Radar: Building Branches – Collective Witness

A community-led participatory art installation, Building Branches: Collective Witness, opens at Collective Space in Leith on Saturday 10 October and Sunday 11 October. Running from 09:00 to 17:00 each day, the free weekend event invites visitors to help construct an evolving Tree of Life responding to grief, displacement, and solidarity in Palestine.

Co-curated by participatory artist and art psychotherapist Zeinab Wasfy alongside the Edinburgh Palestine Community Wellbeing Group, the project marks more than three years of documented violence and loss in Palestine. Designed as a live collective record rather than a static gallery display, the central installation incorporates upcycled materials and changes continually as the public adds original drawings, written notes, and textile pieces over the 48-hour run.

The Tree of Life at Collective Space

The exhibition takes over Collective Space at 21 Albert Street, an open community arts studio situated just off Leith Walk. Wasfy, whose clinical and creative practice centres on embodied memory and collective care, developed parts of the body of work through her research project Reclaiming Spaces: The Role of Art Therapy in Palestinian Collective Healing.

Inside the studio, the central Tree of Life stands as a collaborative scaffold. Visitors are encouraged to pick up pens, fabric remnants, and thread at dedicated workstations to attach their own reflections directly onto the branches. The resulting environment blends sound, raw textiles, and handwritten testimony, establishing an unhurried setting where neighbours can reflect together.

Things to do in Leith

Albert Street sits in central Leith, placing the exhibition within a short walk of neighbourhood cafes, indie shops, and public transport hubs.

• Transport: Edinburgh Trams stop at Balfour Street, two minutes on foot from Collective Space. Cyclists can lock up along Albert Street or on Leith Walk, while visitors arriving from across the UK can check cross-country coach routes via National Express or book trains into Edinburgh Waverley.
• Food & Drink: Head to Leith Walk for Palestinian falafel and flatbreads at nearby local delis, or grab filter coffee and fresh pastries at prep table cafes along Duke Street, or Cafe Tepuy on the very same street as Collective Space. Those remaining at home across the weekend can order local food deliveries directly to their door through Deliveroo UK.
• Independent Shopping: Browse secondhand titles and independent fiction along the foot of the Walk, or pick up recycled craft materials and stationery from neighbourhood community resource shops.
• Accommodation: Anyone travelling into the capital for the weekend exhibition can compare Leith boutique guesthouses and Shore apartments on Trip.com.
• Yoga: If you like the space then you can return to Collective Space for yoga with Sarah.

For your Radar

Building Branches: Collective Witness runs from 09:00 to 17:00 on Saturday 10 October and Sunday 11 October at Collective Space, 21 Albert Street, Edinburgh, EH7 5LH. Admission is free, drop-in, and open to all ages.