New arts initiative to launch in Granton

Lord Provost to open Made in Granton exhibition

Council-owned property development and investment business The EDI Group (www.edigroup.co.uk) is to support support a new programme of arts initiatives based at Madelvic House in Granton (above).

The series of events organised by granton:hub@The Madelvic will officially launch this Saturday with the ‘Made in Granton’ exhibition, showcasing the history of the local area. Forth Neighbourhood Partnership is also supporting the exhibition.

Madelvic House will host a series of pop up events over the next six months organised by the granton:hub group. The focus of the initiative is to test out ideas in the community with the view to securing long term use of the building for a community arts hub.

If successful in receiving approval from EDI, the group propose to use the ground floor of the building to house a number of artists’ studios, café and a flexible space which will be used for events such as temporary exhibitions and workshops.

The programme launch and local history exhibition ‘Made in Granton’ is open to all and will take place on:

Saturday 24 October

11:00am to 2:30pm

at Madelvic House

More events to look forward to at Madelvic House include:

28 & 29 November: ‘Re:See It’ An art exhibition focuing on positive artistic perceptions on environmental sustainability and climate change, showcasing artists from St. Margaret’s House Studio’s and members of Creative Carbon Scotland/Green Arts Initiative Edinburgh.

19 December: ‘Lantern Storytelling’ Display of lanterns made by local schoolchildren with Janis Hart.

30 January 2016: ‘The Embassy Cinema’ Film screening in conjunction with Screen Education Edinburgh and Take one Action to show a series of short films.

27 February: ‘New Life from Old’ The event will include stalls selling upcycled products and workshops on repair/remaking goods from recycled materials.

25 – 27 March: ‘Art in Granton’ This event will promote Madelvic House as an exhibition and artist space.

Denise Havard, Community Development Manager at EDI, said “We are pleased to support the granton:hub and its programme of arts initiatives and we look forward to receiving their business plan outlining their proposals for future use of the building. Ensuring that community initiatives are supported in the area where EDI are working is key for our wider regeneration plans.”

Demand for a community art space in Granton was identified at an open day in May where local residents put forward their ideas for using Madelvic House. The granton:hub is a group of largely local residents of Granton and surrounding areas with a vision to create a community-led initiative using space at Madelvic House.

Louise Knight, spokesperson for the granton:hub, said: “We are very grateful for EDI’s support with our programme of events at Madelvic House. We’re really pleased that EDI shares our vision for community initiatives which bring people together and offering locally based activities.”

Madelvic House is located on Granton Park Avenue in Granton and was originally built as the offices of the Madelvic Carriage Company. The Madelvic Carriage Company Limited was formed in Edinburgh in 1898 producing electric vehicles and built the first purpose built car factory in Britain. The red sandstone, two storey building is currently owned by Waterfront Edinburgh Ltd and managed as a multi-let office space.

EDI is working with adjoining landowners to deliver a number of major developents as part of its regeneration of Granton, including a new Collections Facility for National Galleries, retail and leisure opportunities along with residential.

If you’d like to get involved with the granton:hub group, or you’d like to find out more, contact Louise Knight: louiseesknight@gmail.com

The painter that Britain forgot: city Gears up for new exhibition

William Gear exhibition opens this weekend

The story of a former Edinburgh College of Art student who became a highly-acclaimed abstract artist before slipping into obscurity will be remembered at a major retrospective exhibition arriving at the City Art Centre this Saturday.

Featuring around 120 works spanning his colourful career and coinciding with the centenary of his birth, William Gear 1915-1997: The painter that Britain forgot seeks to re-position William Gear in his rightful place as one of the most advanced British abstract painters of his generation.

Following a successful first run at the Towner Art Gallery this summer, the partnership exhibition between Eastbourne and Edinburgh will run alongside Jagged Generation: William Gear’s Contemporaries and Influences, an exhibition drawn from the City Art Centre’s collection which explores the artist’s links to Scotland.

Raised in Methil, a Fife mining community, Gear (self portait, above) studied at Edinburgh College of Art during the 1930s where he was taught by influential figures such as S.J. Peploe, John Maxwell and William Gillies.

He went on to train in Paris under the Cubist artist Fernand Léger before travelling widely during the Second World War, even becoming one of the ‘Monuments Men’ whose job it was to help save parts of Europe’s culture during and after the conflict.

After returning to Paris in 1947, Gear met the avant-garde artists of the CoBrA group and exhibited with them in Amsterdam and Paris in 1949. In the same year his work was shown in New York alongside paintings by Jackson Pollock. He eventually returned to live in the UK in 1950, and continued to exhibit both at home and internationally until his death in 1997.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “How and why William Gear fell into obscurity is quite remarkable. Gear was an artist who was born in Fife 100 years ago, trained in Edinburgh and then went on to create some of the most radical compositions of the 1950s. He was one of the greats of British abstract art and his career and his works tell a fascinating story. These exhibitions cement his place as a pioneer and he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”

William Gear 1915-1997: The painter that Britain forgot has been created in partnership with the Towner Art Gallery where Gear was curator from 1958 – 1964. It traces his prolific career, from his early pen and ink drawings and experiments in colour during the 1930s and 1940s, to his radical monochrome and block paintings of the 1950s and mature works created during the 1960s and beyond.

As one of the first British artists to present screenprints as works of fine art, the exhibition also presents Gear as a printmaker. This exhibition includes loans from The Estate of William Gear, the Royal Academy of Arts, London and The Redfern Gallery amongst many other lenders.

Jagged Generation: William Gear’s Contemporaries and Influences presents a selection of artworks from the City Art Centre’s own collection. This exhibition focuses on the vibrant circle of Scottish artists associated with Gear – his tutors, friends and contemporaries. It was at Edinburgh College of Art that Gear met like-minded fellow students including Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Margaret Mellis and Alan Davie, who also made innovative contributions to the post-war art scene.

Gear spent most of his career outside Scotland, yet he retained many Scottish ties and friendships. Jagged Generation showcases Gear’s work within this wider Scottish context, shedding light on his personal and professional relationships, as well as his artistic development.

Find out more at the Council’s Museums and Galleries website

Double exposure at Holyrood

Photography in sharp focus at the Scottish Parliament

World-leading photojournalism takes centre stage at the Scottish Parliament this summer as two inspirational exhibitions are unveiled today.

The World Press Photo (WPP) Exhibition 2015 is an international contest for photojournalists and features 130 moving and thought provoking images taken during the course of 2014. Once again the Scottish Parliament is the only Parliament in the world to host the exhibition.

Michael Peto: Politics in Focus includes photographs by Michael Peto – the celebrated Hungarian-born photographer who witnessed some of the most historic moments of the 1950s and 1960s. The exhibition includes a number of unseen photographs of some of the world’s most iconic figures. People who have shaped and changed the way we see the world including Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Indira Ghandi and Jennie Lee.

Both exhibitions are free to visit and will be on display in the Scottish Parliament’s Main Hall and Burns Room (Committee Room 1) until Saturday 22 August.

The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP said: “The photographs in these two exhibitions show photojournalism at its finest. The images may be split by decades but what they have in common is their quality and thought provoking nature. They capture moments of time and make us look at who we are and what we do in a different way.

“I am proud that the Scottish Parliament is once again home to remarkable photography exhibitions that offer the people of Scotland the chance to see these images in their Parliament.”

Award-winning actor Brian Cox, Rector at the University of Dundee and Patron of the Peto collection, added: “From humble beginnings Michael Peto grew into an incredible artist and photographer. With an intense interest in the variations of human form he had a talent for capturing his subjects in their natural environment.

“This collection is an extraordinary gift he has left us, so please learn, appreciate, enjoy.”

Museum opens up window to the past

The Museum of Edinburgh, located on the Royal Mile in a series of 16th and 17th century houses, has unveiled two new interactive exhibits.

The City of Edinburgh Council owned and managed Museum has partnered with Edinburgh-based Insurgent Studios to bring the stories behind some of the city’s treasured artefacts to life.

Designed to faithfully recreate historical locations to provide an original addition to the city’s museum collection, the free-to-enter exhibits blend history and technology to enhance the overall enjoyment of a trip to the Museum.

Visitors can discover the life and times of Edinburgh-born WW1 British Commander Earl Haig, who created The Royal British Legion and raised funds for the welfare of ex-servicemen after the war. A second installation focuses on the Museum’s secret Courtyard which opens to the public for the first time in more than a decade.

The Courtyard has been landscaped with the help of local volunteers and community service workers, and a digital window onto the re-opened Courtyard will allow visitors to view life in the Canongate through the centuries.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Convener for Culture and Sport said: “With the exciting addition of these interactive exhibits and the pull of the popular Greyfriars Bobby collection, the Museum of Edinburgh is going to be a must-visit this summer.

“This digital trial is a first for the Council’s museums and galleries service and will be an exciting opportunity to discover how our cultural offering might be able to use new technology to shape our knowledge of the past. Appealing to visitors of all ages, the hands-on experience will allow anyone with an interest in Edinburgh’s history to physically connect with some of the Museum’s artefacts.”

Craig Hunter, Managing Director of Insurgent Studios, said: “The Council shares our enthusiasm to use the latest technology to enable the telling of old stories in new ways. We worked carefully to put the visitor at the centre of the experience, allowing them to ‘touch’ the objects we recreated in virtual form, to experience the installations at their own pace and in a variety of languages.

“The visitor is rewarded for engaging closely with the collection by the award of ‘achievements’ throughout the experience. Our approach to digital conservation allowed us to work with the team at the Council’s Museum of Edinburgh to showcase some items from the collections which would not otherwise be on display. We believe that these installations will appeal to everyone by literally putting history at their fingertips.”

Insurgent has also launched a microsite to detail the experience of creating the exhibits and using them.

The Museum of Edinburgh is open Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm and in August it is also open on Sundays 12 noon-5pm.

And it’s FREE!

Stuart Herd exhibition at Torrance Gallery

Stuart Herd invites you to his 2015 solo exhibition at the Torrance Gallery, Dundas Steet, which runs to 20th June.

On the record

New exhibition celebrates the people behind 150 years of records

A new exhibition telling the 150 year old story of the men and women responsible for Scotland’s public records opens today (19 May) at the National Records of Scotland on Princes Street.

‘Recording Angels: Scottish Registrars since 1855’ uses previously unseen documents to tell the human story behind the millions of documents that record the lives of every person in Scotland.

In 1865, ten years after civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in Scotland, local registrars banded together to form the Association of Registrars of Scotland. The Association is believed to be the oldest society of registrars in Europe, if not the world.

For the past 150 years the Association has worked with the Registrar General for Scotland to help shape modern registration practice, and supported registrars in their work of accurately recording life events of people in Scotland.

The Scottish Government, local authorities and the NHS use the detailed information in order to plan and provide public services. The Registrar General for Scotland oversees the work of local registrars, and the rich archive of registers they create is searchable through the official family history website ScotlandsPeople.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish Government, said: “Thanks to the hard work of forward-thinking registrars, Scotland’s rich social history has been preserved and recorded for the ages. Their work underpins the delivery of vital services by the NHS in Scotland, by the Scottish Government and by local authorities, and has created a rich genealogical resource for everyone to use and enjoy.

“I’m delighted that the National Records of Scotland is marking over 150 years of co-operation between the Registrar General for Scotland and local registrars in delivering a service that directly benefits people in Scotland every day.”

Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said: “This year National Records of Scotland celebrates the milestone of 160 years since civil registration began in Scotland, and we congratulate the Association of Registrars of Scotland on their 150th anniversary. We work closely with local registrars and the Association to deliver vital services to the public. We are proud to be part of a unique and historic partnership that creates a resource that is used in many different ways for the public good.”

Shirley Dickie, the Secretary of the Association of Registrars of Scotland, said:“The Association of Registrars of Scotland is proud to be marking 150 years of public service. Our members not only have personal contact with people at important times of their lives, but for 150 years have helped deliver a very highly-regarded registration service, which underpins so many public services that benefit everybody in Scotland.”

The ‘Recording Angels: Scottish registrars since 1855’exhibition can be seen at the National Records of Scotland, General Register House, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 19 May – 26 June, Monday to Friday, 9.00 – 4.30. Free admission.

Electrifying talent on show in Let’s Glow festival

Let’s Glow festival shines a light on Edinburgh College’s creative talent

Edinburgh College’s dazzling creative students are about to light up the city with a two-month celebration of their luminous talents.

The Let’s Glow festival gives Edinburgh the chance to enjoy performances and exhibitions from college students covering everything from music, theatre and dance to photography, film, art, animation, textiles and design. The programme of events will showcase the skills and talents of the students, demonstrating the work they have undertaken at Edinburgh College over the last year.

Let’s Glow runs from 4 May to 22 June, with events taking place at venues across the city – including the college’s campuses, Summerhall, The King’s Theatre, The Traverse Theatre, The Edinburgh Filmhouse and The Queen’s Hall. Photography students are also taking their work to exhibit at Brick Lane in London.

The festival will feature students from all the college’s creative industries study programmes: Art and Design; Broadcast Media and Photography; Computing; Music and Sound Production; and Performing Arts.

The programme includes large-scale end-of-year shows by music, arts, photography, film and animation students; the PASS Cross Currents dance event choreographed by college staff and performed by students; an exhibition of make-up artistry; a graphic design exhibition; performances of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and contemporary Scottish play My Romantic History; the PASS Out showcase for final-year Acting and Performance students; a musical theatre revue; and the premier of an original musical about Scotland’s most revered and most controversial instrument – the bagpipes!

The festival launched last night with sneak peek performances at the city’s La Belle Angele.

Jon Buglass, head of the Centre for Creative Industries at Edinburgh College, said: “Following the success of the first Let’s Glow festival last year, we’re delighted to showcase the incredible talents of our current crop of students. The events at this year’s festival allow us to celebrate and share the remarkable work our students have been producing over the last year. We are constantly blown away by the quality of their work and the time, effort and dedication they put into its production.

“The diversity in the programme means there really is something for everyone on offer. So if you want to be inspired by the talents of our students, get along to one of our Let’s Glow events.”

The full programme of events – some of which are free – and details of where to buy tickets can be found at www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/letsglow.

Keep up to date with Let’s Glow events on Facebook and Twitter.

#letsglow15

City’s lost treasures to be revealed

‘For us, this is a true lost treasure’ – David Patterson

Original architectural drawings of the Usher Hall, not seen in public since 1910, are to be displayed for the first time in the concert hall between 12 May and 1 September.

Vintage drawings of the Edwardian venue were recently discovered by an architect in Leicester that traced its roots to Stockdale Harrison & Sons, the architectural practice that won the competition to design the hall.

The folder of drawings only recently came to staff at the Usher Hall’s attention when the architect in Leicester contacted the venue. The archive contains over 200 items including early sketches of the venue, water colour impressions, detailed competition drawings, exquisitely coloured drawings of lighting and sculptural designs, blueprints for heating layouts, ironmongery and terrazzo floors.

The Usher Hall is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council. Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Convenor for Culture & Sport said: “It has been well documented that a competition took place to design the Usher Hall and that the winning idea was built thanks to funding from whisky distiller Andrew Usher, but the architects who worked on the building and their designs have remained a bit of a mystery.

“The design’s backlash against gothic buildings of the time and the venue’s unusual curved walls are as stunning today as they were 100 years ago. To rediscover these vintage drawings is one thing but to have them in our archives and put on public display is extra special.”

David Patterson, Collections Manager at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “For us, this is true lost treasure. I knew as soon as I saw the drawings how important they were, not just for the Usher Hall, but for Edinburgh. They represent a piece of the jigsaw of the capital’s history and we are delighted to be able to put them on show for the first time.”

In 1896 Andrew Usher gifted £100,000 to The City of Edinburgh Council. The purpose of the money was to provide a City Hall, to be used for concerts and recitals and in 1910 architects were invited to design a hall to the cost of £65,000. In total, 133 designs were considered and all were exhibited in the hall of the New Corn Market in Gorgie. The designs were voted on anonymously and the winners were announced on 22 July 1910. The preferred design was a joint entry from Stockdale Harrison & Son and Howard H Thomson of Leicester.

In addition to the architect’s drawings, a watercolour by Shirley Harrison, the architect’s son, will be displayed (above). The watercolour shows the building in 1914 and the venue’s first audience arriving in Edwardian dress.

Entry to the exhibition will be free of charge.

Science Festival programme launched

The Edinburgh International Science Festival today announced the programme for Spring 2015.

The Festival, which will bring together hundreds of events, activities and exhibitions to celebrate science, will take place over Saturday 19 March – Sunday 4 April taking in the Easter school break.

This year, the Festival aims to transform into ‘The Ideas Factory’ – a hub of information, ideas and innovation. Some of the events taking place include:

Brainwaves – a series examining the mysteries of Brain, Mind & Consciousness
Light & Enlightenment – UN International Year of Light 2015 illuminates Scotland’s greatest minds
GastroFest – our mini-festival about the science of food and drink returns
Energy & Environment – a series debating our global climate future featuring IPCC Chair Dr Rajendra Pachauri
Numbers That Matter – probing big data and the stats behind our lives
The Reading Experiment – a celebration of science writing in all its forms
How the Light Gets In – an exhibition showcasing artists working with light
Moral Philosopher Mary Midgley announced as recipient of the Edinburgh Medal 2015
Nobel Prize winner Prof Peter Higgs heads a list of world-leading scientists and speakers
Science Festival launches #SciPals half-price scheme for students supported by Siemens

The City of Edinburgh Council is a major funding partner of the Festival. Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion for the city, commented: “The Edinburgh International Science Festival is always a key highlight in the Spring calendar for both local Edinburgh residents and visitors to the city.

“Anyone visiting the Festival is in for a treat as this year’s programme is as jam-packed as ever. The Council’s City Art Centre will once again be transformed into a place of pioneering science and magic, and there will be a host of events and activities on offer for families.

“Every year the festival also features lectures from world-leading scientists and speakers, and a highlight for 2015 will be an insight from Professor Peter Higgs who was a recipient of the Edinburgh Award for his influence on the city.”

Full details of the 2015 programme can be found at sciencefestival.co.uk.

Tickets for all events can be booked online via the website or through the Box Office on 0844 557 2686.

Scars on the City: new exhibition at Museum of Edinburgh

The hardship and horror of a war that reached beyond the front line to our own doorsteps has been captured in a new exhibition at the City of Edinburgh Council’s Museum of Edinburgh.

On display from today until 27 June, Scars on the City: Edinburgh in World War I draws on the Capital’s extensive collection of objects and oral archives to recall what it was like to be in Edinburgh while the war was raging.

Documenting the stories of local munitions workers, nurses and children – and including an account of war recruitment drives that thronged the city’s streets – the display homes in on the tragic zeppelin raids of April 1916 which destroyed local buildings and scarred the Capital.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said the exhibition offers a stirring glimpse at life on the home front during WW1. He said: “Scars on the City reveals the will of Edinburgh’s home front and how people coped with the hardship and dangers of the war. Most of the objects and photographs on display are from the city’s own archives, and have been based on fascinating accounts from those who lived through the unrest.

“Over the last year the Council has provided a programme of free exhibitions and events across the city which commemorate the centenary of WW1 and life on the front line. This free to visit display brings it back ‘home’ and recalls what life was like for those left behind. It’s hard to imagine Edinburgh’s skyline being attacked from the air by zeppelins, and it is stirring to see how the city was destroyed, but also how it survived and was rebuilt.”

Exhibition curator Vicky Garrington said she was spoilt for choice when it came to selecting objects for the exhibition. She commented: “We’ve got some wonderful objects that will really transport visitors back to wartime Edinburgh. There are pieces of shrapnel collected after the zeppelin raids on Edinburgh in April 1916. A Braille pocket watch used by a blinded ex-servicemen shows the sacrifices made to defend Britain, and younger visitors will enjoy seeing the toys and games children played with during the war, drawn from the Museum of Childhood collection.

“I was surprised to find out how clued up young people at the time were about the details of the War. Cigarette cards taught them about ranks, Army signals and artillery, while board games challenged them to evade mines and bombs en route to Berlin.”

Scars on the City: Edinburgh in World War I will be on display at the Museum of Edinburgh until 27 June 2015.

The Museum is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Museums & Galleries service and is free to visit.