Edinburgh architect part of new portrait series from The National Lottery: ‘Ticket To Your Happy Place’

An Edinburgh resident is part of a new portrait series called ‘Ticket To Your Happy Place’ shot by photographer Tom Oldham and commissioned by The National Lottery.

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Akiko Kobayashi, took part in the portrait series which celebrates all the places that make us happy, that we love to visit, and have missed over the past year.

Akiko’s happy place is contemporary art centre, Collective, on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill.

The site has a fascinating history of astronomy, time-keeping and, more recently, art. The guided tours offer insight into some of the remarkable stories, discoveries, and personalities which have shaped Calton Hill and made their influence felt across the globe over the past 200 years.

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The portraits have been commissioned to celebrate The National Lottery Open Week, which offers discounts and free entry at participating venues from 5 -13 June, and The National Lottery Cinema Weekend, which offers free cinema tickets at more than 500 cinema sites across the UK on 19 and 20 June.

This is to act as a thank you for the £30million raised for good causes every week by National Lottery players.

Akiko Kobayashi is captured in her happy place by iconic photographer Tom Oldham, Collective in Edinburgh is one of hundreds of venues taking part in The National Lottery Open Week & Cinema Weekend.

The collective will offer free guided tours of its historic home on Edinburgh’s City Observatory site throughout The National Lottery Open Week.

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When asked why Collective is her happy place, the 43 year-old architect said: “The place is awe-inspiring and makes me feel rooted both in the city and in the wider landscape at the same time. You can see the weather coming across from surrounding areas, and the saturated colours on Arthur's Seat are quite surreal when the sun shines.”

Kate Gray, director at Collective said: “We’re thrilled that Akiko picked Collective as her ‘happy place’. Akiko contributes her time voluntarily as a trustee for our charity, so we think it’s wonderful that her connection with our extraordinary home is so strong”.

Akiko Kobayashi is captured in her happy place by iconic photographer Tom Oldham.

“We’re excited to be taking part in The National Lottery Open Week this June. Over the last five years, we’ve been fortunate to receive National Lottery funding, which helped us to re-purpose our historic home as a centre for contemporary art. So, this is our way of saying thank you to everyone who has bought a National Lottery ticket, helped us on our journey and made a vital contribution to supporting good causes.”

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