Introducing Forth Ports & Leith

We are thrilled to announce a remarkable collaboration between Forth Ports and Kinetika. Together, we are embarking on an exciting venture to engage with the vibrant communities of Leith and encapsulate the rich history, dynamic present, and promising future of the Port of Leith through a unique artistic endeavour.

In this initiative, we invite you to join us in crafting three impressive 6-metre flags, made from Murshidabad Silk, each dedicated to a different facet of the Port of Leith’s identity. These flags will serve as symbols that celebrate the past, reflect on the present, and cast a visionary gaze into the future. Your stories, experiences, and insights are integral to the success of this project. We encourage you to share your personal connections, memories, and aspirations related to the Port of Leith. By doing so, you can help shape the visual narratives of our flags, making them truly representative of the community’s collective spirit.

The culmination of our collaborative efforts will be a display of these flags at the Jazz and Blues Festival in June 2024. This celebration promises to be a visual feast, showcasing the unique culture and character of Leith while capturing the essence of its past, present, and future. We are excited to embark on this artistic journey with you and look forward to the stories, images, and inspirations that you will bring to life.
– Lucy-Emma Harris, Forth Ports

Past

Leith Heritage Group will be taking the lead on this silk.

Inspiration: 
This 6m banner will serve to celebrate the past of Leith and its port. Your stories, experiences, and insights are integral to this. We encourage you to share your personal connections, memories, and aspirations related to the Port of Leith. By doing so, you can help shape the visual narratives of these banners, making them truly representative of the community’s collective spirit.

Some Ideas to Inspire Your Designs:

• Look into the ship builders of Leith and their stories – Ron Neish has written three books on the ships that were built in Leith
• Ships that were built in Leith (The biggest ship ever built in Britain was built in Leith – the KØbenhavn) Leith Hospital and Womens Rights
• New Haven fishwife.

Suggested Source for Research and Images:
Please look at the wonderful resource of ‘100 days of Leith’ found here: https://www.leithforever.org/100days

What to do Next?
Get outside and walk the streets of Leith to get inspired

• Turn to designing your banner

(c) Shutterstock

Future

Citadel Youth Group will be taking the lead on this silk.

Inspiration:
This 6m banner will serve to cast a visionary gaze into the future of Leith and its port. Your stories, experiences, and insights are integral to this.

We encourage you to share your personal connections and aspirations related to the Port of Leith. By doing so, you can help shape the visual narratives of this banner, making it truly representative of the community’s collective spirit.

Some Ideas to Inspire your Designs:
To help shape the style of this banner, we can look at Leith-based artist Eduardo Paolozzi, using his artwork as inspiration – specifically his collages and screen prints.

Have your say in what the ‘future of Leith’ entails!

Suggested Source for Research and Images:

Please look at the wonderful resource of 100 days of Leith found here: https://www.leithforever.org/100days

What to do Next?

Get outside and walk the streets of Leith to get inspired

• Turn to designing your banner

Ali Pretty

Ali Pretty is best known as the founding member and artistic director of the international outdoor arts company – Kinetika, which she founded in 1997 after an established career in carnival arts and a growing commitment to community engagement. Ali has collaborated with, and led teams of artists to deliver large-scale events to diverse audiences all over the world, such as; WOMAD (1985 – 1991), FIFA World Cup (2009), the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant (2022). Her artistic direction and her hand- painted silk designs are renowned for their quality, both in their individual style as well as their ability to engage and leave lasting legacies in communities and individuals alike. In 2015 Ali was commissioned to create 12 large-scale silks for the Royal Opera House that hung in the ROH Paul Hamlyn Hall during the Deloitte Ignite Festival.

In recent years Ali has been developing her practice to develop transformational walking arts projects with diverse communities. Through these Ali brings people together by walking, talking and painting large-scale silk creations. Since 2012, Ali has led walking projects in Wiltshire, Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire, Essex and Thurrock, where she has developed an annual walking, talking and making festival Thurrock 100 . This pioneering place-making model has been replicated internationally in various forms in Ethiopia, Chile and India. Her most ambitious project to date is Silk River, commissioned by the British Council as part of the UK/India year of Culture in 2017. Ali is currently leading Beach of Dreams, a Climate Camino, a mass participatory coastal journey for May 2025.

Ali is on the International Board of the World Trails Network and chairs the Arts and Culture Task Team. https://worldtrailsnetwork.org/walking-artists/