HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex visits Project Ability

On the 13th January, HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex visited Project Ability. He had originally been scheduled to visit in November, but had to cancel due to the premature arrival of his baby daughter, The Lady Louise Windsor.   However, His Royal Highness, whose three main interests in his public role are young people, the arts, and sport, was keen to carry out his engagements.

On his visit the Earl of Wessex was escorted on a tour of the CDA gallery where he met some Project Ability participants who chatted to him about their work that was being exhibited in the "Squiggly Map of Scotland” exhibition as part of the Celtic Connections Festival.

The Earl of Wessex was then shown round the Trongate Studios, where he was introduced to David McCracken (pictured) who has been a member of the Studios for ten years.   He also met other artists who work there, as well as participants from the Homepage project, a visual arts programme for young people who have experienced homelessness.   After that he learned about "East West Dialogue" an exhibition of 3-Dimensional and sculptural work created by members of the Trongate Studios and Stepping Stones that explores and tackles the stigma of mental illness.

(Stepping Stones is a mental health arts programme supported by Edinburgh University Settlement.)