THURSDAY 14TH MAY 2015
THE BUSINESS: all writers, at any stage, are invited to this free event – talks, Q & A sessions and the chance to meet publishers, editors and agents. 1-6pm, Cabaret Bar, The Pleasance. Free: no booking required – just come along. Organised by the University of Edinburgh and Writer-in-Residence Jenni Fagan.
Voluntary Arts Week: Craft Bombing!Ā Voluntary Arts Week starts tomorrow – and tonight the Scottish Waterways Trust and Re-Union Canal Boats will be craft bombing Leamington Lift Bridge (near the canal basin at Fountainbridge). Last year’s display was fantastic – so if you’d like to contribute your work and/or be involved in the ‘bombing’ tonight, contact Alan on 07768 951 740 or alan@scottishwaterwaystrust.org.uk.
Cameo Big Scream: for parents and carers with a baby up to one year old. Membership of the Big Scream Club costs Ā£5 and lasts until your baby’s first birthday: it enables you to buy tickets for these special screenings at Picturehouse members’ rates. Only customers with babies will be admitted. Today’s film is Cinderella (U). 10.30am,Ā Cameo, Home Street.Ā Tickets may be purchased online hereĀ orĀ by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723.
Kirsty Logan: The Gracekeepers. The celebrated author of The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales launches her hotly-anticipated new book, ‘by turns Margaret Attwood, by others Angela Carter’. 6.30pm, Waterstones, 83 George Street. Ā Free, no booking required. For further information please call 0131 225 3436.
Spotlight On: Waterloo. 200 years on from Waterloo, Principal Curator Dr Stuart Allan discusses the impact in Scotland of this famous battle;Ā a new exhibition about its aftermath opens at the National Museum tomorrow. For ages 14+. 2-3pm (doors open 1.45pm), Auditorium, Level One, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free but booking is required, in person at the Museum’s reception desk or online here.
IberoDocs: the second Scottish Ibero-American Documentary Film FestivalĀ opens today with double the number of films shown in 2014, plus a programme of events, discussions and parties! Today’s film is Mercedes Sosa: The Voice of Latin America/La voz de Latinoamerica (12A) (in Spanish, French, English and Portugese with English subtitles). This documentary on the life, music and achievements of the great Argentinian folk singer is narrated by Mercedes herself and includes excerpts from her public and private life. 8.20pm,Ā Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office on 0131 228 2688 or online here. The screening will be followed by a Skype Q & A session with director Rodrigo H Vila and then the festival’s opening party. The festival continues on Friday 15th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th May 2015.
Spark Greyfriars Lunchtime Concerts: 20th Century British Song. Reid School of Music students Timothy Matson and Amanda McLeod will perform music by Britten, Head and MacMillan. Accompanist: Gina Baker. 12 noon-12.45om, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Free: all welcome.
Sue Lawrence: Fields of Blue Flax. The journalist, broadcaster, food writer and champion of Scottish produce launches her first novel, set in Edinburgh and Angus. When cousins Chris and Mags find out something about their Victorian great-great grandmother, their own lives become troubled in a disturbing parallel with the past… ‘A compelling tale of an innocent interest in family history uncovering long-buried dark secrets’.Ā 7-8pm, Central Library, George IV Bridge. Free tickets may be obtained via eventbrite here.
Portrait Gallery Curator’s Talk: Heads Up – AĀ Tour of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery through Portrait Sculpture.Ā A chance to chat to the gallery curators about the current exhibitions – this month Imogen Gibbon, Chief Curator and Deputy Director, will lead a tour.Ā 5.30-6pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
HG Watt: The Importance of Manners. The editor of The Istanbul Review and author of nine books launches her new work, ‘a slapstick, satirical comic novel in the vein of Alexander McCall Smith, Evelyn Waugh and PG Wodehouse’ in which four characters on a cruise ship take an ill-judged excursion into modern-day Benin. 6.30pm, Looking Glass Books, 36 Simpson Loan, Quartermile. To reserve your free ticket please email info@frieghtbooks.co.uk.
The Drawing Room: informal. artist-led drawing sessions, each developed by a contemporary artist and reflecting concerns in that artist’s work. The Drawing Room explores the range of possibilities within contemporary drawing practice. All materials are supplied and no experience is necessary! 5.30-6.45pm, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Free but please book your place by calling the Education Department on 0131 624 6410 or emailing education@nationalgalleries.org.
UNESCO European Literature Night Edinburgh: The Enemies Project. A groundbreaking evening of live contemporary literature: ten pairs of poets present brand new Camarade collaborations, crossing the traditions of sound, performance, art and poetry, and written specially for this unique celebration. 8.30-10.30pm,Ā Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. This is a free event with limited capacity: seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, so please arrive early to avoid disappointment.
Live Music Now: Spencer-Strachan Duo. Two of the most sought-after young instrumentalists in the UK, Rachel Spencer and Duncan Strachan, draw on David Roberts’ love of painting great architecture, and perform music by Bach and Ravel, both masters of musical construction. 6-6.30pm,Ā Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
WATCHING: a special screening by Music in the Community of the documentary about its recent collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden and Leith Walk Primary School. 6pm, Atrium, Alison House, University of Edinburgh, 12 Nicolson Square. All welcome: free, no booking required.
Possibilities of Exchange: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art. A free international conference organised by Edinburgh College of Art and Fruitmarket Gallery. Coinciding with the Possibilities of the Object exhibition at Fruitmarket Gallery, the conference seeks to develop a broader understanding of the shifts that have occurred among Latin American artistic practices since the 1950s and into the present. Keynote Speaker: Professor Sergio Bruno Martins (PUC-Rio); Guest Speakers:Ā Dr Michael Asbury (University of the Arts, London),Ā Dr Isobel Whitelegg (LJMU/Tate Liverpool) andĀ Dr Catherine Spencer (University of St Andrews). 9.45am-5.30pm, Teviot Row House – Ā Dining Room, University of Edinburgh, 13 Bristo Square. Free tickets may be booked via eventbrite here.Ā Possibilities of the Object continues at Fruitmarket until 25th May 2015.
Concrete Antenna: Artist Talk. Tom Perman, Professor Simon Kirby and Rob St John discuss their site-specific sound work, commissioned by Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop for the opening of itsĀ Creative Laboratories. Concrete Antenna explores the past, the present and the (potential) future of the Workshop’s site, evoking its various histories as a blacksmith’s, a railway siding close to the Newhaven docks, and now a thriving creative workshop beside a wildlife-rich cycle route. 7pm, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, 21 Hawthornvale, Newhaven. Ā Please book by emailing office@edinburghsculpture.org. The Concrete Antenna exhibition continues in the Tower (part of the new Creative Laboratory development) at Hawthornvale until the end of August 2015 and is open 10am-5pm Monday to Saturday.
European Literature Night at The Forest Cafe: readings on the theme of activism from Ryan van Winkle (curator), Thomas MacColl, Ed Smith, Rachel McCrum (all Edinburgh), Katy Hastie and Calum Rodger (Glasgow) and Anne Cotten (Berlin). 6-7pm, Forest Cafe, Lauriston Place. Free; no booking required.
Electric Circus Showcase Open Mic: an open mic night to scout for new acts in Edinburgh. If you are a solo artist, or can play a stripped-down acoustic set with your band, and are interested in securing a support slot at an Electric Circus show, this is your chance to meet the team and show them what you can do. Slots will be allocated on a first come, first served basis (prepare roughly two songs), and all performers will get a free beer. If you have any questions email nicky@theelectric circus.biz. For over 18s only. 7pm, Electric Circus, 36-39 Market Street. Free admission.
Caesura: a special free event to celebrate European Literature Night. Sound poetry is an art form that explores the sonic and aesthetic possibilities of language; tonight’s event will feature a talk from renowned art historian and Bob Cobbing collaborator David Hopkins and work from three European poets at the forefront of this visceral, playful and innovative art form – Jorg Piringer (Austria), Eduardo Escoffet (Spain) and Martin Bakero (France). 6-7.30pm, The Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street. Free but booking is required and may be made via eventbrite here. For further information please contact jennifer.williams@spl.org.uk.
Christian Aid Week : Quiz Aid. Individuals and teams of up to five all welcome. 7pm for 7.30pm start, Cramond Kirk Hall, Cramond Glebe Road. Tickets cost Ā£4 in advance from the Kirk Office on 0131 336 2036 or Ā£5 on the door (sta).
Cafe Voices: The Princes of Destiny. the Storytelling Centre’s monthly storytelling session, with an open-floor section for storytellers to tell their own tales, all in the relaxed setting of the Storytelling Court. Tonight, inspired by the work of writer and sociologist Reginaldo Prandi, Brazilian storytellerĀ Ana Maria Lines presents tales about destiny, the myths of the Yoruba people and their influence in Brazil and Cuba. 7pm,Ā Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost Ā£5 and may be purchased online hereĀ or by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579.
