt we were ready to give the performance of our lives, queue the circus music!
And little did the other teams know, we lasted a minute longer than the existing 18 second record! We think we could have gone longer if Gregor hadn’t stopped us, perhaps we pursued the wrong careers.
And little did the other teams know, we lasted a minute longer than the existing 18 second record! We think we could have gone longer if Gregor hadn’t stopped us, perhaps we pursued the wrong careers.
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Happy as ever, and smiling from ear to ear, we were taken on a tour of the space where we met Baaaarbra the sheep bottle opener hybrid and the rest of the Tayburn team. Elaine then handed us our next clue and we were on our way to our next adventure!
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
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Our fourth stop on this whirlwind of a tour saw us scramble to the offices of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Located on Castle Terrace above Leith walk, we had to split up as a team to get there as quickly as possible from Newington. After forgetting to order a maxi uber, half of us had to take the lead, while Calum and Nilakysia were left to catch the bus.
After not hearing from them we get an unknown call - their phones had both died! They arrived shortly after we had, finding the big blue door in a rather covert location, set in a beautiful 18th century townhouse with a stunning Steinway Piano. We were met by two guides and shown our work room where our challenge was to come up with a strategic campaign for the orchestra aimed at a younger audience of students under the age of 26, making classical music more approachable to younger audiences. |
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We decided on a music festival as the most effective way to engage a younger audience. It would be a stress-free, therapeutic, affordable taste of classical music. Sam’s background in music and Mel’s degree in advertising created a great platform for completing this challenge.
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This challenge gave us great insight into how an orchestra or classical music production team market traditionally 'stuffy' music to a younger generation of listeners. It also gave us an understanding of modern cultural trends and how we might market our own individual trades in an ever-changing and growing industry. Due to our time constraints we couldn’t stay for too long and unfortunately had to say goodbye to our wonderful hosts and so we left with free tote bags, a programme and free tickets to next week’s concert at the Usher Hall - Many thanks SCO!
Scottish Book Trust
We would assume from conversations at Whitespace that the Scottish Book Trust was a charming charity organisation. Of course, we wouldn’t know for ourselves as we didn’t make it before closing! The delayed start at the Portrait Gallery and the bumper-to-bumper traffic which was expected at 5.30pm, were some additional challenges we fell into along the way.
Phone batteries draining, malfunctioning touch screens from the constant drizzle; we were slightly disheartened as we waited for that last bus.
Although it seemed dire at the time, we soon came to realise that this is what the real world is like. Traffic, delayed meetings, schedules changing, dead phone batteries, no time for a lunch break. We quickly learnt the necessity of improvisation in times of life’s many set-backs, and the importance of being able to take them on the shoulder and to not let that stop you.
The influence we all had on each other was one of support, making the day that much easier knowing we were in it together. We all made it to the finish line, said hello and goodbye to fellow Creative City Challengers, and had a drink to one of the most challenging but rewarding days of our lives.
Thank you Napier!
Phone batteries draining, malfunctioning touch screens from the constant drizzle; we were slightly disheartened as we waited for that last bus.
Although it seemed dire at the time, we soon came to realise that this is what the real world is like. Traffic, delayed meetings, schedules changing, dead phone batteries, no time for a lunch break. We quickly learnt the necessity of improvisation in times of life’s many set-backs, and the importance of being able to take them on the shoulder and to not let that stop you.
The influence we all had on each other was one of support, making the day that much easier knowing we were in it together. We all made it to the finish line, said hello and goodbye to fellow Creative City Challengers, and had a drink to one of the most challenging but rewarding days of our lives.
Thank you Napier!
Follow our journey on Instagram!
