EDFAS – Art for All

The Edinburgh Decorative and Fine Arts Society is part of The Arts Society UK, founded in 1970 and something of an Edinburgh institution. It became an arts education registered charity in its own right in 2008 and brings people together through a shared curiosity for the arts. Our lectures and events provide welcoming opportunities to hear expert lecturers share their specialist knowledge about the arts. Its main aim is to educate and our members contribute and preserve our artistic heritage through volunteering and by supporting various “Young Arts” outreach projects in the city.
The belief that the arts have the potential to enrich peoples` lives is at the heart of everything we do. Membership subscriptions, fund raising events and donations, allow us to provide a ten-month season of lectures, covering all the decorative arts and fund the outreach programme. The lectures are live and live streamed too; an outstanding lecture from the 2023/24 season proved to be one which focussed on how art can reduce reoffending in prisons, delivered by Angela Findlay, a challenging and thought-provoking lecture. 

The links the society has developed with three educational establishments in the city, reflect its commitment to arts education.

Discovering the Museum

EDFAS supports the education programme at the National Museum of Scotland and has done so since 2019 and in that time 900 children, teachers and their carers have taken part. We are proud of the relationship we have formed with all of our outreach projects; thanks to the wonderful staff at NMS and frequent meetings and feedback, the programme has evolved in order to broaden and deepen the impact of visits to the museum. 

“Discover the Museum” is a scheme designed to encourage and enable children from primary schools in areas of deprivation across Lothian to visit the National Museum of Scotland. Its main aims are to break down barriers to participation and engagement with the museum -both financial and social; to help children see the museum as a friendly, accessible and interesting place to visit and to build the confidence and knowledge of those taking part, so that they might return with their families.

Much of the funding we offer pays for the coaches that transport the children from school to the museum, as we recognise that transport is a costly resource for most schools, which have limited budgets. Providing funding for a healthy snack (an apple and popcorn) on arrival, may not seem particularly relevant to an arts society, but for some of the children, this paves the way to make the visit and the activities that follow, meaningful and fun. On a recent visit to observe a visit of a Primary 5 group, it was good to see how well planned and focused the visit was. Each visit is linked to an exhibition or a specific area/theme of the permanent collection. The children were excited, curious and interested and this made for a fun and lively experience. The tour of the wildlife of Scotland exhibits led to discussion about the environment, what it means when animals become extinct and this was followed up with a stimulating lesson in the art studio, where the children made their own felt page of a book that is collated and sent on to the school. The children explored colour, textures, shapes and ideas and left feeling they had achieved a great deal, as well as having fun!

The project is evolving and is currently looking at ways of encouraging follow up visits by the children and their families and carers.

Outreach Project at Leith School of Art

Leith School of Art Schools’ Programme gives a group of secondary school pupils access to high quality art tuition and an insight into possible progression into Higher Education and careers in the Visual Arts.
In 2023/24, support from EDFAS enabled twelve S5/S6 pupils,
(coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, or experiencing significant challenges) to expand their artistic talents in a nurturing, inclusive and professional art school environment. As well as developing skills, pupils are encouraged to explore their creativity and try new ways of creating artwork.

The 22 weekly sessions take place on Friday afternoons and offer the pupils from four Edinburgh schools the chance to develop their art practice and portfolio and to offer them guidance as to how best to take their art studies to the next level. Being in the heart of a functioning art school, also gives the young artists a glimpse into what it might be like to become an art student.

Their focus is on drawing, alongside introducing more challenging drawing materials and techniques. There is an introduction to a wider variety of artists and an increased focus on the development of visual contextual research, a key requirement for continuing study at degree level. Meeting the Leith School of Art tutors at a recent end of term show confirmed just how dynamic the atmosphere is for the young people who attend. Class outings have included visits to the Scottish National Galleries and the Talbot Rice Gallery and a final exhibition of work attended by pupils’ friends and families and Leith School of Art staff and students. 

EDFAS is aware of the importance of the arts in supporting young people and in doing all we can as an Arts society to open doors, literally and metaphorically, to the world of creative arts. The feedback has been really encouraging:

 “The course has made me more confident in using new media and on a much larger scale when doing art outside of class. It made me less shy about showing my art to others and more confident about researching artists. Next year I’m doing Advanced Higher Art & Design. After that I want to go to university…I’m thinking of doing illustration.”

“I was able to learn how to use different materials successfully that I had not tried before, like chalk pastels and have become more confident in my own art. I find it much easier now to learn from other artists and take inspiration from their work through visual research.  I have improved a lot at drawing, which has helped immensely with design projects at school.”

Teachers from the schools the pupils attend in Leith, confirm just how worthwhile the sessions are:

“Taking them out of the comfort of the classroom and allowing them to experience what it’s like to work in an art college environment means that they are challenged. Students get to mix with like-minded people and often build their confidence, not only with their art skills, but also their social skills. Every student who has attended from our school has thoroughly enjoyed being taught by the tutors and enjoyed working on projects that are not exam driven.”

University of Edinburgh: Edinburgh College of Art  

Zoë Smillie | REAPER and PH22 1SF MALFORMED IN ME

EDFAS offers three Art College students bursaries to support their studies throughout their course. The students are selected by the admissions department at the college and really appreciate financial help to develop their skills. Our current students are studying Illustration, Painting, Art in Context and Art in Practice. The funds they receive have allowed one student who gained a bursary to work in silver, as part of her Jewellery course and another to focus on her studies, rather than having to get a job to fund her course. Frequent updates on the students and the chance to meet with them and welcome them to lectures, make for a dynamic and meaningful relationship.

Yarah Kamleh | Embroidery threads on photography (Tatreez)

By targeting pupils and students who face economic, social or health related challenges, EDFAS works hard to support such projects to raise aspirations, particularly among young people from backgrounds that are traditionally under-represented in the art world. 

Edinburgh Decorative and Fine Arts Society is a relevant and evolving society and charity, committed to providing first class art education
to its members and beyond. Do drop in to one of our lectures (second Tuesday of each month from September to June at St John`s Church, Lothian Road).

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