Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society supports Scotland’s creative learning agenda
12 December 2016
12 December 2017
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society held an inspirational art workshop at Roseburn Primary School in Edinburgh on Wednesday 14 December.
Taking on board the creative learning priorities set by Education Scotland, the Fringe Society is actively supporting the promotion of creative skills in the classroom, and invited champion artist of the 2017 Fringe Schools Poster Competition Jon Bishop, aka The Grey Earl, to deliver a workshop for a class of primary five children aimed at developing positive attitudes towards expressive arts.
The Fringe Schools Poster Competition encourages schoolchildren across Scotland to put their creativity into action and design a poster for the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe. New for 2017 three winning designs will be selected for the cover of the 70th anniversary programme.
On the importance of creative learning Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said:
“The Fringe has the extraordinary ability to applaud diversity, promote inclusivity and inspire courage and creativity in those who take part. Curiosity, open-mindedness, imagination and problem solving are skills at the heart of the creative industries and it’s important that we support the development of these skills in our Scottish classrooms.”
Lorna Macdonald, Principal Officer Arts and Creative Learning for City of Edinburgh Council said:
“The Fringe Schools Poster Competition is an excellent way to encourage creativity amongst Scotland’s young people which is important because creative learners are happy, well skilled and connected. The core creativity skills encouraged in Scotland’s schools are being curious, using your imagination, being openminded and problem solving. These skills are becoming increasingly important in the modern world and are skills encouraged by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society through today’s workshop and the Competition. How we operate in classrooms is vital in ensuring that young people develop these creativity skills, and engaging in the poster competition is a great way to help do this.”
To support the creative agenda in schools the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has also developed new learning resources for Literacy and Expressive Arts which are available to all from the edfringe website.
Entries for the Fringe Schools Poster Competition 2017 are accepted from all types of media including but not limited to animation, photograph, poetry and fine arts.
Submissions can be made in three new age categories:
Primary 1 – Primary 3, Primary 4 – Primary 7 and Senior 1 – Senior 6
One winner will be selected from each age category resulting in three versions of the programme cover being produced for 2017.
The Fringe have already started to receive entries and a new online submission form is now open.
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact the Fringe Media Office[email protected] / +44 (0)131 240 1919
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is committed to community engagement and access. The Access Fringe Strategy led to the appointment of a Community Engagement and Access Manager in 2016 to drive this strategy forward. The Access Fringe Strategy aims to create a Fringe that is for everyone. The Fringe Society are working with a range of partners to make the Fringe as accessible as possible and our education strategy takes this work forward with Scotland’s young people.
Fringe Schools Poster Competition
The Fringe Schools Poster Competition is one of the longest-running arts outreach projects in Scotland. Since its launch in 1980, it has inspired over 100,000 young people from across Scotland to develop a creative mindset.
The prizes for the top three artists and their schools for the 2017 Fringe Schools Poster Competition are:
Pupils – £150 (cash) and £150 arts and culture voucher
Schools – £250 (cash) and £250 arts and culture voucher
A new trophy for special achievement in a school will also be awarded in 2017.
One winner will be selected from each age category resulting in three versions of the programme cover being produced for 2017.
An additional 14 regional winners will be selected.
Over 180 other shortlisted entries will also be included in the final exhibition.
Entries for the Fringe Schools Poster Competition should be sent to: Schools Poster Competition, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, 180 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1QS no later than 17:00 Friday 03 March 2017. The competition is open to all Primary 1 to Senior 6 pupils at schools in Scotland. Full details of the competition along with the entry pack, prize information and learning resources can be downloaded at www.edfringe.com/poster
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, the charity that underpins the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was established in 1958, eleven years after the birth of the Fringe when the first performers turned up uninvited to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival. The Fringe is an open access festival – any artist or company can take part regardless of their experience or success and the festival is not programmed or run by an artistic director or any selection body. As a registered charity, the Fringe Society exists to support all participants, industry professionals, media and audience members who attend the Fringe from all around the world, and to produce accurate and up-to-date information and ticketing for audiences, and to raise the profile of the festival as a whole.
Image credit: Alan McCredie