Open close 2017

Open Close is a temporary art installation project led by a collaborative team of artists, designers and architects. Using sound, light, sculpture, design and visual art Open Close will see interventions large and small, overt and subtle scattered across Carrubbers Close, Chalmers Close and Trunks Close off Edinburgh's Royal Mile. Taking contemporary art out of the traditional gallery setting and into the heart of Scotland's capital, the Open Close exhibition will explore themes of ownership, memory, digital and natural language and character and awareness of spaces and places in the Old Town. Open Close is an invitation to explore and discover fresh ways of seeing these sometimes overlooked spaces. Through it’s innovative temporary interventions Open Close will support and is supported by Edinburgh World Heritage initiative Twelve Closes, a major grassroots urban renewal initiative focussed on long term transformation of twelve of Edinburgh’s historic pedestrian streets.

Architecture Fringe festival 2017

The installation is part of Edinburgh’s Architecture Fringe Festival; an independent, contributor-led open platform for new work and projects across the arts which explore architecture and how it makes a difference to our lives. As well as aiming to reach large numbers of pedestrian visitors and local residents passing through the closes, the project’s objective is also to engage with urban policy makers and practitioners in debate around the topic of urban renewal through creative practice. www.architecturefringe.com

take part: Exploring the Value of Urban Space

Alongside the installation project Open Close have been developing an online survey exploring people’s emotional experience of the built environment and how creative use of space can transform that experience. The survey, created in partnership between the Open Close Collective and St Andrews University, will gather responses and compile research on people’s emotional experiences of the spaces before, during and after the exhibition has been launched. An online photo upload and survey which will remain live for the duration of the project, it centres around examining the socio-emotional value of the built environment and by running both before, during and after the exhibition period will enable St Andrews and Open Close to examine the impact that the creative transformation of the closes has on the imaginations of the people who inhabit them.

twelve closes and open close funders

Through it’s innovative temporary interventions Open Close will support and is supported by Edinburgh World Heritage initiative Twelve Closes , a major grassroots urban renewal initiative focussed on long term transformation of twelve of Edinburgh’s historic pedestrian streets. The results from the Open Close survey will lead to an output report to assist Edinburgh World Heritage in their ongoing renewal of the Closes. Open Close is incredibly grateful for the help and support given to the project by EWH.

Open Close will also help to support Smarter Choices, Smarter Places in their work in promoting pedestrian and cycle transport across the city. Open Close is both delighted and very grateful to have secured funding from Creative Scotland, Edinburgh World Heritage, Smarter Choices, Smarter Places and the New Waverley Development Fund. Last but certainly not least The Saltire Society has been a invaluable help to the project: generously providing us with space for all our research and design workshops. A big thank you to them!