“Southsiders: Portrait of a Community is an artistic project by Peter Dibdin using both photography and audio, in print and online to celebrate and explore perceptions around the identity of the Southside community of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Thirty-eight people who live, work or have a connection to the city’s Southside area have generously given their time to be photographed by Edinburgh based photographer Peter Dibdin in locations holding a special significance for them.  Each participant has also recorded the audio story behind their portrait to uncover the moving, inspirational and significant contribution the Southside makes to the history and heritage of Edinburgh.

In addition to the exhibition and website, a free publication accompanies the project. This thirty-six pages tabloid size “newspaper” contains the full collection of portraits and transcripts of the participants’ audio stories.

The publication’s newspaper-like format links to the aim of the project to be accessible, to make the community visible within the community itself. It will be distributed throughout the Southside. This aspiration of public accessibility combined with their location in public space will give a good insight into both the heart of the community and the artist’s reflection on it via his work.

The designer and artist Janine Sack has worked with us on this project to deliver an overall design, that is simple and clear, and helps to deliver the intent of the project as approachable and of high quality.  Her background as an Art Director for a German newspaper, as well as her involvement in the arts as artists and facilitator has been a perfect asset to help the publications (print and online) come to life.“

Download Pdf of the newspaper