Hosted by Firefly Arts, West Lothian ARC aims to place arts and culture at the heart of West Lothian’s social and economic recovery. Our project brings together artists and communities to address barriers to and perceptions of inclusion, equality and empowerment, while also creating sustainable cultural partnerships.

ARC supports artists with a connection to West Lothian through training, mentoring, peer-learning and other professional development opportunities. Our network has currently more than 50 members.

As part of our programme, we host a regular Artist Café with various guest speakers, we support three artists through our Creative Placements scheme, and have kickstarted three socially engaged arts programmes with local communities in West Lothian.

Culture Collective Co-ordinator:

  • Dio Anemogiannis

The creative practitioners taking part in this project are:

  • Mary Gapinski – Arts and Reminiscence, with Heatherfield Nursing Home
  • Jean Gillespie – Arts and Reminiscence, with Heatherfield Nursing Home
  • Dan Brown – Pathways Project, Howden Park Centre
  • Forest Wolfe – Pathways Project, Howden Park Centre
  • Emma Lawrance – Tapestry Project, with SPARK in Craigshill; Creative Placement: Artist Network Coordinator
  • Rachel McBrinn – Creative Placement: Filmmaking