Organised by National Youth Arts Advisory Group (NYAAG) – Creative Scotland’s Youth Advisory Board – UNCON is a celebration of youth arts that spotlights young creatives and artists.
UNCON is an event designed by young people, for young people, that showcases and celebrates youth arts and creativity in Scotland. Held every two years since 2016, this year for the first time UNCON is hosted in Edinburgh and Inverness (Inverness Information link) simultaneously to make it more accessible and to link young local creatives together
The Basics
Venue: Edinburgh Student Housing Cooperative 34 Wright’s Houses (Basement)
Time: 3.30pm – 11pm
Food: Hot chocolate is served during the afternoon session, and delicious burritos and nachos by Alaburrito will be served between 6.30pm – 7.30pm.
About the Event
They have lined up a whole day of events to spotlight and celebrate young creativity. With two workshops, an exhibition, a free creative space, an open mic and a jam session we hope there will be space for each art form and any creative expression!
3pm – 4.30pm Writing as a Form of Healing by The Spit It Out Project (Workshop)
Come along to a creative writing workshop led by Bee Asha Singh about trauma-informed writing and writing as a form of healing.
Bee Asha is the co-director of The Spit It Out Project an award-winning organisation (SCIO) aiming to build connections and provide a platform for discussions around trauma and healing through creativity. Spit It Out aims to empower individuals to discuss openly and explore through creative writing subjects often portrayed as taboo such as consent, sex ed, racism, LGBTQIA+ rights; mental illnesses, and body image.
This is a 16+ workshop, please be aware that the content and the experience of the workshop attendees could be triggering for some people as they will revolve around trauma and healing.
Workshop attendees are all invited to perform spoken words produced during the workshop or prior, at the evening open mic!
4.30pm – 6pm Open Creative Table
The Open Creative Table is a space where you can bring along any craft or creative project you are working on or get inspired by others to start something new. Some materials will be provided but please bring along anything you want to specifically use to work on or experiment with.
5pm – 6.30pm Intro to DJing Workshop by Femmergy
Come along to an introduction to DJing led by Femmergy: an intersectional event and collective that focuses on platforming DJs and performers from marginalised genders, and on creating spaces of femme joy and safety.
The workshop will include an introduction to DJing software(s)/tips on mixing, how to mix on personal decks (beginners), how to mix on a club deck (*depending on availability to borrow it*) and djing stations with headphones to practice in the space
All materials will be provided but if you want to play specific songs, please bring along a USB with the files on it.
6.30pm – 7.30pm Food!
The moment we were all waiting for: free food will be served between 6:30 and 7:30 by the Alaburrito van! Alaburrito has kindly sponsored the event offering their delicious nachos and burritos to get you energised before the evening performance. Use this time to browse through our incredible exhibition too and get to know other fellow young creatives
7pm – 7.30pm Back to-Back DJ performance by Femmergy
Get ready for some groove to open up our evening performances. Femmergy will show us some of its best tunes with a back-to-back DJ performance: one of the basics of DJing. With a mix of improvisation, listening skills, and music surprises a lot of fun is assured!
7.30pm -Onwards Open Mic and Jam Session
A lineup of performers including Femmergy and Bee Asha Singh will get the evening started to be followed by an open mic and a jam session. Register your interest if you’d like to perform during the night: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDMa2b5hINO-lzWYKaxCTR1pYq8VNMwsr-wWpYAoKxtC1caw/viewform
Or simply show up on the day to showcase your skills in music, poetry, dance, drag or whatever you want!
Ongoing: Static Exhibition
The Static Exhibition is a showcase of artworks, publications and creative production created by young local artists . Any art form which can be showcased statically is welcome: poems, paintings, small sculptures, photographs, crafts, embroidery- you name it.
To take part in the exhibition and showcase any of your works fill in this form (deadline – 25 January 2023): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-gCX3atb52RJ2b81UqDZJoNq0orfNAm6VU3tLA3nE8_NSgw/viewform
