Have you seen the latest fantastic addition to Edinburgh’s public art scene?

Studio 24’s makeover at the foot of Calton Road here in Edinburgh is a real departure from how it once looked and possibly one of the best public artworks in town yet. From a blogging and documentation point of view, the trouble with city centre murals of this scale are that it’s a bit tricky to get a good set of photos. Hence the tardiness of this udpate!

So, yeah, sorry about that one.

But this insignificant point aside, Spectrum Arts have done a fine job of giving the Studios a facelift befitting of its status as a pillar of Edinburgh’s independent underground scene.

Spectrum Arts, are an innovative, grass-roots company based here in Edinburgh. They provide a range of services for those looking to engage with the graffiti and street art movement. That means commissions like this, but also classes for those wishing to dabble in street art and graffiti. They also run a fantastic shop on the Canongate which includes a very cool gallery space, all in central Edinburgh.

The nightclub premises, and location for this mural, has an interesting story.

A staunchly underground venue, on it’s website it states “never mainstream” as the core principle of it’s music policy, the building itself was originally created as an engineering factory for the nearby railway. Following that it was then used as The Earl of Haig poppy factory, a TV studio for Granada Television and then a cinema.

It has been a night club for over 30yrs, the last 21 in its current incarnation, and is without doubt one of my all time favourite venues in town.

Some amazing club nights have been held here, including an especially good techno night that is sadly no longer running. Unseen drew some fantastic guests like Inigo Kennedy and Tresor resident/UKB Guest Mix contributor Marcel Heese.

The mural pays homage to other legendary techno nights such as Dogma, Pillbox, Sativa and the Bongo Club as well as other notable places near this particular area of Edinburgh. It’s colourful depiction and name checking of locations like the Museum of Childhood, The People’s Story and the Scottish Parliament connect it to the city.

Who remembers the Bongo Club when it was at Moray House by the way? I’m still sad it’s no longer there, a fantastic venue. Anyway…getting off topic.

The mural adds a much needed splash of colour to this area of town.

Recent rumblings that the city council are not too happy about the planning around the mural will hopefully not require it to be wiped completely. It would be a bit of an injustice if it were to be removed – hopefully more public artworks of this sort in future, anyway.

Well done Spectrum and Studio 24, keep up the good work.

Steven
UKB