In this Creative Conversation, Lea & Abi Cooper will reflect on DIY cultural organising and cultivating practices that celebrate access, everyday creativity, and community arts.
The Creative Conversation:
– The Common Threads: Across shared and individual practices, they’ll explore some of the common threads that underpin their work, including DIY cultures and values; collaboration (Doing It Together, rather than Doing It Yoursel); and arts and health.
– Working as Neurodivergent and Disabled Artists and Organisers: They’ll discuss their experiences of disability and neurodivergence in the arts, and share some practical information on tools that have worked for them, including access riders and being involved in networks like Neuk Collective.
– Our Next Steps: Kirkcaldy locals may have noticed their new space taking shape on the High Street. Hear about the process of setting this up and their ambitions for this community arts space, as well as how to get involved!
This conversation is perfect for anyone interested in socially engaged and community arts, in making a living as an artist or cultural practitioner and creating a sustainable practice, or anyone curious about what’s going on at 299 Kirkcaldy High Street….
About Lea & Abi:
Since meeting in 2014, Lea (they/them) & Abi (she/they) have shared a creative partnership that spans DIY publications, textiles, ceramics, cultural organising, and facilitation.
In 2017, they co-founded Edinburgh Zine Library and have been organisers at Edinburgh Zine Festival from 2022-2024. They are both involved in Pen Pals, an arts-based peer support group for queer and/or neurodivergent people in Fife. Lea is one of the organisers behind Fife VegFest, which began with a sell-out event at the Kings Theatre in October 2024, with Abi facilitating the creative corner at events.
Lea recently completed a creative-based practice PhD working with zines around health at Wellcome Collection in London. They have curated an exhibition based on this research, ‘Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice’ which runs March 14 2025 – September 14 2025. They also work as an Independent Researcher on We Contain Multitudes, a partnership project between DCA, Collective and LUX Scotland, addressing ableism in the Scottish Visual Arts Sector. They’ve facilitated zine workshops for lots of different groups, including the Young Women’s Movement and Project Change, the Perinatal Loneliness Project, the University of Edinburgh, and Southbank Centre’s Art by Post groups. In 2024, they were an associate artist in 64 million artists’ January Challenge.
Abi recently qualified as a nurse and has set up the new Kirkcaldy Health Zine Library at the University of Dundee’s Kirkcaldy campus to introduce zines to new cohorts of nursing and midwifery students.
You might also know them as authors of Gears for Queers, a travel memoir about their experiences cycle touring!
The Details:
📅 Date: Thursday 17th July
📍 Location: Design Suite, Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy
🕒 Time: 6:00–7:00 pm
Creative Conversations are part of our ongoing commitment at OnFife to bring people together through inspiring discussions, ideas, and stories. We bring you a Creative Conversation on the first Wednesday of each month. Tickets are Pay What You Can £1, £3 or £5. This ensures commitment from the audience and allows us to contribute to paying artists a fair fee for their time and experience.
Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out—book your spot today.
P.S. We try our best to look after the environment; there is no need to print your tickets.
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Arts events in Kirkcaldy,
Health & Wellness events in Kirkcaldy,
Nonprofit events in Kirkcaldy.
