Tag: Edinburgh Festival

Kimpton Charlotte Square launches free exhibition

Local artists work on display during the Edinburgh Festival

The award-winning five-star Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel is celebrating this year’s Edinburgh Festival by launching a new exhibition in partnership with &Gallery.

As the city welcomes visitors from around the globe for the world-famous Edinburgh Festival which celebrate arts and culture, the design-led hotel has unveiled a free art exhibition showcasing work from two local artists, Anna Somerville and Emily Moore.

Passionate about paint, mark making and colour, Anna Somerville creates expressive, painterly landscapes that conjure up hazy memories of places that she has visited. Her pieces on display at Kimpton Charlotte Square include ‘Highland Scape’, ‘Rapolano Neon Scape’ and ‘Tuscan Scape’.

Emily Moore’s paintings focus on the stark facades of modern tower blocks, inspired in part by a trip to Berlin, and latterly, places closer to home. The sharp lines of these modernist forms are overlaid with intricate patterns of leaves and tree branches.

Established in 2017, &Gallery is a contemporary visual art gallery located in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town and the well-known art gallery district. &Gallery curates a specialist programme of solo exhibitions of represented artists along with curated group shows.

Its emphasis is on abstract and minimal painting, drawing and sculpture, by artists at various stages of their career who are located in Scotland, as well as throughout the UK and worldwide.

Both artists are graduates from Edinburgh College of Art and regularly exhibit with &Gallery. The new exhibition will be displayed throughout the ground floor of the hotel including the lobby, The Garden as well as the bar and restaurant area. All work is available to purchase through the &Gallery.

Avril Nicol, owner of &Gallery said: “We have really enjoyed collaborating with the Kimpton for our exhibition taking place during the renowned Edinburgh Festival and following months. I

“t was a pleasure curating a selection of work to compliment Charlotte Square’s unique interior, and a great opportunity to highlight the work of two talented local artists.”

Kieran Quinn, general manager at Kimpton Charlotte Square said: “The Edinburgh Festival is a time for the world to celebrate our city, its culture, and the arts.

“It’s important for us to make the most of this special time, giving local artists access to our guests and ensuring our guests are surrounded by wonderful talent.”

Guests and members of the public are invited to see Emily and Anna’s work on display at Kimpton Charlotte Square from today (Monday 14 August) until November.

For artwork purchasing queries, please contact: info@andgallery.co.uk

75th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival celebrated in new biography

The Edinburgh Festival: A Biography by David Pollock, has just been published by Luath Press in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Edinburgh International Festival and Festival Fringe.

With the arrival of the August programme of Festival events, arts and culture writer David Pollock draws upon his experiences as reviewer of over 1,000 shows to present a timely overview of the history of these world-renowned festivals.

The first to tell the complete history of the Edinburgh Festival, Pollock’s book paints an extraordinary portrait of the growth, glory years and struggles of this global cultural phenomenon.

He introduces a wide cast of key individuals and shows, including Fleabag, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Joseph Beuys, The Fall and Six: The Musical. The Edinburgh Festival: A Biography provides a unique perspective on the social and cultural history of Scotland and its capital in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Capital Cops: Latest update from Edinburgh Police Division

Here’s the latest Capital Cops column from Chief Superintendent Sean Scott:

The lifting of virtually all coronavirus restrictions now means that most of the features that makes Edinburgh great are starting to re-emerge.

This is in no small way down to the significant sacrifices and efforts you have made over the past 18 months, including getting vaccinated. I would encourage everyone who can, especially the younger generation, who have been a bit slower on the uptake, to get vaccinated.

The city is starting to buzz again, which is so welcome, especially Edinburgh’s world-renowned night time economy.

Our Operation Nightguard deployments have recommenced, with officers patrolling areas around licensed premises and conducting regular checks within to offer reassurance to staff and patrons and deter criminal activity.

We want everyone to be safe and really enjoy themselves so please ensure that, if you are on that long-awaited night out, you drink and behave responsibly and don’t let over-indulgence ruin things.

Other great news is that the Edinburgh Festival is back, albeit on a smaller scale but that still equates to a much busier city centre with hotels starting to fill again.

Consequently, Operation Summer City has commenced, which my officers and staff really enjoy, as it’s an opportunity for them to meet and help people from across the globe in making the most of their visit, representing both the capital and its Police Scotland guardians in the best light possible.

The good news, so far, is that there have been very few issues with the vast majority of those attending Festival events and celebrations doing so in good spirits, while adhering to those remaining COVID precautions.

Our Edinburgh Division social media channels are continuing to provide the public with useful advice and guidance on how to stay safe during the Festival so please ‘like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to receive these updates.

Alternatively, visit www.scotland.police.uk where all of our personal safety and crime prevention advice is readily available 24/7.

Like me, you’ll have been enjoying the sunny weather over the past few weeks and with that, we have seen larger numbers of bicycles and motorcycles back on our roads. I would encourage all road users to be mindful of cyclists and motorcyclists, giving them plenty of space and time when passing or joining traffic.

Similarly, I would also encourage those who ride bikes of any sort to do all you can to stay safe on the road. This includes wearing high-visibility clothing and helmets, travelling at appropriate speeds and obeying all traffic signals and signage.

Unfortunately, the increase in people using this healthier form of travel can lead to an unhealthy increase in bike thefts, if care isn’t taken around security.

To that end, our Prevention, Intervention and Partnerships Department have been holding crime prevention stalls and bike marking events as part of the national Pedal Protect bike security campaign.

Please think seriously about getting your bike marked and contact your local policing team to arrange it – details are on our website at

http://www.scotland.police.uk/…/protecting-your-bike.

The summer comes … and then it goes to be replaced by all our autumn and winter responsibilities such as Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year. However, on top of those, it won’t have escaped your attention that the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November is on the horizon.

Edinburgh will have no small part to play in these globally important proceedings but I can reassure everyone that, with the eyes of the world on Scotland and its police service, careful and detailed planning is underway to ensure that all communities will still receive the quality, responsive service they need and deserve during that time.

As always, I look forward to working closely with partners for the planning phases of all these policing operations.

Stay safe and I hope you all enjoy a great summer with everything that Edinburgh has to offer.

Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander for Edinburgh

Managing a Festival City

The Council is working on getting the balance right, says city council Leader Adam McVey:

Together the festivals create a season and a place like no other, with the cultural benefits giving us access to performers and shows that we’d otherwise have to travel the world to find. Continue reading Managing a Festival City

On the buses: no laughing matter as Festival disruption looms

Unite Scotland is to hold a strike ballot at Lothian Buses. If the ballot is successful, action is likely to take place in August during the Edinburgh Fal Festival – traditionally the capital’s busiest month. In a previous ballot in April, 94% of Unite members supported industrial action. The latest ballot opens on Thursday. Continue reading On the buses: no laughing matter as Festival disruption looms

Edinburgh’s Festivals: our ‘gift to the world’

The 71st August Festivals are here with hundreds of musicians, dancers, actors and comedians taking to the stage for the first time this weekend. This year, more than 50,000 performances of more than 5,000 shows will take place in approximately 500 venues across the Tattoo, Fringe, Book, Art and International Festivals. Continue reading Edinburgh’s Festivals: our ‘gift to the world’

STV announces coverage of this year’s Edinburgh Festival

The best of this year’s Edinburgh Festivals will be celebrated in a series of special programmes airing on STV this August.  Filmed in the exclusive VIP area of Underbelly in George Square at the heart of the Fringe, The Festival Show will be broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout August, with the first programme airing on STV at 1930 on Tuesday 7th August.  Continue reading STV announces coverage of this year’s Edinburgh Festival