Lumo, the all-electric train operator, has announced its renewed partnership with Edinburgh Science Festival for this year’s theme: ‘Shaping the Future’.
Taking place over two weeks, from Saturday 30 March to Sunday 14 April 2024, thousands are expected to attend the series of interactive events, talks and workshops showcasing how science can create a more sustainable, accessible, and equal future.
This partnership with the UK’s largest science festival will see Lumo proudly sponsor one of six trails at the City Art Centre, focusing on Innovative Engineers. The trail will feature three distinct workshops – Little Sparks, Energy Makers, and Chain Reactor – tailored to inspire children to engage in problem-solving and explore technology and energy.
Lumo will also take on the role of Climate and Sustainability partner, sponsoring the festival’s year-long series ‘Climate Co-Labs’. This programme consists of round table meetings that bring together senior leaders across sectors to accelerate Scotland’s response to the climate emergency.
Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of Lumo, said:“We’re proud of our reputation for innovation and sustainability as we strive to reduce emissions in the transport sector.
“It’s thanks to great engineers and scientists that we’re able to deliver our all-electric rail service and, in partnering with Edinburgh Science Festival, we hope to inspire the next generation of innovative engineers – and, of course, transport them into Edinburgh for the science festival in the most sustainable way possible!”
Hannah Schlesinger Brodie, Director of Development and Marketing at Edinburgh Science, said:“We’re thrilled to have Lumo support the Edinburgh Science Festival once again.
“The chemistry between Lumo and Edinburgh Science Festival is a perfect match and will help many people to experience the excitement of the festival in a sustainable way.”
This latest partnership by Lumo adds to the already strong local commitment made by the company. Lumo trains are maintained at Craigentinny on the outskirts of Edinburgh and offer a range of locally sourced products onboard including Edinburgh Gin and Walkers Shortbread as well as the iconic Irn Bru.
Lumo customers can travel comfortably between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh knowing they’ll save 96 per cent CO2 emissions compared to taking a domestic flight between the two cities. The average fare for a single journey from London to Edinburgh also proves a huge saving at just £46.70.
The Edinburgh Science Festival takes place over numerous venues and locations around Edinburgh, attracting thousands of visitors to the city.
Thanks to Lumo’s fast services connecting Edinburgh with Newcastle and London, it’s the ideal choice for those planning a fun-packed trip to the Scottish capital.
Five floors of hands-on science fun
City Art Centre tickets go on sale on Monday
Tickets for the Edinburgh Science Festival’s City Art Centre – the flagship family venue – are released on Monday
Edinburgh Science Festival celebrates 35th anniversary this year. City Art Centre is sponsored by Cirrus Logic.
City Art Centre (30 March – 14 April) – five floors of hands-on science extravaganza for children between 3 and 12 years old. From making your own scab or slime to becoming an animal conservationist, investigating a crime scene or programming your own robot, City Art Centre is the most fun a family can have this Easter break! Allow 4-5 hours for the visit. On sale from Monday 26 February.
Edinburgh Science Festival 2024 has everyone covered this year with a Shaping the Future programme, showcasing the cutting-edge technology and science to help us create a more sustainable future.
The Festival celebrates 35th anniversary this year.
Family favourite City Art Centre returns with five floors of hands-on science for children: the perfect family day out this Easter break. On sale from Monday 26 February.
Big Ideas, a series of talks aimed at adults, brings some of the world’s most renowned scientists and thinkers to the Scottish capital, including Prof Chris Lintott, presenter of the Sky at Night, Prof Richard Wiseman, psychologist, magician, entertainer, Dr Erica McAlister – fly expert from the Natural History Museum, Rachel Miller, a National Geographic explorer, Laura Foster – BBC Health and Science presenter, Prof Sarah Sharples, Chief Scientific Advisor for the Dept of Transport
Guaranteed sell-out every year, Science Nights Out are back with more creative ways to get everyone hands-on with science in a relaxed environment.
The Festival, renowned for its unique presentations of arts colliding with STEM, creating STEAM, delves deep into the alternative future with Future Proof, a visual arts exhibition.
The Festival takes over Edinburgh with events, talk, workshops and exhibitions taking place at the National Museum of Scotland, Dynamic Earth, The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh Zoo, Summerhall, Bayes Centre and many others, with new additions of Panmure House, Mary’s King Close and The Biscuit Factory.
This year’s Festival shows for children 5+ include Bakineering, exploring the science of baking by Andrew Smyth – of The Great British Bake Off fame!
Edinburgh Science Festival is the first and still one of Europe’s biggest science festivals, taking place over the Easter holidays, between 30 March and 14 April.
With the 2024 theme of Shaping the Future, the Festival continues its years-long commitment to Programming for the Planet. It urges everyone to build a more sustainable future as it showcases the cutting-edge technology, including Artificial Intelligence, and science research to help make that ambition a reality.
Edinburgh Science Director and CEO, Dr Simon Gage said: “We have an amazing festival lined up for our 35th anniversary.The programme touches the cutting edge of invention from the worlds of AI, robotics, space exploration to the unusual such as giant rooms made of mushrooms!
“And in amongst it, we look at some more familiar things in an unusual way such as disposing of the dead, poisons, the psychology of magic and virus bingo. Whether you want to blast it, build it, bury it or bake it, we have something for you and for little ones too if you have some!”
Edinburgh Science is the world’s expert in producing live science events and the 2024 Festival is the prime example of the power of bringing people together to explore the fascinating world of science, technology, engineering and maths – and arts! – this year celebrating 35 years.
The Festival is pleased to continue the fantastic collaboration with the venue partners around the city, including City Art Centre, sponsored by Cirrus Logic, which every year becomes the Festival’s premier family destination as well as National Museum of Scotland and Dynamic Earth, each presenting a number of science events for children and adults. This year’s programme is spread across 30 venues and 40% of the offer is free to access.
As in previous years, the Festival presents a series of BSL-interpreted, audio described and relaxed sessions. At the City Art Centre, it also offers sensory backpacks available free of charge from the ticketing desk on the ground floor, and, for the first time, a Quiet Space on the fourth floor where visitors can take a break from the excitement.
Although particularly designed for those with sensory needs, these resources are available to everyone.
Visit the Festival website for more information on accessibility.
2024 HIGHLIGHTS
City Art Centre (30 March – 14 April) – five floors of hands-on science extravaganza for children between 3 and 12 years old. From making your own scab or slime to becoming an animal conservationist, investigating a crime scene or programming your own robot, City Art Centre is the most fun a family can have this Easter break! Allow 4-5 hours for the visit. On sale from Monday 26 February.
Growing Home: A New World of Materials (30 March – 14 April) – highlighting the consequences of overconsumption, this interactive exhibition shines a light on biomaterials and how they can be used in future building, packaging, fashion and more.
Standing three meters high, Growing Room is an impressive architectural structure, devised and created by the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment at Newcastle University, made from biomaterials.
Grown from wool and mycelium (the root network of fungus) to give it strength and stability, the piece shows how research into the future of biomaterials could transform the built environment. It is accompanied by Symbio, a display of biomaterial themed garments by inspiring Edinburgh-based artist Emily Raemaekers.
Developed with support from Creative Scotland through the Scottish Government’s Festivals Expo Fund. Supported by the Edinburgh Napier University, School of Computing, Engineering & The Built Environment.
Edinburgh Medal (2 April) – a prestigious award founded by the City of Edinburgh Council in 1989, this year’s Medal’s recipient is Italy’s Mario Negri Institute, a pioneer non-profit research institute dedicated to open clinical and biomedical research and renowned for its ‘patient-first’ rather than ‘patent-first’ approach.
Director Giuseppe Remuzzi accepts the Medal on behalf of the Institute and is set to share his insights into the benefits of the approach of this exceptional research team that does science for social good during the Medal Address on 2 April.
Creative Informatics, an ambitious research and development programme based in Edinburgh which aims to bring the city’s world-class creative industries and tech sector together, presents a fantastic series of events at this year’s Festival.
It includes Unleashing the Power of Data (30 March – 7 April) exhibition highlighting the latest achievements of the creative industries using data and digital technologies; Creative AI for Creative Work (10 April) featuring creatives talking about the use of AI to enhance their creative projects; and Let’s Play (12 April), an evening to explore how creative technologies and on-screen innovation are changing how we play and experience the world around us.
Our Fragile Space: Protecting the Near-Space Environment (8 March – 18 April) – opening a few weeks before the Festival, the free to access photography exhibition on Mound Precint in the city centre of Edinburgh presents the stunning photographs of Max Alexander’s, transporting its audiences to orbital space to explore the increasing issue of space debris and satellite crowding.
FAMILY PROGRAMME
For those who performed a surgery, dug up a dinosaur or built their own wind turbine at the City Art Centre and got hands-on with mycelium in Growing Home at the National Museum of Scotland, the Festival has plenty more in store.
Also at the Museum, The Rocket Show (7 April) is an explosive family-friendly adventure, delving into rocket science as we explore forces, test materials, and prepare for launch – so strap-in, countdown, and blast-off for a show that’s out of this world!
Join former Great British Bake Off finalist and creator and judge of Netflix’s Baking Impossible, Andrew Smyth for Bakineering (31 March), an edible exploration of the engineering involved in baking.
In Minecraft Disease Detectives (9 April) enter the Minecraft world to become a field scientist and visit different places to collect data on how a virus is spreading. Supported by LEGO® Build the Change, the activity under the same name (8 – 14 April) is all about learning about biodiversity and how to protect it – using LEGO!
Is the blue whale really the biggest animal ever to have existed? What killed the Megalodon shark? In Mysteries of Animals 3D (5 April), presenter and author Jules Howard outlines the weirdest and most elusive animal questions out there for future generations to discover.
Sci-curious aged between 12 and 18 can access £5 tickets for all talks at the Museum and The Bayes Centre using code TEENTALK.
Over at the world-famous Edinburgh Zoo, Career Fayre (3-4 April) puts staff centre-stage – keepers, vets, researchers and many more – to share fascinating insights into their everyday work while at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh the family-favourite Easter Trail (30 March – 14 April) returns, and Build a Better City (11 April) imagines a city that is good for us as well as for the planet by bringing nature into it, consequently reducing pollution, flooding, regulating heat waves and helping keep our minds and bodies healthy.
A science centre and a planetarium, Dynamic Earth invites everyone to Icy Investigations (5 April), a digital workshop looking at our melting ice caps and to become Planet Protectors (4-8 April), learning about ways to protect Earth, including building a mini bug hotel.
Ever wondered what lies beneath North Sea wind farm? Thanks to North Sea 3D (12 April) and Scottish Association for Marine Science, you can now see it in virtual reality!
The University of Edinburgh presents the ground-breaking robotic technologies such as Exoskeletons for enhanced mobility, the humanoids Talos and EVA, and robotic arms for handling objects in Bayes Centre Tour: Meet the Robots (12 April). Explore the Science in Your Pocket: Coins (2-6 and 9-13 April) with Museum of the Mound and step back in time to learn about Edinburgh’s rich medical history at Mary King’s Close’s Medical History Tours (30 March, 6 & 14 April).
Supported and presented by the Heriot Watt University and the National Robotarium, Robotics Unveiled at the National Robotarium (12 April) is a fascinating tour of the UK’s newest and fanciest cutting-edge centre for all things robotics – including a robot petting zoo!
Out and about, Explore Beach Pebbles (11-14 April) of Edinburgh beaches or go down the Royal Mile on a walk to Discover Edinburgh’s Mathematical History. Further out, the Scottish Seabird Centre encourages everyone to become a budding marine scientist and work on their Seaside Science Skills (10-13 April), including identifying rockpool creatures.
For more family events at the Festival, click here.
**Pics free to use**
Edinburgh Science Festival has everyone covered!
Maria Tolzmann and Andrew Jenkins of Edinburgh Science Festival getting ready for the Festival to take over the Scottish capital this Easter break!
Edinburgh Science Festival, the first and still one of Europe’s biggest science festivals, takes place over the Easter holidays (30 March – 14 April) and today announces its 35th anniversary programme.
With the 2024 theme of Shaping the Future, the Festival continues its years-long commitment to Programming for the Planet. It urges everyone to build a more sustainable future as it showcases the cutting-edge technology, including Artificial Intelligence, and science research to help make that ambition a reality.
ADULT PROGRAMME
Technology
Can you trust a robot? Coming face-to-face with cutting-edge technology, Two Truths and a Lie (8 April) is an interactive, Traitors-style experience exploring deception, truth and robotics at the Panmure House, home of Scottish philosopher, Adam Smith, presented and supported by the Heriot Watt University and the National Robotarium.
Carefully balancing conservation and creation, Constructing Tomorrow (10 April) uses Edinburgh and its UNESCO World Heritage sites to explore the work of the innovators at the forefront of future, sustainable construction.
Supported by Edinburgh Construction. In the Future of Transport (11 April), Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Transport Prof Sarah Sharples looks at the challenges and opportunities of transport decarbonisation.
One of the Festival’s Science Nights Out events, Innovation Late with Lady MacRobert (8 April) highlights the work of the potential winners of the prestigious MacRobert Award celebrating the UK’s most exciting engineering innovators – and includes demonstrations! Supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
From advances in disease diagnosis and treatment to the hidden carbon cost of AI, discover how this revolutionary technology affects global politics and society in TheFuture of AI (3 April) with Director of the AI & Geopolitics Project at the University of Cambridge and former Global Head of Policy for Google DeepMind Verity Harding and AI Editor at the Financial Times Madhumita Murgia.
The Promises and Pitfalls of AI (8 April) with Chemical Engineer Prof. Raffaella Ocone, Quantum Scientist Prof. Daniele Faccio, and Medicinal Chemist Prof. Stefano Moro explores how AI is shaping their scientific fields and why it is so much more than just ChatGPT.
Supported by Consulate General of Italy Edinburgh and Istituto Italiano di Cultura. AI for Earth (11 April) with Dr Will Cavendish, Global Digital Leader at ARUP and ex-Strategy Lead at Deep Mind, explores what role AI might play in helping us respond to the climate and nature crises. Supported by ARUP.
Join National Geographic Explorer and Founder of Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean Rachael Miller for a discussion around the Science and Solution for a Clean Ocean (1 April) as she guides as through the problem with plastic and the latest solutions to fight it. Supported by the U.S. Embassy.
Also looking at the new technology helping us tackle the climate crisis is Carbon Capture and Storage for a Net-Zero Future (8 April) – how much carbon dioxide can be captured and stored? What are the risks of storing carbon dioxide underground? As carbon emissions continue to rise, what are the risks of not doing so?
Audience’s favourite naturalist and author Jules Howard teams up with fly expert Dr Erica McAlister to fill us in on the latest discovering in insect sex life science in their trademark light-hearted style in Indecent Insects (5 April).
What happens to our bodies after we die? From the rising demand for greener funerals, to water cremation, human composting and “body farms”, choices are no longer limited to burial or cremation.
Join our panel of experts for Disposing of the Body (2 April) which lifts the shroud on the fascinating and taboo topic of alternative post-mortem care. In Free Agents (9 April), leading neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell makes the evolutionary case for free will.
Our Lives with IBD (10 April) presents a short film about inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), the people affected by them, and the new research that aims to improve these conditions.
Following the film, comedian Susan Morrison guides an entertaining discussion about IBD with the filmmaker Hugo Hemmati and the film’s stars, including gastroenterologist Dr Gwo-tzer Ho and IBD patient Molly Halligan.
Virus Bingo (11 April) is an interactive activity looking at what it takes for a virus to cross the divide between animals and humans.
Custodians of the Cosmos (3 April)features Prof Andy Lawrence from The Royal Observatory Edinburgh and eminent photographer Max Alexander exploring why studying the skies is of vital cultural and economic importance.
In Our Accidental Universe (12 April) BBC presenter of Sky at Night and Gresham Professor of Astronomy Chris Lintott takes us on an astonishing tour of bizarre accidents, big characters, and human error to tell the story of some of the most important astronomical events of the past hundred years.
Award-winning broadcaster and author Marcus Chown breaks down the big physics questions that explain the universe in The One Thing You Need to Know (12 April).
FOr Pink Floyd’s fans out there, Planetarium Late: Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (4-6 April & 11-13 April) is a mesmeric and immersive 360° show with breath-taking views of the Solar System, set to the official 1973 album in spectacular surround sound.
When STEM meets arts, amazing things happen – such as Future Proof (30 March – 26 May) at Summerhall, a series of exhibitions and events from visual artists that explore alternative futures through examination of the past and present and pose existential questions from the blurred boundary of art and science. It includes Morality Calcusus, a bio-art installation by artist Yuning Chen that recounts the endeavour of creating bread fermented with yeast-human cell hybrids in a synthetic biology lab in collaboration with biologist Dr. Elise Cachat.
There is also a theatrical tasting experience (13-14 April) accompanying the installation during which audience sample fictional hybrid organisms analogous to the ones involved in the bread making experiments.
In Post-Industrial Ecologies, Dawn Felicia Knox explores the way plants and fungi work together to undo the toxic residue of industrialisation on an example of one plot of land over 320 million years. The site, a coalmine during the industrial revolution, is a contaminated brownfield yet through the entanglement of plants and fungi it has become a vibrant ecosystem.
The University of Edinburgh’s annual Tam Dalyell Prize for Excellence in Engaging the Public with Science is awarded to Dr James Cook in recognition of his work increasing the public understanding of music in pre-Reformation Scotland.
Dr Cook gives his winning Lecture (14 April) on Linlithgow Palace, once the great pleasure palace of the kings and queens of Scotland. Aiming to recapture its lost glory, Dr Cook present an event bringing together scientific acoustic research, historical archival work, archaeology, and performance to reconstruct the music within Virtual Reality.
The annual Festival Opening Party remains the capital’s hot ticket – adult-only take-over of the flagship family venue, City Art Centre! Join us for a fantastic hands-on science experience on 28 March, getting down digging up a dinosaur or dancing with a robot.
The Festival’s main interactive exhibition, Growing Home, has its own late night event, Growing Home After Hours (4 April) which throws open the doors to the iconic National Museum of Scotland after hours; supported by the Festivals Expo Fund. A Night in the Undergrowth (10 April) cap-tivates everyone’s curiosity in a fun-gi evening event at the Biscuit Factory; supported by the Festivals Expo Fund.
Is Back to the Future better than Tenet? Is ET more accurate than Alien? Is The Matrix good enough to let us forgive its sequels? In Sci-Fi Snobbery (3 April) Simon Watt and Jamie Gallagher debate the merits of their favourites to work out which sci-fi movie has the most merit on both a scientific and cinematic basis.
Join mathematicians Katie Steckles and Ben Sparks for Pints and Puzzles (8 April), a mind-boggling evening of puzzles and mathematical thinking. Pit your wits against a series of beautiful, bamboozling maths brain teasers in this sociable night of fun!
And don’t forget to join Creative Informatics for a night of gaming in Let’s Play (12 April) and celebrate the latest in cutting-edge engineering (with demonstrations!) at Innovation Late with Lady MacRobert (8 April); supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
For more Science Nights Out highlights click here.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “We’re proud to support the 2024 Edinburgh Science Festival – another shining example of Scotland’s place as the perfect stage to host major events and the home of world leading festivals.
“The Scottish Government is supporting the Festival with funding of £120,000 from our Expo Fund, as well as £60,000 for the PLaCE programme to support the ongoing engagement programme with schools and community groups.
“This year’s theme, Shaping the Future is relevant and interesting; using technology and AI to help build sustainable solutions for Scotland. We’re certain all the Festival’s attendees will learn and have fun in the process.”
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said: “It’s fantastic to see the city gearing up for the 35th anniversary edition of the Edinburgh Science Festival. The world we live in has arguably never been more innovative or advanced, this year’s theme of ‘Shaping the Future’ pays tribute to this and questions where we go from here.
“With events across the Capital exploring themes such as space, health and medicine, and artificial intelligence to name but a few, there is truly something for everyone.
“The Science Festival is one that’s particularly close to my heart, with many fond memories of taking my son and grandchildren along over the years. I’m really looking forward to the 2024 edition and I’d encourage all our residents and visitors to get involved.”
An exclusive documentary screening alongside a Q&A session with artist Peter Howson will take place this Friday (September 29) to mark the closing of the exhibition ‘When the Apple Ripens‘.
Hosted at the City Art Centre, ‘When the Apple Ripens: Peter Howson at 65: A Retrospective’, traces the illustrious career of Peter Howson, from his early days to the present, featuring over 100 works over three galleries, painstakingly assembled from both public and private collections across the UK and Europe.
Directed by Charlie Paul, and produced by Lucy Paul, Prophecy is an evocative exploration of a single oil painting and the first major film to reveal the motive and techniques behind each stroke of paint as the artist creates.
Released in 2019, the 90-minute feature documentary transports the audience into the darkly comic, obsessive mind of Peter Howson, seeing directly through the artist’s eye. What begins as a blank canvas, emerges as Howson’s monumental oil painting, ‘Prophecy’.
Prophecy reveals what it takes to create a large oil painting, the techniques, the materials, the skills, the thinking behind creation, and the intentions and difficulties that push Howson to achieve this ambitious, masterful, and detailed 6ft x 8ft canvas.
The painting is currently on display at When the Apple Ripens.
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said:“This Friday’s screening and Q&A session represents the culmination of one of the most unique, harrowing, and powerful exhibitions we have ever hosted at the City Art Centre.
“Peter Howson has made an indelible impact on British and Scottish art, and we have been truly fortunate to be able to display his life’s work in the heart of Edinburgh.
“Prophecy provides a rich and unique perspective on the arduous and painstaking process of creating work of this calibre. I would encourage residents and visitors to book their tickets now to bot the documentary screening and wider exhibition and experience the full power and fury of Howson’s work”.
Edinburgh Science Festival’s staple and the go-to family experience every Easter holiday, City Art Centre gare now on sale. Featuring five floors of hands-on science workshops and activities, CAC is the Festival’s premier family extravaganza, offering all-day educational funfor children between 3 and 12.
City Art Centre presents a mixture of bookable and drop-in activities, including the family-favourites such as E.R. Surgery where children perform a surgery of an abdomen, knee or brain, Splat-tastic – exploring the chemistry behind producing your own slime or Dig Up a Dinosaur, uncovering the mysteries of dinosaurs which roamed Earth millions of years ago.
This year’s offer includes 6 new fantastic workshops: engineering-focused Construction Challenges, all about the sound – Ella’s Wobble, problem-solving orientated Speedy Sails delving deep into the world of motion, Creative Coding, introducing the young sci-curious minds to Marty and robot coding, Tech Corner looking at how technology transforms our lives, from smartphones to home security, andLEGO® Build The Change, imagining the world without waste and fully embracing circular economy.
But don’t let the kids hog all the fun! For one night only, Edinburgh Science Festival transforms the family venue into a LateLab on 30 March, an adult-only science party.
Similar to previous years, City Art Centre becomes a home to several fantastic artworks. These include artist Robert Powell and philosopher Alasdair Richmond presenting Conference for Chrononauts, an installation exploring the philosophical questions behind time travel, Alan Brown’s Biological Clock looking at ideas around genetics and time by displaying twenty-four electric alarm clocks showing the genome sequence of human individuals, and Signal: Noise, a visual exhibit by radiologist Dr Michael Jackson showcasing the role computers have in generating and analysing medical images, and the human dimension of making sense of these pictures – occasionally resembling abstract art more than anatomical reality.
For the last five Friday afternoons, the Craigroyston Community High School pupils below have been working with the Granton Youth Project and the City Art Centre to create artwork for an exhibition at the City Art Centre (Market Street) on Friday 17th February:
Lamiya Hossain
Faiza Manha
Leona May
Laura Mendoza
Biva Rahman
Yasmin Theisen De Figueiredo
Firdaws Yaich El Yahyaoui
If you are up town and able to, then please pop into the gallery between 2 – 4pm to meet the artists and see their fantastic artwork on display!
Free event at City Art Centre, Saturday 11 February 2pm
Are you a tech geek and love seeing Edinburgh represented digitally? Well this free event is just for you!
Join us for an event hosted by the Data Civics team at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. Liz McFall, Darren Umney and Vassilis Galanos will talk about their recent work exploring North Edinburgh through the ‘eyes’ of internet platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Google Earth, street photography and community archive.
The work was conducted with help from local organisations including Screen Edinburgh, North Edinburgh Arts, Granton Hub and Edinburgh Palette among others.
The aim is to use digital methods to show the vibrancy of the area from the perspectives of people who live, work and play there.
The event will showcase the Granton CivicScope website and its collection of photographs, films and maps of the past, present and future of the area, and give the audience a chance to add their own images to the collection.
Brutalist photographer Simon Phipps and Darren Umney will talk with Liz McFall, Kath Bassett and Vassilis Galanos about their recent work exploring North Edinburgh through the ‘eyes’ of internet platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Google Earth, street photography and community archive.
Complimentary refreshments will be served.
For more information and booking, follow this link:
The City Art Centre, Edinburgh, dedicated to championing historic and contemporary Scottish visual arts and crafts, announces an exciting range of exhibitions for 2023.
All shows, except the Peter Howson retrospective in the summer, will be free to attend. Further information on the individual exhibitions, including a varied public events programme, will be announced later in the year.
When the Apple Ripens: Peter Howson at 65 A Retrospective 27 May – 1 October 2023, £8.50/ £6.50
A major retrospective of works by Peter Howson, one of the UK’s leading figurative painters. The exhibition will bring together around 100 works spanning the artist’s career, many never seen before in Scotland.
Howson has established a formidable reputation in the art world. His heroic portrayals of the mighty and the lowly confront subjects of human conflict and destruction that offer a penetrating insight into the human condition.
His experiences of abuse – whether self-inflicted and substance-related, or the traumatic events of his childhood – have moulded his world view and afforded him an affinity with individuals on the margins of society.
The City Art Centre has been planning the exhibition since 2019, working closely with Howson and his London representatives Flowers Gallery. Howson has previously shown at the City Art Centre, when his critically acclaimed solo exhibition devoted to Scotland’s patron saint Andrew was displayed in 2007.
Emerging from Glasgow School of Art in the 1980s, Howson quickly proved his skill of capturing the maverick, the excessive, the non-conformist and his own personal understanding of the struggles of everyday life.
In 1992 he was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to record the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. He was appointed official British war artist for Bosnia in 1993 and in 1996 was awarded Doctor of Letters at The University of Strathclyde. His work is included in numerous national and international museum collections.
Shifting Vistas: 250 Years of Scottish Landscape 24 June 2023 – 2 June 2024, Free Entry
For centuries, the Scottish landscape has provided artists with a potent source of inspiration. From scenes of mountains and forests to images of lochs and coastlines, the natural world attracts a range of creative responses.
Urban views of towns and cities prompt equally varied interpretations, as artists explore how people have shaped their surroundings. Today our relationship with the landscape has taken on further significance, with environmental concerns over climate change and loss of biodiversity.
Shifting Vistas: 250 Years of Scottish Landscape addresses this ever-evolving subject, with a selection of historic and contemporary artworks drawn from the City Art Centre’s permanent collection of fine art.
Spanning artistic production from the 18th century to present day, it includes paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures by artists such as Alexander Nasmyth, John Lavery, SJ Peploe, William Gillies, Joan Eardley and Victoria Crowe.
The exhibition also features several recent additions to the collection, on display for the first time.
The Scottish Landscape Awards 4 November 2023 – 3 March 2024, Free Entry
The City Art Centre is thrilled to host the inaugural exhibition of Scotland’s newest open call in contemporary art – The Scottish Landscape Awards.
Presented by the Scottish Arts Trust, the awards are open to artists born, living or studying in Scotland, and for works in any media including but not limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, animation, photography, installation, film and video, multi-media, and virtual reality landscapes.
With a first prize of £10,000, the exhibition will be curated by and the prize-winners chosen by a distinguished panel of judges including Barbara Rae (chair), David Mach, Jane and Louise Wilson, Ade Adesina and Marian Leven.
Reflecting all dimensions of natural and/or man-made environments whether imaginary, surreal, abstract, documentary, ecological or realistic, selected works will push the boundaries of what contemporary landscape art is. The resulting exhibition will showcase the breadth and diversity of innovative contemporary creativity in Scotland today.
Deep Rooted 18 November 2023 – 25 February 2024, Free Entry
Our relationship with the natural world hangs in a balance, with climate change and large-scale deforestation threatening the existence of our biodiversity. For many of us, the pandemic changed our relationship with nature.
It led to a growing appreciation of our gardens, allotments, woods, and public parks and the temporary reduction of traffic brought about the fleeting return of audible birdsong. Lockdowns particularly, reminded us just how important access to nature is for our physical and mental wellbeing and therefore something worth protecting.
Deep Rooted features work by six leading contemporary artists. Together, they explore the relationship between people and the natural environment using a variety of media and approaches.
Some of the works reflect on current ecological issues and urge for action, others explore our fragile relationship with the natural world or simply capture its beauty. All the works on display act as a reminder of the importance of valuing nature and in particular trees, which sustain our and other species’ existence.
In order to help fight this urgent climate crisis, we need to change some of our deep-rooted behaviours.
Councillor Val Walker, Edinburgh’s Convener of Culture and Communities said: “2023 looks set to be another fantastic year at the City Art Centre. There are many highlights throughout the year beginning in Spring with Peter Howson at 65. One of the most respected artists of his generation, we are very proud and excited that the City Art Centre will host this major study of his work.
“Later in the year we’ll explore the wonderful landscapes of Scotland through two unique exhibitions. The first of which will showcase how they have evolved over the last 250 years. We’re also delighted to host the inaugural exhibition of Scotland’s newest open call in contemporary art – The Scottish Landscape Awards.
“I’m very much looking forward to Deep Rooted in the winter, where the works of six contemporary artists will be brought together to explore our relationship as humans with the natural world. With climate change the most pressing cause of our time, this display is sure to question how we can change our deep-rooted behaviours for the good of the future.”
“The City Art Centre is one of the most accessible places in Edinburgh for art lovers, with five packed floors of exhibitions and a popular events programme and I would encourage everyone to pay us a visit.”
PAUL DUKE’s ‘No Ruined Stone’ Muirhouse photography exhibition runs until 19 Feb.
New major exhibition coming this Spring to City Art Centre.
Saturday 27 May to Sunday 1 October 2023
A major retrospective of one of the UK’s leading figurative painters, Peter Howson, opens at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre in May 2023.
The exhibition will bring together around 100 works spanning the artist’s career, many never seen before in Scotland.
Howson has established a formidable reputation in the art world. His heroic portrayals of the mighty and the lowly confront subjects of human conflict and destruction that offer a penetrating insight into the human condition.
His experiences of abuse—whether self-inflicted and substance-related, or the traumatic events of his childhood—have moulded his world view, and afforded him an affinity with individuals on the margins of society.
The City Art Centre’s Curatorial and Conservation Manager, David Patterson has been planning the exhibition since 2019, working closely with Howson and his London gallery.
Howson has previously shown at the City Art Centre, when his critically acclaimed solo exhibition devoted to Scotland’s patron saint Andrew was displayed in 2007.
David Patterson commented: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see works assembled from public and private collections.
“This retrospective will illustrate Peter’s consummate skill in a range of media and explore his religious work as well as his graphic responses to recent global events including the covid pandemic and war in Ukraine.
Councillor Val Walker, Convener of Culture and Communities said: “Peter Howson is one of the most respected artists of his generation and we are very proud that the City Art Centre will host this major study of his work.
“Visitors will be able to discover Howson’s instantly recognisable works with many on display in Scotland for the first time. Celebrating Howson’s 50-year career, we will showcase over 100 pieces across four floors.
“It will be the highlight exhibition of 2023.”
Emerging from Glasgow School of Art in the 1980s, Howson quickly proved his skill of capturing the maverick, the excessive, the non-conformist and his own personal understanding of the struggles of everyday life.
In 1992 he was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to record the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. He was appointed official British war artist for Bosnia in 1993 and in 1996 was awarded Doctor of Letters at The University of Strathclyde. His work is included in numerous national and international museum collections.
When the Apple Ripens: Peter Howson at 65: A Retrospective opens at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh on 27th May 2023 and runs until 1st October 2023.
A new book will accompany the exhibition, published by Sansom and Co.
Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone 26 November 2022 – 19 February 2023 City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, Edinburgh EH1 1DE Free Admission
This November, the City Art Centre opens a new exhibition of street photography by the artist Paul Duke depicting contemporary life in the Muirhouse area of Edinburgh.
Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone features 38 large-scale black and white photographs documenting the built environment and residents of Muirhouse. It is accompanied by a short film by Julian Ward, in which Paul Duke talks about his work and the experience of creating the series.
This is the first time No Ruined Stone has been displayed as a full-scale exhibition, bringing the photographs back to the artist’s home city.
Paul Duke grew up in Muirhouse, in the north of Edinburgh, between the mid-1960s and early 1980s. He attended the local Craigroyston High School, where his teachers inspired him to consider art as a possible future career. Drawn to photography, he enrolled at Napier College (now Edinburgh Napier University), before gaining a place to study at the Royal College of Art in London. From here, he established himself as a lens-based artist.
In 2015 Duke returned to Muirhouse to develop No Ruined Stone. This series was conceived as the second part of a photographic trilogy by Duke which examines the social climate in modern-day Scotland. It takes its name from the poetry of the Scots writer Hugh MacDiarmid. For No Ruined Stone, the artist spent time meeting local people and talking with them; reconnecting with his roots and exploring how the Muirhouse community had changed since his own upbringing there.
The exhibition at the City Art Centre presents a selection of 38 photographs from No Ruined Stone. It features views of homes and other architectural structures, surrounded by elements of the natural world. Portraits of local residents punctuate the otherwise unpopulated setting, giving a sense of the community’s identity – something that is too often misrepresented in popular culture and elsewhere.
Duke’s understated yet powerful images depict Muirhouse at a time of significant urban regeneration and social flux. While raising issues around social inequality and poverty, No Ruined Stone is underpinned by a message of human resilience, strength of character, and ultimately, hope.
Paul Duke said: “When I started work on No Ruined Stone in 2015, my greatest wish was to create a narrative that gave voice to the residents of Muirhouse – to challenge misrepresentation by portraying the community and local environment with honesty, fairness and dignity.
“I wanted to offer personal insight and in doing so, address pressing questions around social injustice. With millions of people up and down the land dealing with the cost of living crisis, I believe that these photographs have taken on new meaning and are now more relevant than ever.
Curator Dr Helen Scott said: It’s been a real privilege to work with Paul Duke on bringing this exhibition to the City Art Centre.
“No Ruined Stone is an important body of work that is both hard-hitting and reflective, socially-engaged and highly personal. There is heart and truth in these photographs, and the images linger with you long after you’ve seen them.
Councillor Val Walker, Convener of Culture and Communities, said: “We are delighted to present Edinburgh’s own Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone at the City Art Centre.
“His wonderful photographs will be on display for the first time as a full-scale exhibition and I’m sure visitors will be captivated by the series on contemporary life in the Muirhouse area of the Capital and the changes in the community.
“The aim of our City Art Centre is to champion historic and contemporary Scottish visual and applied arts, so I’m delighted that we can display Paul’s work in his home city.”
The exhibition is accompanied by the publication Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone (Hartmann Books, 2018).
Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone opens on Saturday 26 November 2022, and runs until 19 February 2023. Admission is free.
Museums & Galleries Edinburgh are preparing to mark Robert Louis Stevenson Day 2022 with special talks, workshops and live music.
Sunday 13 November is an annual date in our literary calendar when the life and works of one of the most famous writers born in our City of Literature is celebrated. This weekend will see drop-in sessions taking place in both our Writers’ Museum and City Art Centre.
As well as these events, visitors will be able to explore the Writers’ Museum which features rare works and artefacts celebrating the lives of three seminal Scottish writers – Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and of course, Robert Louis Stevenson.
A chance to explore the rare collection of writers’ portraits, first edition books and personal belongings including Stevenson’s riding boots and the ring given to him by a Samoan chief, engraved with the name ‘Tusitala’, meaning ‘teller of tales’.
They can also see Stevenson’s wardrobe made by the infamous Deacon Brodie whose double life may have inspired the novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Culture and Communities Convener Val Walker, said: “We’re delighted to be hosting these special events to celebrate Robert Louis Stevenson Day.
“One of Edinburgh’s favourite sons, this represents a fantastic opportunity to learn more about this important figure in our literary history and the fun family drop-in sessions will hopefully inspire younger generations to read his work.
“Writers such as Stevenson underpin the cultural fabric of our city and their words continue to influence, excite and teach hundreds of years later.
“Our Stevenson collections speak to the life and experiences of this great writer, both as a young boy and his later days spent in the South Seas and I hope they can be enjoyed by many this weekend.”
Jeremy Hodges, RLS Day co-ordinator for the Robert Louis Stevenson Club, said: “Once again we are delighted by the City of Edinburgh Council’s strong support for this annual celebration of the life and work of one of Scotland’s best-loved authors in the city of his birth.
“The events on offer at the Writers’ Museum and the City Art Centre are central to the wider programme and reflect Stevenson’s enduring popularity today.
Margaret Findlay, Learning and Public Programmes Manager at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It is always a great pleasure for me to develop activities annually for RLS Day and work with the Robert Louis Stevenson Club and other partners in the city.
“Stevenson remains such a pivotal Scottish writer, and his influence lives on today through contemporary Scottish writers.
“This year we are thrilled that Katelyn Lothian who is currently on a Promising Young People Placement funded by the Young Person’s Guarantee is developing and delivering the family activities at the City Art Centre as part of her experience.
“We are also pleased to be showcasing new research by Edinburgh and Chester Universities focused on adaptations of Stevenson’s Pacific fiction in consultation with Hawaiian, Samoan and Scottish communities.”
Join members and friends of the Robert Louis Stevenson Club for an hour of romance set in the turbulent times of Scotland in the wake of Culloden. The group will read from his works and bring to life one of Stevenson’s most romantic figures.
When a fresh story by Robert Louis Stevenson first appeared 130 years ago, it marked a new development in the work of the great Scottish novelist.
The tale that began serialisation in Atalanta magazine for young women was his first true love story.
Following on the Boy’s Own adventure success of ‘Kidnapped’, he now allowed his hero David Balfour to fall in love – with the beautiful and brave Catriona Drummond. The result was the work he regarded as his finest, yet ‘Catriona’ is still less well-known than the ever-popular ‘Treasure Island’.
Come and join us at the City Art Centre with Katelyn our Learning and Programmes Assistant for a new and exciting workshop looking at the poems of Robert Louis Stevenson.
We will be sharing the story of Robert Louis Stevenson and how he become one of Scotland’s best-known writers. Create fun, colourful illustrations inspired by his poems for you take home and treasure.
This workshop is open to anyone who is looking to learn more about one of Scotland’s much-loved writers. This workshop is designed for families working together to reflect on his life and writings.
Join us for a fun free afternoon of music & words also inviting audience members to participate with reading a short poem/literary extract by their favourite writer, marking the birthday of Robert Louis Stevenson, the 400th anniversary of Lady Stair’s House, and Remembrance Sunday.
Performances will feature ‘The Poets’ Fiddle’ made by local nature conservationist /luthier Steve Burnett to mark Robert Louis Stevenson’s 170th anniversary in 2020, along with the ‘Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon violins’, endorsed as Envoys for Peace, Reconciliation and Respect made from a living Edinburgh sycamore that still grows in Craiglockhart, the former shell shock hospital where famously in 1917, the two WW1 anti-war poets met.
Music by award-winning musicians, Scottish fiddler Alastair Savage and cellist Alice Allen, along with brother & sister violinists 14 year old Viktor and 12 year old Klara Seifert.
A new research team from Edinburgh and Chester universities will introduce a major project with partners in Hawai’i, Samoa and Scotland. The project will produce the first ever multilingual graphic adaptation of the three stories from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Island Nights’ Entertainments (1893), commission new poetry by indigenous Pacific authors, and develop a set of accompanying teaching resources for use in Samoa, Hawai’i and Scotland. In addition, it will produce the first ever documentary film exploring contemporary Samoan perspectives on Stevenson. Be among the first to hear how the team fared in their recent field work in Hawai’i, Tahiti and the Tuamotu Archipelago, this July.
