Make It Yourself Festival

Pianodrome is launching its first-ever festival, Make It Yourself, running from 14 to 18 October at the Pianodrome Bruntsfield Community Hub (the St Oswald's Centre) at 41 Montpelier Park. It's five days of DIY culture, creativity and local community staged during the October half term, supported by the Edinburgh Council Local Events Fund. The whole thing is rooted in the hub's ethos of upcycling, innovation and working together, bringing together makers, musicians, artists and community organisations, with exhibition spaces and open mic slots reserved for local artists.

The artist in residence is maker Melissa May Speake, who works almost entirely with reclaimed materials. For her residency she's creating an Orkney Chair, a traditional form historically crafted from driftwood, with a woven back of piano strings and a drawer featuring an original brass piano handle, made with her grandfather's tools where possible. The programme mixes hands-on workshops with daily live music spanning folk, jazz, soul and Brazilian styles.

Among the workshops are Ornament Action, Making Faces with Ben Kay, Stranger Strings, Gadget Dissection, Joyful Urkestra and Make Someone's Day: Letter Writing Concert with Elizabeth Gaglio. They cover instrument making, theatrical character creation, gadget dissection, textile upcycling and meditative mark-making. Collaborators include the Edinburgh Tool Library, BANZAI Edinburgh, the Forge at Gorgie Community Farm, Remode Collective and SHRUB.

It runs 10am to 6pm daily from 14 to 18 October at Pianodrome, and entry is free.