Monday April 20th 2026
Chair of Dalkeith Arts Margaret Bititci (on left) and Vice Chair Mary Blair at the International Women's Day Community Awards hosted by MP Kirsty McNeil
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Midlothian is home to many essential community groups that tackle isolation and encourage community connection with many doing this through creative outlets such as art.
Despite art groups being popular and successful in the county, it has been highlighted that Midlothian still lacks art spaces for people to connect and express creativity.
Now at top capacity, Dalkeith Arts is one of the most popular art organisations in Midlothian but despite working with around 40 people and having 12 people on their waiting list for classes, the not-for-profit organisation face issues accessing facilities in Midlothian.
Mainly operating from Dalkeith Arts Centre, worries surround the organisation due to the planned demolition of the library and move to the new Midlothian House, Midlothian Council’s soon to be built new headquarters, once it is completed next year.
Despite being offered a permanent space in the new council headquarters, Dalkeith Arts still believe the county is lacking art spaces with hopes of further expansion.
Speaking to the Midlothian View, Chair of Dalkeith Arts Mary Blair highlighted that Midlothian is lacking art spaces, explaining that this is mainly due to a lack of facilities.
“If we look back on the past 10 years or so, slowly these art spaces and groups are diminishing and Dalkeith Arts is surviving”, Mary explained, “but we are seriously threatened by the lack of spaces and we are concerned about it.”
Using the up-coming Scottish Parliamentary Election as an example, she added: “We talk about engaging with our communities and even voters, and we’ve got a big election coming up and that’s all about how do you engage with voters? Well trying to expand is the same, you actually engage with them, you get out and into the community and give them space.”
This drive to offer art to everyone in Midlothian is hindered by this highlighted struggle to both find and afford community space to hire.
Despite these struggles with facilities, Dalkeith Arts has been able to make a small expansion, beginning to host a class at Woodburn Community Hub in partnership with unpaid carer support charity VOCAL which started last September, offering arts classes to unpaid carers.
Mary explained surrounding the new Woodburn class: “We were trying to draw in people from a wider area. It’s a small group and we meet on a Tuesday from two to four, it’s going very well”.
Mary added that offering the new class is not only to support carers through the help of VOCAL but to make art more accessible in other areas in Midlothian. Despite this new class, the goal to expand further is greatly disadvantaged by ‘the lack of spaces’.
Another charity who provide similar community activities and support are Community Arts Penicuik (CAP), who are a voluntary charitable organisation set up only a year ago to replace Penicuik Community Arts Association (PCAA) which folded in March 2025 due to major issues with their facility.
Highlighting that Penicuik ‘seems to have a higher than average number of amateur and professional artists’, Chair of the organisation Sue Owen explained:
“Arts and music performances and participation are very badly needed everywhere, especially as the world gets more and more insane and many global and national threats take away our peace of mind.
“Our arts centre was an old building with long term roof, damp and rot problems. Over the years, the PCAA committee became increasingly unable to finance and fulfil the stricter health and safety requirements and ongoing building maintenance. In spite of our best efforts, as the average age of the committee and membership increased, we couldn’t continue to raise the necessary funds for rocketing costs, nor continue with the very hard voluntary work, nor attract younger and more energetic people to help run the organisation and building.”
PCAA received grants for the Midlothian Council to help with expenses but that arrangement stopped before Covid.
Sue added: “My own experience is that I felt the Council wanted to be supportive but were very under-resourced and had to prioritise elsewhere. It’s also generally felt in the older community in Penicuik that Midlothian Council focussed on supporting the arts in Dalkeith, rather than anywhere else.
“So Penicuik was left to provide for itself with a huge legacy of very hard working and committed volunteers. Penicuik was left to provide for itself with a huge legacy of very hard working and committed volunteers.”
With Sue explaining that arts in Dalkeith ‘receive more support’, Mary explained:
“The Midlothian Council offers the lett support and without that, it would be really difficult to make our provision so accessible.”
Despite issues with their facility leading to them closing, PCAA did operate out of their own centre which Sue explained as ‘badly missed’.
This is something Dalkeith Arts hasn’t had the privilege of, using Dalkeith Arts Centre as a ‘home’ despite issues with anti-social behaviour in the area causing some issues with members.
Mary explained that the future move into Midlothian House will add a new level of safety for the group’s members, alongside providing a new modern space with screens and other modern appliances.
PCAA also have a potential to move into a new home when Sue steps down and new chair Graham McDonald steps up. Graham’s goal is to apply for funds to purchase Valleyfield House in Penicuik, aiming to renovate and refurbish the historic building into the art groups new home.
Valleyfield House, Penicuik
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