Wednesday September 10th 2025
Artwork on the side of a home in the Colony
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
The Colony of Artists celebrates their 20th year, returning with a community festival that showcases the vibrant creativity of Edinburgh’s Abbeyhill Colonies.
Celebrating community and art, the grassroots Edinburgh festival takes place in the Abbeyhill Colonies on the third weekend of September each year. Now in its 20th year, the festival features more than 115 artists exhibiting work in front rooms, sheds, gardens, and local businesses – turning the Abbeyhill neighbourhood into a vibrant, buzzing and walkable celebration of creativity all within the intimate setting of homes and gardens.
With the colonies coming alive from the 20th to the 21st of September 2025, the festival acts as a platform for the creative community of Abbeyhill Colonies to showcase their art in a welcoming but intimate setting of their own homes.
The Colony of Artists Creative Director, Kat Chrisholm, explained:
“The festival is as much about community as it is about art. It gives artists a platform to share their work directly with the public in an informal and friendly setting, while bringing neighbours together through creativity, conversation, and collaboration. It reflects the unique spirit of Abbeyhill — creative and welcoming.
“The Colony of Artists is about much more than art on display – it’s a celebration of community, creativity, and collaboration.
“For 20 years, artists, volunteers, and neighbours have worked together to create an event that feels welcoming, playful, and deeply connected to the spirit of the Abbeyhill Colonies”
With locals showcasing their art, the festival will consist of a vibrant mix of painting, ceramics, printmaking, jewellary, illustration, music, and more. Alongside this display of art, visitors can also expect live music, street food and the festival’s own specially brewed beer. Being able to explore nearly 60 venues across the Colonies, visitors have the opportunity to meet the artists in their own homes and gardens, adding a unique and intimate twist to a traditional arts festival.
Venue 24 at last years festival
Talking on the significance of this year being the 20th anniversary, Kat explained:
“It’s a huge milestone — 20 years of creativity in the Colonies!
“To celebrate, we’ve added extra events including a launch party, history talks, guided walking tours, and exhibitions marking key moments from the past two decades.
“We’ve also created a commemorative publication on the history of the Edinburgh Colonies, which has been hand-delivered to over 1,700 Colony houses across the city. It’s our way of giving something back to the community that’s made this festival what it is.”
Adding more to their anniversary programme, History enthusiasts can join free walking tours and talks exploring the unique heritage of the Abbeyhill Colonies, as part of the Edinburgh900 city-wide programme celebrating the capital’s rich history.
Alongside this, families can also follow the colourful mural trail or meet famous Colony cats.
Colony of Artists beagan in 2005, inspired by two major influences.
The first was the Pittenweem Arts Festival, a similar festival that instead celebrates the community of Pittenweem in Fife which is a great example of how art can trsnaform a community. The Colony of Artists organisers explained that they loved how it iunvited people into homes and unexpected corners of the village to experience art close up.
“That open-door, community-led atmospher really resonated with us”, Kat explained.
The second influence was Abbeyhill itself and the story of the Colonies. Built in the late 19th century by the Edinburgh Cooperatiuve Building Company, the Colonies homes were created by working-class people for working-class people.
Kat explained, “That spirit of cooperation and community felt like the perfect foundation for an arts festival rooted in place.
“While Colony of Artists began with just a few neighbours sharing their work, it was always about more than just showcasing art. It’s about connection, collaboration, and creating something special together — a festival that reflects the character of our neighbourhood.”
This reasoning behind creating the festival is why Kat and her team adopted the bee symbol to represent their celebration as the beehive was the emblem of the Edinburgh Cooperative Building Society.
“For us it represents shared effort, community, and creativity — everything the Colony of Artists continues to stand for.”
Visitors to the festival can expect a weekend of colour, creativity, and community spirit and with 60 venues to explore, it allows for a cretaicity full and enjoyable day out with the unique twist of the art of show being displayed within people’s homes and gardens.
The festival is free to attend, and all venues will be open from 11am to 6pm on both days (21st and 22nd of September).
Visit Colony of Artist’s website for more information and the festival programme: colonyofartists.co.uk
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