German Artist Thomas Kilpper Joins Callum Innes as First Exhibitors in New £11M Home for Edinburgh Printmakers

Image: Castle Mills, Dundee Street, Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh Printmakers at Castle Mills, Dundee Street, will open to the public on Saturday 27 April 2019 with The Politics of Heritage vs. the Heritage of Politics by German printmaker Thomas Kilpper, a site specific floor carving commissioned to mark the organisation's move into the major new development and responding to the social history of the building. The new institution for the Scottish capital is the former headquarters of the North British Rubber Company. 

Established in 1967 as the first open access studio in the UK, Edinburgh Printmakers is an arts charity specialising in printmaking. Castle Mills, the new £11 million home of Edinburgh Printmakers houses an enhanced open access print studio, traditional and digital processes, a dedicated learning space, artist accommodation, art galleries, a shop, a creative industries hub, café and print archive. Castle Mills is set to be one of the largest printmaking facilities created for artists in Europe and the new building is 2194m2 compared to 939m2 of the former Union Street base.

Castle Mills, Dundee Street, Edinburgh, Scotland

German installation artist Thomas Kilpper is known for his critical social and political interventions. He studied with Alfonso Huppi in Düsseldorf and TATE, London, houses the largest collection of his works in the UK. 

Inspired by a research residency in Edinburgh in 2018, Kilpper’s commission will take the form of an installation depicting politico-heritage themes arising out of his research into the archives of Castle Mills. Reflecting its past incarnations as the HQ of the North British Rubber Company and later a brewery, and also signaling the building’s future use as a world-class hub of creativity for Edinburgh Printmakers – the past and future function of the site will be united across time through its continuing dedication to production and innovation.

For this exhibition, Kilpper will cover the entire gallery floor with rubber, creating a giant floor based printing template, providing him with a rubber matrix on which to carve images that relate to the social history of the building. The artist will carve portraits of people who lived and worked on the site and those that will work in the building in the future.

This exhibition is a fictional narration, touching upon the site’s heritage and many local stories and records. The artist’s unique research interests forming the narrative and using the history and images of the past to spark public dialogue on the questions of significance today and pondering the prospects of tomorrow.

Chief Executive of Edinburgh Printmakers, Shân Edwards commented: “Opening Castle Mills with a European artist, signifies our vision for Edinburgh Printmakers in the future. Edinburgh Printmakers is an arts charity with printmaking at its heart. By 2023, our spaces will be creative communities that lead with our knowledge and heritage, innovate through our practice and ambitions and welcome the wider world to art. Artist Thomas Kilpper’s exhibition will reflect the history of the building through his chosen material and portray a view of politics relevant today to mark this moment in history.”

Artist Thomas Kilpper commented:

“I am thrilled to take on the challenge and present the first exhibition in the new redeveloped building Castle Mills, that Edinburgh Printmakers will open this spring. I am very much looking forward to working on the site and hope to be able to dig deep into it. Right now across the world decisions are being made by politicians that I think need to be challenged. Decisions on the environment, on coexistence and our way of living together. It is a phenomenon that societies are getting more polarised, right-wing parties reappearing and sowing prejudices and hatred against minorities, and politicians unwilling to protect the powerless in our society and instead promoting the interests of the banks and giant corporations.

We have a shift back to the dark side of nationalism, not only Trump’s "America first” slogan but also UKIP, the Italian, Austrian, Polish government or even Marine Le Pen’s policy paradigmatically indicate. Coming to Edinburgh at a time when Britain is planning to leave the European Union while Scotland would prefer to stay, will be very interesting. As an artist I am dealing with aesthetics in the broadest sense which includes questions around how to address conflicting social issues. There questions highlight fundamental concerns about our future, that I hope to be able to examine through this project. Castle Mills, after being abandoned for several decades, shall again be brought to life and become a space for production. This time a place of artistic production based on a diverse range of critical voices at a challenging time in our history.”

Edinburgh Printmakers will also launch the programme with a stunning presentation of original prints by Scottish artist Callum Innes, also the organisation's Artist Patron.

This exhibition will chart Callum’s artistic journey through the medium of print and display artworks from Edinburgh Printmakers’ print collection, commissioned and published by Edinburgh Printmakers over the years, and will also present prints made in the studio by the organisation's Master printers in collaboration with Callum for other galleries and projects. The interplay between the additive and subtractive process, making and unmaking, presence and absence, constitutes the essence of the oeuvre developed by Callum Innes.

A number of artists have also been commissioned to treat the redeveloped Castle Mills building as a matrix, for a series of ambitious public realm commissions, funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund and developed over the period of 3 years.

The impressive front entrance gates by Rachel Duckhouse, stunning artwork on the south-west elevation by Mark Doyle, and the intriguing kaleidoscopic intervention in the café by artist Calum Colvin, and Suzy O’Leary and Peter Smith from Page / Park Architects, have each been commissioned to celebrate and interpret unique aspects of the rich heritage of the building and history of the surrounding area.

These ambitious commissions are integral to the architectural design and redeveloped fabric of the building, and offer visitors a unique opportunity to discover hidden histories and a distinguished industrial past. American businessmen and bootmakers Henry Lee Norris and Spencer Thomas Parmelee bought the canalside building Castle Mills Silks in 1856 and made it the headquarters of the North British Rubber Company. Their company soon grew and Castle Mills, the present building, was created in 1870 in Gilmore Park. By 1900 Castle Mills had become the largest industrial unit in Edinburgh, employing 3,000 people. With the start of the First World War came a demand for a durable, rubber-soled boot for the trenches. Commissioned by the Ministry of War, the Wellington boot was conceived in 1916. The North British Rubber Company set to work 24 hours a day, producing 1,185,036 pairs of boots for soldiers in the trenches. Full history detail in Notes to Editors...

“The people of Fountainbridge are justifiably proud of their industrial heritage and thanks to players of the National Lottery, this important part of it has an exciting future back at the heart of the community. Once open, Castle Mills will be a contemporary hub of creative enterprise benefiting people living and working nearby, bringing a sense of pride to the people who call this area home, and offering an exciting addition to Scotland and Edinburgh’s cultural scene.” said Riona McMorrow, Acting Head of the National Lottery Heritage Fund in Scotland.

Saturday 27 April 2019 will be the first time that Castle Mills will be open as a public building. In the three-floor building, the general public will be able to enjoy the two galleries, shop and café. Members of Edinburgh Printmakers will have access to the top floor studio and printmaking facilities and visiting artists will be able to stay in the flat for residencies.

Amanda Catto, Head of Visual Arts, Creative Scotland, said: “We’re very much looking forward to the opening of Edinburgh Printmakers at Castle Mills - a world class centre for printmaking that will extend a warm welcome to all. Supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland the new, state of the art facility will deliver programmes, classes and courses to suit people of all experiences – from the absolute beginner through to the established artist/ printmaker.

“The completion of the building development is a tremendous achievement and looks set to generate significant, artistic, social and economic benefits for Edinburgh Printmakers, its members and the communities it engages with locally, nationally and internationally. We are excited by the creative vision and ambition of this project and would like to congratulate all those involved. We encourage everybody to visit and explore this great new resource.”

A City of Edinburgh Council building, the conversion of Castle Mills began in 2012, it is part of the Council’s redevelopment plans for the area of Fountainbridge and has been supported by the Fountainbridge Canalside Initiative (FCI) as well as the surrounding businesses.

Councillor Donald Wilson, Culture and Communities Convener, said: “An exciting future lies ahead for Edinburgh Printmakers when the Castle Mills conversion completes. The new hub is transforming what was a derelict listed building into a brand new arts facility, in keeping with the character of the building and the area. I’m sure it will provide huge social and economic benefits for the local community and greatly enhance Fountainbridge’s cultural offering.

“The project has long had great support from the Council, which has worked hard to help Edinburgh Printmakers take this building forward to regenerate the area. This has involved us providing the land and helping Printmakers secure necessary support from the Scottish Government. I’m delighted to see this partnership reach the next stage with news of the very first exhibition.”

Page\Park architects design to ready the building for public use prioritises the importance of preserving the historic fabric as well as the industrial character. The building is a rare surviving example in the area of 19th century polychromatic brickwork. Conservation works included carefully cleaning and repairing the unique brickwork, fully refurbishing the original timber sash and case windows as well as restoring the slate roofs. Internally, remnants of a 1916 interior were restored including timber wall panelling and decorative plaster ceilings.

New architectural elements are light of touch and stem from an understanding of the heritage. Central to the architectural concept was to make precise interventions to facilitate new use while still allowing the existing building room to breathe. The bold new entrance onto Dundee Street provides a public face for Edinburgh Printmakers offering views directly in to the galleries, reception and shop. The new extension to the rear subtly shifts the centre of gravity of the building to create a central courtyard around which all building users can meet and interact. A simple, effective new circulation strategy ensures that all six levels and half levels of this complex historic building are accessible to all.

A spokesperson from Page\Park Architects commented: “It is critical we conserve, occupy and reimagine our built heritage to ensure it remains in use for many generations to come. Edinburgh Printmakers ambition for this project has been an inspiration from the start. It has been our privilege to work with them on such a fascinating, unique and important building which will provide a key cultural anchor for Edinburgh and Scotland.”

The resurrection of Castle Mills was possible with kind thanks to National Lottery Heritage Fund, Creative Scotland, Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council, Historic Environment Scotland and all individuals who supported the fundraising campaign along with The Gannochy Trust and Robertson Trust. 

Thomas Knowles, Head of Grants at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “We are pleased to support Edinburgh Printmakers with the Castle Mills Regeneration Project through our Historic Environment Repair Grant funding programme. This provided £598,000 of investment to support the regeneration of this culturally important Edinburgh building into a multi-use state of the art print facilities and transforming the local area into a creative hub”.