# Event Details - **Event Name**: Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop - **Event Start and End Date**: Sun, 06 Sep, 2026 at 12:00 pm – Sun, 06 Sep, 2026 at 02:00 pm (+01:00) - **Event Description**: How photography and writing can reclaim agency over the mind and body.About this EventDuring this interactive session, you will hear about the artists’ experience delivering the CAMERA project to community groups in Mexico City and Glasgow. They’ll will reflect on the successes and challenges encountered along the way and guide you through the exhibition at the RSE.You’ll then take part in some interactive activities. To do these, please could all attendees bring a photograph (whether on your phone or physical). This should be a photograph from the past showing either you, your family or a place which has some significance to you, something that holds a memory, story or a past connection. You’ll use this as a prompt to write a short narrative. No prior experience in either writing or photography is required.ExhibitionThis workshop goes alongside an exhibition that will be open from Saturday 5 September - Sunday 13 September. You can book tickets and find out more info here.About the projectCAMERA is a community engagement project led by Dr Alessia Zinnari (University of Glasgow) and artist Alex Withey. It is grounded in participatory arts research and explores the ways in which photography and writing can help people (re)gain agency over their mind and body, fostering a sense of wellbeing, belonging to place, and human connection. Working with memory through a variety of sensorial inputs is crucial to our methodology. The project consists of a series of participant-centred workshops, usually involving people from a local community with no easy access to art training. Our objective is to re-imagine new, positive ways to build communities and coexist with others, whether human or non-human.Important points to noteThis event is suitable for age 16+Event format: This event is a workshop and may involve some audience interaction. This could involve group activities, individual activities, quizzes or hands-on activities.Filming: Photography may take place at this event. Please let a member of the RSE Public Engagement team know if you do not want to be photographed. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events2/banners/963bb190-a37d-11f1-9988-bfc638c33a5a-rimg-w1200-h203-dcf8f8f8-gmir.jpg https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/96731540-a37d-11f1-9988-bfc638c33a5a-rimg-w1200-h600-dcf8f8f8-gmir.jpg SPEAKERDr Alessia ZinnariLecturer in Italian, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of GlasgowAlessia Zinnari is an interdisciplinary scholar with specialism in Italian, Comparative Literature, Gender Studies and Visual Culture Studies. She uses feminist methodologies to explore the intersections between power, self-representation, the body, and trauma in modern and contemporary literature and art. She has published on Italian poet Alda Merini and English Surrealist Leonora Carrington, and she is now working on a monograph that compares the two artists and their use of words and images to overcome their experiences of illness and violence. Alessia also has a keen interest in community engagement and social justice through research and art, and, together with artist Alex Withey, has developed the participatory art project CAMERA, which engages communities in artmaking. Her latest publication is the book chapter "“My stomach was the mirror of the earth”: An Ecofeminist Reading of Leonora Carrington’s Memoir of Illness, Down Below" in Female Surrealist Artists and Mental Illness (MUP, 2026).SPEAKERAlex WitheySenior Technician (Photography), Glasgow Schol of ArtArtist and educator Alex Withey, born in Helsinki in 1988, works across photography, installation, and participatory workshops, and is currently Photography Technician at the Glasgow School of Art. His interdisciplinary practice explores the life of images and the assumptions around photographic truth and representation. His recent project gathers images from Mexico City’s urban fabric, where built and natural environments touch, press against, and blur into one another. The city is reimagined outside linear time, as both remembered future and unresolved past. In these works, fragmented landscapes emerge: veiled, partially hidden, emptied of bodies yet dense with traces of intervention, communication, and presence. Monumental and minute details appear on the same plane. Moving from screen to acetate, the images are transformed through alternative photographic processes and local ingredients, including cyanotypes altered by sun, time, and toning. Each transfer makes the image partial, unstable, and still forming. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events2/banners/96819430-a37d-11f1-9988-bfc638c33a5a-rimg-w1200-h203-dc582878-gmir.jpg About the Curious festivalThe RSE’s free Curious festival of knowledge is back, from Saturday 5 − Sunday 13 September 2026!Curious is Scotland’s annual festival of knowledge. Across its seven-year history, Curious has welcomed over 10,000 attendees into its yearly programme of talks, workshops, discussions and exhibitions – all covering different topics and subject areas. There’s no need for you to have any prior specialist knowledge before coming along, just bring your curious self! With plenty of events both in person and online, you can take part from anywhere.You can check out the full programme of events here. https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/968cb7c0-a37d-11f1-9988-bfc638c33a5a-rimg-w1200-h203-dcf8f8f8-gmir.jpg AccessibilityWe aim to make events as accessible as possible. If you have any accessibility requirements or have any questions related to how we can support this event, please contact curious@theRSE.org.uk. Accessibility information for the RSE building can be found on our website.Step-free access: Ramped access for visitors is available via 26 George Street through Lakeland. Upon arrival, please call 0131 240 5000 and a member of staff will meet you and guide you to the event. Please note that the entrance ramp has a steep gradient (1:12).Privacy PolicyPlease note that any personal data that is submitted to the RSE will be stored and processed in accordance with the RSE’s Privacy Policy. We will only use mobile numbers provided to contact you in the event of a cancellation.NewsletterIf you would like to receive information from the RSE on upcoming events and activities, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.Please visit the RSE FAQs page for further details about venue and events. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/edinburgh/building-community-merging-past-and-present-workshop/100001993624132447 - **Event Categories**: art, workshops, festivals, exhibitions, literary-art, contests - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Age Limit: 16+ - door_time: 2026-09-06T10:30:00Z - Duration: 2 hours - Location: The Royal Society Of Edinburgh - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: GBP ## Event venue details - **city**: Edinburgh - **state**: SC - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: The Royal Society Of Edinburgh - **lat**: 55.95348130000001 - **long**: -3.1965827999999874 - **full address**: The Royal Society Of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/3194c2a90febaf1b1d3b6578124d60092c89bafb927ae84b92017499fe6fddf1-rimg-w1200-h600-dc315f90-gmir.jpg?v=1784588652 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop being held? - **A:** Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop takes place on Sun, 06 Sep, 2026 at 12:00 pm to Sun, 06 Sep, 2026 at 02:00 pm at The Royal Society Of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Is there an age restriction for Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop? - **A:** Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop is strictly for guests aged 16 and above. Valid government-issued photo ID is required for entry. Guests under 16 will not be admitted. The event will be presented in English. - **Q**: Who is organizing Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop? - **A:** Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop is organized by The Royal Society of Edinburgh. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Building community: Merging past and present | Workshop is ideal for curious learners, students, and skill-builders looking to gain hands-on knowledge and practical expertise in a focused, interactive setting. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Edinburgh, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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