'Behind the Scenery: Folk of the Old Town' was commissioned by the Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust as book illustrations for volume 3 of The Evergreen: A New Season in the North. Part of a unique Edinburgh literary tradition, the latest journal takes Folk as its main theme, the street-life and stair-life of the Old Town past and present.

My contribution is a self-initiated project which saw me visiting 4 elderly residents of Edinburgh's Old Town, having a chat and a cup of tea, and asking questions about community, change and what it means to live in this part of town today - the project offers a glimpse behind the walls of the much admired historic buildings. In The Evergreen my 4 illustrated double spreads are complemented with extracts of the recorded interviews. Visit the project’s website to read more about the history of The Evergreen.










Copyright Astrid Jaekel 2023