'Bespoke' - Make Works Scotland x Kulturzentrum LUISE

Make Works Scotland (MWS) is partnering with Kulturzentrum LUISE in Munich to fully understand the potential for communities rooted in local craft, sustainability and grassroots networks to make a difference locally and globally.

The Cultural Bridge funded 'Bespoke' project is built around an exchange of partners to strengthen international learning and action on these topics relative to making, craftsmanship and art. Our partnership emerged from a shared interest in engaging and developing communities of purpose-driven creative producers and communities in Edinburgh / Glasgow (Scotland) and Munich / Bavaria (Germany).

First, we will host our German partners on a two-day guided visit to Scotland, meeting MWS listed manufacturers / makers and representatives of creative and cultural hubs to gain an insight into their work, plus maker communities / practitioners in the wider, existing MWS creative community. The visit will prompt cross-cultural conversations around zero-waste, sustainability, circular economy, communities, commons and more, plus the role of purpose-driven enterprises and communities. 

Building on this, with Scottish representatives, we will undertake a reciprocal visit to Munich for two-days to meet and further our conversations at LUISE, who are further supported by artist Doro Seror and Thomas Smith at the Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München . Our visit will include a guided visit to the Munich Kreativquartier and a MWS-led workshop with the wider community to map regional creative assets, producers, makers, manufacturers, skills, hubs, etc. 

Regular online pre-meetups with our German partners have shaped their visit to Scotland. We look forward to welcoming them in person to Edinburgh, twinned with Munich, week.

The activity is possible thanks to funding from the Cultural Bridge Programme - of which Bespoke is one of 15 partnerships between UK and German-based organisations, who have been awarded funding to develop cultural projects exploring issues facing communities across both countries.

Cultural Bridge is supported by investment from seven major partners and is the first project that sees all organisations collaborate on a single fund: Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London, Arts Council England, Arts Council Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland and Arts Council of Wales / Wales Arts International.