Travelling Gallery announces 2024 programme

Under the theme of ‘the rural,’ the Gallery will tour throughout Scotland with environmental concerns and community partnerships at its heart.

The season 1 2024 exhibition is an exhibition organised in partnership with Hospitalfield Arts in Arbroath. The exhibition, A Bonnie Way: Unravelling the seduction of the countryside, presents the work of three artists, Bobbi Cameron, Ufuoma Essi and Sarah Rose, from Hospitalfield’s Residencies programme, who all explore their experiences of life and conversations in rural and semi-rural places.

The artworks will be accompanied by an index of community-based publications, connecting their questions, manifestos, and propositions of people in rural places from across Scotland.

Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said:The Travelling Gallery is not just an exhibition, it’s testament to the fact that everyone should have access to art. I’m delighted that, with our support, the Gallery has been able to remove barriers to art by taking it into communities across Scotland.

“Not only is this year’s exhibition a fantastic opportunity to connect with art, but it also provides a chance to learn more about the experience of rural living. With such a brilliant line up of artists, I would encourage everyone to make a visit when it begins travelling in March.”

Cicely Farrer, Programme and Communications Manager, Hospitalfield writes:We are delighted to be partnering with Travelling Gallery on this exhibition especially as we believe through its routes that Travelling Galley has the potential to connect people in rural places through its journeys, taking art beyond the central belt.

“When we organise events and commission art works at Hospitalfield, we always think about our local: our audiences and the themes that are relatable here – many of which are specific to our base in a semi-rural, coastal location. These themes are frequently approached by the contemporary artists who make work with us as and also appears in the Arts & Crafts carvings collections, and archives of Hospitalfield house.

“We’ve seen how community arts in rural regions thrive and arts centres, organisations and DIY initiatives have been making democratic projects with communities and young people for years. Our hope is that visitors can learn about each other’s experiences of contemporary rural life in Scotland.”

Claire Craig, Travelling Gallery Curator said: “Travelling Gallery visits so many rural and semi-rural communities across Scotland it made sense to explore and celebrate this further by dedicating 2024 to The Rural.

“We are delighted that Hospitalfield in Arbroath agreed to partner with us and curate the Season One exhibition, their research and expertise have added an authentic voice to the theme, exploring The Rural from a really interesting angle.”

Launching at Hospitalfield in Arbroath on Thursday 14th March the gallery will travel throughout Scotland. Visit the Travelling Gallery website for more details: https://travellinggallery.com/current-exhibition/

Travelling Gallery is a ‘not for profit’ organisation, regularly funded by Creative Scotland and supported by the City of Edinburgh Council.

National Theatre of Scotland announces 2024 programme

Extraordinary stories told by exceptional Scottish talent

  • National Theatre of Scotland has announced an exciting new season of work for the coming year.
  • A year of world premieres, tours and work at all scales, on stages across Scotland, England and beyond, a programme of work for younger audiences, plus artist’s residencies, events, a touring exhibition and film and digital projects. 
  • Four world premieres, the return of two hit shows, back by popular demand, three productions at the Edinburgh Festivals and nine touring productions. 
  • Touring to 45 venues across 28 locations in Scotland, England and Europe. 

Jackie Wylie, Artistic Director said: “We are delighted to be offering audiences a packed theatrical programme in 2024 with, thrilling new productions alongside acclaimed shows that we have brought back by popular demand. 

“We are proud to honour icons and celebrate artists that help define and shape our cultural identity. As Scotland’s National theatre company, who tour tirelessly throughout Scotland, we want to bring a sense of community togetherness, pride in our nation’s creativity and the chance to have a brilliant night out, for audiences, locally or indeed further afield. 

“We are acutely aware that we continue to live in challenging times. Global politics, the aftermath of the Covid years and the cost of living crisis all have ongoing impacts for the creative and cultural industries and the brilliant Scottish artists who create theatre with us. 

“National Theatre of Scotland has always held a lens up through which we can view ourselves, as a nation, as a society and never more so than in this programme. Through the sharing of important stories, that tell us about ourselves, we explore our shared humanity.

“Climate activism, youthful protest, the enslaved Joseph Knight who made his bid for freedom, the great Billy Connolly, the Margaret Thatcher years, working class culture, teenage Cosplay, Country music, masculinity and the late great Beldina Odenyo all share the spotlight in our 2024 programme. 

“Young people hold a special place in our programme. We are committed to ensuring they are involved with the National Theatre of Scotland from Primary School onwards, through our productions with Theatre in Schools Scotland, our touring work to venues and through participation in projects with leading theatre-makers. 

“We thank our partners, our supporters and funders, the venues we are touring to, the artists, the crews and the freelancers who make our work, all those who participate and most importantly our audiences who energise us through their commitment and enthusiasm for the joy of theatre.” 

NEW PRODUCTIONS 

  • THE FIFTH STEP, a thrilling and provocative new play written by David Ireland and directed by Finn den Hertog. The taut two-hander features Jack Lowden, returning to Scottish stages for the first time since his theatrical debut in Black Watch in 2010. The Fifth Step will preview at Dundee Rep Theatre before opening at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, for a week’s run as part of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival and then end with a week’s run at The Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow in August 2024.   
  • JUNE CARTER CASH: THE WOMAN, HER MUSIC AND ME, a new play written and performed by Charlene Boyd sharing the story of one of country music’s most iconic voices: June Carter Cash, directed by the multi-award-winning Cora Bissett. June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me opens at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe ahead of a tour of Scottish cultural venues.   
  • THANK U, NEXT, a new dance theatre piece exploring the contemporary culture of cosplay, created by leading radical performance collective 21Common working with teenagers across Scotland. They will produce four unique productions presented at schools in Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Grangemouth and Lochgelly, for a run of public performances in February and October 2024 and then again in March 2025. Each production will be directed by 21Commoners Lucy Gaizely and Gary Gardiner, and performed by a mixed group of professional performers, school pupils and young collaborators who were involved in the original development of the piece. 

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED  

  • MAGGIE & MEis a bold and explosive new production based on Damian Barr’s award-winning and darkly witty memoir about growing up gay in Thatcher’s Britain, adapted by Damian Barr and James Ley, directed by Suba Das. Opening at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, before touring to Inverness, Perth, Cumbernauld, Dundee, Northampton and Edinburgh in Spring 2024.  Full creative team announced. 
  • DEAR BILLYa love letter to the Big Yin returns to Scottish stages after a successful tour of Scotland in 2023. Written and performed by Gary McNair, and directed by Joe Douglas, this critically acclaimed celebration of Billy Connolly will be heading to Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness before coming to the Assembly Rooms as part of the Assembly Festival programme for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. 

NEWLY ANNOUNCED – RETURN OF AN AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION 

  • ENOUGH OF HIM, the incisive and emotive, award-winning and critically acclaimed play based on the true story of Joseph Knight returns to stages in 2024. Enough of Him, written by May Sumbwanyambe and directed by Orla O’Loughlin with Omar Austin reprising his role as Joseph, will open in Edinburgh in October 2024 before touring to Dundee, Aberdeen, Chichester and Coventry. A co-production with Pitlochry Festival Theatre 

IN ASSOCIATION WITH PRODUCTIONS  

  • AN ACCIDENT / A LIFE, an exciting new collaboration between Marc Brew and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The semi-autobiographical piece has its world premiere at Holland Dance Festival in February 2024 before arriving in Glasgow for the UK premiere at Tramway in March 2024 ahead of further European international tour dates.  
  • SHŌ AND THE DEMONS OF THE DEEP, a timely new production for younger audiences aged 8 and over, from Independent Arts Projects (IAP) in association with National Theatre of Scotland. Shō and the Demons of the Deep is a visual adventure story about overcoming fear, climate crisis, and how the actions of one generation can affect the next, written by Zoë Bullock and directed by Shilpa T-Hyland, touring across Scotland in April and May 2024.  
  • TERO BURU, a new play by the late, great Beldina Odenyo has been posthumously interpreted by Beldina’s sister, Leah McAleer and directed by Julia Taudevin. Beldina’s friends and collaborators have joined together with Leah to bring Beldina’s debut play to an audience. Tero Buru will be performed in Glasgow in autumn 2024, with full details of dates and venue to be announced. 
  • PROTEST, Natalie Ibu’s acclaimed production of Hannah Lavery’s new play embarks on a new tour across the UK, following a successful tour in 2023. Presented by Fuel, Imaginate and Northern Stage in association with National Theatre of Scotland, the show takes a timely look at the right to protest from the perspective of three young girls. Opening in Edinburgh in January, then touring to Newcastle, London, Nottingham, Harrogate, Cambridge, Colchester, Coventry, Poole, Plymouth and Exeter until March 2024. 
  • All 2024 productions will be produced to the Theatre Green Book intermediate standard with 75% of all materials having been pre-used. 

DIGITAL/BROADCAST/ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE/CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT  

  • A new short film by multi-disciplinary artist Gillian Katungi, who creates work under the name of PAIX, produced in partnership with the Africa in Motion Film Festival, inspired by her album Metamorphosis: Feeling My Way (to Freedom)
  • The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, director Hope Dickson Leach’s new version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story, co-written with Vlad Butucea, will be screened at the Victoria Film Festival in 2024 and can still be viewed on Sky Arts. Adapted from the original novella and relocated from London to Edinburgh, this film is a coproduction with Selkie Productions, supported by Screen Scotland and Sky Arts. 
  • Two new artists in residence Ross Mackay and Guy Woods will develop new plays and Alison Burnley and Ellie Davies from RiffRaff Producing will take up their role as artists in residence in the Highlands in partnership with Eden Court Theatre. 
  • A further two new artists in residence, Roisin McLinden and Eoin McKenzie will develop community inspired work for the Company’s Neighbourhood project in North Glasgow. 
  • A packed programme of Artist Development and Creative Engagement opportunities – including new digital productions to be added to NTS’ Education PortalCreative Career insight sessions for High School students, First Night opportunities for community groups across Scotland, a special creative industries event as part of the BBC’s Bring the Drama festival at Rockvilla and Portraits of an LGBTI+ Generation exhibition continues to be shown at Western General Hospital until summer 2024. 
  • Theatre in Schools Scotland continues bringing world class theatre to primary and secondary school pupils in their schools. Five productions will be touring in 2024. Poggle by Barrowland Ballet; One of Two by Jack Hunter, presented by Independent Arts Projects; Ginger presented by Tortoise in a NutshellCloud Man by Constellation Points/Ailie Cohen and Lewis Hetherington, presented by Scottish Theatre Producers and Going for Gold: Me and Linford Christie by Victoria Beesley, presented by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company. 
  • Theatre for a Fiver tickets available across the majority of productions and venues for 14 to 26-year-olds and those on low-income benefits.

National Galleries of Scotland announces unmissable programme of exhibitions for 2024

  • Indulge your wanderlust with Lavery on Location
  • March in the footsteps of Women in Revolt!
  • Visit Drawings from Chatsworth House
  • Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Eduardo Paolozzi’s birth, in Paolozzi at 100
  • Explore the first ever retrospective by Edinburgh-based artist Everlyn Nicodemus
  • Meet Johannes Vermeer’s A Young Woman Standing at a Virginalin Edinburgh
  • See Images and Voices from Scotland’s Mining Communities 
  • Immerse yourself in the work of Do Ho Suh

National Galleries of Scotland announces an extraordinary programme of unmissable free and ticketed exhibitions for 2024, on sale now.

Take a trip with Lavery on Location, feel empowered by Women in Revolt!, get lost in Drawings from Chatsworth House, marvel at the eccentric world of Paolozzi at 100 or embrace thedefiant and inspiring works ofEverlyn Nicodemus, there is even more to be discovered across all three gallery sites in Edinburgh.

Visitors can indulge their wanderlust in National Galleries of Scotland’s summer exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy, An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location, from 20 July 2024 to 27 October 2024.

Dip your toes in the sun, sea and society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, through the works of renowned Glasgow Boy, Sir John Lavery. Travel through the extraordinary life of the Belfast born artist, from Scotland to New York via Paris and Morocco.

Witness sumptuous portraits, impressionistic landscapes and idyllic scenes of leisure against a backdrop of Tangier, Palm Springs and the Venice Lido. Be whisked away to Switzerland, Spain, Ireland and Italy, as well as cities such as Glasgow, Seville, Monte Carlo and New York.

At Modern Two, be inspired by stories of collaboration, creativity and rebellion as National Galleries of Scotland presents Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 from 25 May 2024 to 26 January 2025.

Touring from Tate Britain, this major survey of feminist art celebrates the women who challenged and changed the face of British culture. Discover the powerful and often provocative work of over 100 artists and collectives forged against the backdrop of seismic social, economic and political change over two decades. 

Women in Revolt! explores key themes and issues, such as the Women’s Liberation Movement, Punk and independent music, the visibility of Black and South Asian women artists and the AIDS epidemic.

Showcasing painting, drawing, textile, sculpture, performance, film and photography alongside archival materials – with many artworks on display as part of this tour for the first time since the 1970s – this timely and urgent show is one not to be missed.   

For the first time ever in Scotland discover Dürer to Van Dyck: Drawings from Chatsworth House, home to the Devonshire family. From 9 November 2024 – 23 February 2025 get a closer look at one of the finest and most significant holdings of drawings anywhere in the world, at the Royal Scottish Academy.

A spectacular group of 50 Flemish, Dutch, Early Netherlandish, and German drawings and watercolours, spanning from about 1500 to 1700, will be exhibited. Look forward to stunning drawings by Rembrandt, Holbein, Rubens, Dürer, van Dyck and more. Not to be missed, this exhibition is exclusive to the National Galleries of Scotland.

In January 2024 celebrate 100 years since the birth of Scottish ‘father of Pop’ Eduardo Paolozzi at Modern Two. Packed with the artist’s most popular works, Paolozzi at 100allows you take a step inside the whacky and eclectic mind of the artist and his take on popular culture and the machine age.

Tour through his early work from the late 1940s, to his designs and prints of the 60s and 70s, and later epic public art projects. Delve in to works such as his Mickey Mouse tapestry made with Dovecot Tapestry Studio and graphic and gold ceramic plate collaborations designed with Wedgwood.

Marvel at his colourful mosaic designs for Tottenham Court Road Underground station, and don’t miss the kinetic energy of the Calcium Light Night and Moonstrip Empire news screenprints. Free to visit, Paolozzi at 100 runs from 27 January 2024 to 21 April 2024.

Marking the bicentenary of the National Gallery in London, we have National Treasures: Vermeer in Edinburgh. 

This incredible artwork A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal comes to Scotland, presenting a unique chance to see two works by Vermeer at the National in Edinburgh.

Compare one of Vermeer’s later works with one of his earliest surviving paintings, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary which is on permanent display at the National. A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal will open on 10 May 2024, the 200th birthday of the National Gallery, along with the rest of the National Treasures programme across the UK.

Explore the history and lasting impact of coal through photographs and voices from Scottish mining communities, as National Galleries of Scotland responds to the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike of 1984.

In a powerful free exhibition at the Portrait from 23 March 2024 until September 2024, Before and After Coal: Images and Voices from Scotland’s Mining Communities hears from those who are the lifeblood of these, once booming, areas.

In 1982, American photographer Milton Rogovin came to Scotland to photograph Scottish miners – at their pits, in their homes, and during their leisure time.

Artist, Nicky Bird has updated Rogovin’s documentation of these communities by meeting with individuals and families connected with the photographs, who share their views on the past and the present in these former mining towns and villages.

From 19 October 2024 – 25 May 2025 get ready for the first ever retrospective exhibition by Tanzania-born, Edinburgh-based artist, Everlyn Nicodemus at Modern One.

Discover works spanning 40 years of the artist’s life, as well as new works created especially for this show. This inspiring free experience is made possible by the prestigious Freelands Award won by Everlyn Nicodemus and National Galleries of Scotland in 2022.

Believing that creativity can be a form of healing, her exceptional artworks are a powerful response to the global oppression of women, the profound impact of racism and her personal trauma and recovery.

Experimenting with colour, form and mark making her practice invites us to explore and question our understanding of identity, belonging and faith. This ambitious exhibition celebrates Nicodemus as a painter deeply invested in the social fabric of her time.

It will be accompanied by an inclusive and welcoming programme of community engagement, taking inspiration from the artist’s collaborative ways of working.

The much-loved Turner in January returns to the Royal Scottish Academy. The free annual display of these watercolours is a keenly awaited tradition for many people in Scotland. At the dawning of the New Year, as we leave behind the darkest days of winter, the bright vitality of Turner’s watercolours is just what we need.

There is also the chance to see further works by Turner at Duff House. National Galleries of Scotland hold the only complete set of Turner’s finished vignette illustrations that remain together in the same collection; these form his 20 watercolours for The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell, published by Edward Moxon in 1837.

For the first time in over 20 years, these illustrations are on show at Duff House for selected dates until Sunday 24 March.  Also on display at Duff House until Sunday 25 August 2024 is the iconic portrait of the infamous romantic poet Lord Byron by William Edward West, 1822.

Launched in 2009 in partnership with Tate, the hugely successful ARTIST ROOMS programme will continue to share the superb collection of modern and contemporary art across Scotland and the rest of the UK. Exhibitions in 2024 include Louise Bourgeois at Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum from 2 March 2024 to 9 June 2024 and Vija Celmins at Dunoon Burgh Hall from 17 May 2024 to 18 August 2024.

A first for National Galleries of Scotland and for Scotland, immerse yourself in the wondrous imagination of one of the world’s leading contemporary artists, Do Ho Suh: Tracing Time, from 17 February 2024 – 1 September 2024.

In this major solo exhibition by the South Korean-born, London- based artist, experience works, some never-before-seen, that ask: where and when does home exist? Discover the artist’s compelling and technically innovative thread drawings – in which multicoloured threads are embedded in handmade paper – shown alongside animations, architectural rubbings, paper sculptures, printmaking, watercolours and the artist’s sketchbooks.

This free exhibition takes over an entire level of Modern One, with works spanning 25 years of the artist’s practice. The exhibition includes an immersive installation of Suh’s famed ‘hubs’, life-size sculptures that recreate physical spaces meaningful to the artist and his life in colourful, translucent fabric. 

In this wide-reaching and timely exhibition, drawing is the connective thread that binds together Do Ho Suh’s creative energies.

Opening this winter, discover 500 years of boundary-pushing artwork in The Printmaker’s Art: Rembrandt to Rego at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. At this National Galleries Scotland exhibition, visitors can explore four galleries packed with around 100 artworks by some of the world’s most iconic artists, including Rembrandt, Hokusai, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Bridget Riley and Paula Rego. The Printmaker’s Art: Rembrandt to Rego is on from 2 December 2023 until 25 February 2024.

Summer 2024 will also see a celebratory display of two rooms of works by internationally renowned Scottish artist Bruce McLean, to mark his 80th birthday. Free to visit at Modern One, trace Bruce’s humorous and lively six-decade long inquiry into sculpture and revel in his criticisms of the art world from within.

Through works made across a range of media – including photography, performance, painting, printmaking, film, and ceramics – this display invites you to challenge your thinking about sculpture and expand your ideas of what it can be. 

You’ll also be met with works that reveal Bruce’s fascination with every aspect of human behaviour. From the trivial to the outright brash, you’ll encounter gestures, manners, the ‘theatre’ of social interaction, and the style and posturing of those who are intent to impress.

Sharp, witty and satirical, this unmissable display showcases the breadth of Bruce’s boundary-pushing work across two rooms and spotlights him as one of the most important artists of his generation.

In 2024 the National Galleries of Scotland will mark a significant 40 years since the beginning of its photography collection, with a spectacular exhibition at the Portrait. Showcasing the birth of photography through to the present day, the exhibition celebrates Scotland’s world-renowned collection.

Sir John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: ‘There is so much for visitors to look forward to next year at the National Galleries of Scotland, with our tantalising 2024 exhibition programme.

“Whether immersing yourself in Sir John Lavery’s idyllic beach scenes, soaking up the history of Women in Revolt! or stepping into the eclectic world of Eduardo Paolozzi, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

“Our four galleries are yours to discover, from the world’s greatest collection of Scottish art at our new Scottish galleries, international highlights at the National, the very best contemporary art at the Modern and famous faces from history to pop culture at the Portrait, we can’t wait to welcome you.’

For more on upcoming exhibitions and displays, and to get tickets, visit What’s on | National Galleries of Scotland

Rituals That Unite Us: Edinburgh International Festival announces first performances and theme for 2024 Programme

Edinburgh International Festival today unveils the first details of the 2024 Festival, and the second from Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, taking place from 2-25 August 2024.

After a resoundingly successful 2023 Festival, which posed the question: ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival explores ‘Rituals That Unite Us’.

Reasserting the need for reconciliation and the value of shared experiences in today’s increasingly disconnected world, the curated programme of live music, theatre, opera and dance celebrates the practices, traditions and festivities that give us meaning and connect us – as a festival, a city, and as a society. 

This promises to be a thrilling year for opera lovers as five operas feature in the 2024 International Festival programme, three fully staged and two in concert. The first of these to be announced is the iconic Carmen, from globally celebrated Parisian opera house Opéra-Comique, the venue in which the opera premiered in 1875.

This production, led by German director Andreas Homoki, celebrates Carmen’s 149-year legacy on a replica stage of the Opéra-Comique recreated on the stage of Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre, complete with seven iron doors constructed by Gustave Eiffel, the creator of Paris’ famous tower. 

The score also remains true to the ‘opéra-comique’ style, where musical pieces are interspersed with dialogue, emphasising the comedic elements of Georges Bizet’s visionary writing. 

The cast includes; Gaëlle Arquez as Carmen, a role in which she has captivated audiences since 2017; star tenor Saimir Pirgu as Don José; Elbenita Kajtazibi as Micaëla; and Jean-Fernand Setti as Escamillo.  

In an exciting collaboration that sees the International Festival once again working with Scottish national companies on an international stage, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra performs under the direction of Louis Langrée, General Director of Opéra-Comique and Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  

Assembly Hall is a major new dance-theatre work, Scottish Premiere, and International Festival co-production, from Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. Described by the Guardian as “a 21st-century dance genius”, Crystal Pite, alongside playwright Jonathon Young, present a dance-theatre hybrid that promises the company’s signature wit and invention. 

Also taking place at the Festival Theatre, but set in a community centre, Assembly Hall follows a group of medieval re-enactors coming together for their annual general meeting, a tradition that for the group serves as a bridge between the past and the present.

The event they are organising has fallen on hard times, and unless they take bold measures, this venerable order faces dissolution. As the meeting progresses, the line between reality and re-enactment begins to blur, ancient forces are awoken, and it becomes clear that there is much at stake.  

Delving into the very human need to gather, Assembly Hall explores what stories we tell and repeat, and how those customs reflect our identity. 

The theme ‘Rituals That Unite Us’ responds to feedback on the International Festival’s 2023 theme, from audiences, artists and the public, that wherever we go next – and despite our differences – we must go together.

The 2024 theme takes inspiration from philosopher Byung-Chul Han. His book The Disappearance of Rituals reminds us that what we do, over time, defines who we are, and that our collectively experienced rituals help ground us and bind us closer together.

A central idea of the book is the humility, sacrifice and participation required to maintain community rituals. This will be explored in the programme through events marking the 900th anniversary of the city of Edinburgh in 2024. Other key ideas include the sacred rituals of life and death, and rituals around the art of seduction. 

As well as a programme of live performances and discussions with the world’s finest artists and rising stars, the International Festival continues its commitment to stage large-scale events, inviting participation from communities across Scotland.

In 2023, 500 amateur and professional musicians joyously performed in Princes Street Gardens for thousands of audience members. In 2024, the International Festival will collaborate with the World Health Organisation and Scottish Ballet to host the first ever nationwide Healing Arts campaign, Healing Arts Scotland.

The week-long activation will begin on 19th August 2024, and will include performances, exhibitions, workshops and high-profile policy discussions. 

Nicola Benedetti, Festival Director, Edinburgh International Festival, says: “Next year’s Edinburgh International Festival celebrates the unifying force of collective live experiences. We continue to pursue an openness towards diverse perspectives, and in exploring ‘Rituals That Unite Us’, reflect our deeply human need to connect with one another.  

“When beliefs differ, when we are not aligned over a shared singular fight, it is always an effort, always tricky, always messy. But this is what our festival was founded to do.

“People use the word ‘soft’ when speaking of the power of the arts, but to open hearts and minds is the toughest and most serious thing we can offer people. It all starts with belief and trust. We led with this feeling in 2023, and we will deepen it in 2024.” 

Full programme will be announced with tickets going on sale in March 2024, with priority booking for members.

Sign up to the Edinburgh International Festival newsletter for up-to-date information at www.eif.co.uk.