Into the Bings

Description

What is a bing? A eyesore or an archive? An industrial waste tip or a haven of biodiversity? In this day-long workshop we explored the industrial history and heritage of the West Lothian region and brought this into conversation with stories of industrial regions from Ukraine, with bings of their own. Working with West Lothian Council archives, and artists and writers from Scotland and Mariupol, we asked what new stories can be told about the (post-)industrial places that we love.

The day included a creative writing workshop. Award-winning poet and author Garry MacKenzie helped us discover how to write about the world around us – from animals and plants to the traces of West Lothian’s industrial past which are visible in the landscape. We delved into the history of the region’s mining communities, and worked together on composing a community poem celebrating the area’s heritage and looking forwards to its future. Fun writing activities helped us explore some of the techniques which writers use to bring their imaginations, and their physical environments, to life.

Period	17 Sept 2022
Event type	Workshop
Degree of Recognition	National