Scottish Storytelling Centre – Page 2 – The NEN

Figures of Speech: New Event Series Takes You on Explorative Journey of Scottish Words and Culture

Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature and the Scottish Storytelling Centre have joined forces to create a new series of events in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022 that will launch on Fri 20 May at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Figures of Speech is a fresh and exciting cross-artform series that will bring together writers and artists to take us on a road trip through Scottish literature.

Covering six universal themes (music, friendship, future, love, place, big ideas), each event explores literary blockbusters, hidden gems and modern classics.

Expert guides will take us on a journey through Scotland’s iconic books and stories, navigating the dazzling array of new voices, and presenting newly commissioned work by artists responding to each theme. This will be a journey across the curious contrasts and contradictions that define Scottish literature.

The events will also be supported by eight newly commissioned pieces of work from contemporary artists inspired by the themes. These will offer fresh expression, creative interpretation, and a reimagining of some of Scotland’s well-known and well-loved stories, as well as shining a light on some of the lesser known but equally loved contributions to Scotland’s literary canon.

The series will feature singers, poets, filmmakers, storytellers, authors, musicians, visual artists and more; a well-rounded and supportive platform for new and emerging talent as well as championing those already established in the literary scene.

The first event will be held on Fri 20 May with broadcaster Nicola Meighan in discussion with author Arusa Qureshi on all things music in Scottish literature.

Next up on Fri 24 June, poet Michael Pedersen will talk friendship with Val McDermid and on Fri 22 Jul, writer and poet Russell Jones speaks future horizons and forward thinking with writer T.L. Huchu.

The series continues on Fri 23 Sep with Gaelic poet Peter Mackay getting amorous with his words in discussion with romance writer Jenny Colgan, whilst visual artist and writer, Amanda Thomson, will drop a pin in the literary map with a discussion on place and locality with poet and film maker Roseanne Watt on Fri 21 Oct.

The season concludes on St. Andrew’s Day with some big ideas and pertinent questions in relation to Scotland and our world at large.

Professor David Farrier will host an evening of discussion with climate activist and author Jessica Gaitán Johannesson on Wed 30 November.

All the events will be recorded and made available online a week later, and both the live and recorded events will be supported by BSL interpretation. Each of the six events will be supported by a pop-up bookshop from Lighthouse Books. Their expert booksellers will be on hand to supply the must-read books to match the event.

Daniel Abercrombie, Programme & Events Manager at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, says: “‘Figures of Speech’ will bring audiences and performers together to debate and discuss the famous and not so famous words and stories across these themes in Scottish literature.

“This project is all about variety, partnerships, and a celebration of words, so we hope and imagine people will have their own thoughts and opinions on these themes, which is all part of the fun in this Year of Stories!

“I’m looking forward to finding new stories to explore and seeing the emerging creative responses to the themes, taking the story forward.”

Frank Ross, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, says: “‘Figures of Speech’ is a wonderful collaboration between Edinburgh City of Literature and the Scottish Storytelling Centre for Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.

“It really exemplifies the partnership working that takes place in Edinburgh as a UNESCO City of Literature. The six events in the programme bring a totally fresh approach to looking at Scotland’s writing and stories and it’s great to see such diversity of artists, writers and voices.’

Ali Bowden, Director, Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, says: “We’re delighted to be launching the Figures of Speech series and to be making all these events available to watch free on demand.

“Edinburgh is the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature and we’re excited and proud to be putting Scotland’s incredible artists on a global stage and using our international networks to help audiences around the world discover more about Scotland’s amazing books and stories.”

Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022 will spotlight, celebrate and promote the wealth of stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland. Figures of Speech is supported by EventScotland as part of this celebration.

Scottish Government Culture Minister Neil Gray, says: “We’re delighted to support this joint initiative from Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature and the Scottish Storytelling Centre through EventScotland’s Year of Stories Open Fund.

“This inspiring new multi-artform series of events will make a wonderful contribution to Scotland Year of Stories as it takes some of our best loved tales and explores them anew as part of wider more contemporary themes.”

Each themed event will be supported by newly commissioned pieces of work from contemporary artists such as Katie Ailes, Kim Carnie and Jeda Pearl Lewis amongst others.

Author and Figures of Speech contributor Val McDermid, says: “‘Figures of Speech‘ is a fantastic way of taking a fresh look at Scotland’s stories

“I’m looking forward to exploring friendships found both on and off the page: the lovely letters between Barrie and Stevenson; Holmes & Watson; my own 1990s correspondence with Ian Rankin when he was in France and I was in Manchester; my determination that Kate Brannigan should not be a friendless PI stalking the mean streets of Manchester, but rather should have a nexus of female friends …

“I’m excited to talk Scotland’s iconic friendships past and present with Michael Pederson and look to the future of Scottish literature.”

Tickets and further information can be found at https://cityofliterature.com/figures-of-speech/ and www.scottishstorytellingcentre.com | https://bit.ly/FOSYoS22

And you can follow the story online with #FoS22.

The Figures of Speech programme was made possible by financial support from EventScotland as part of the Year of Stories 2022, City of Edinburgh Council and The Stevenston Charitable Trust, and the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust and Scottish Storytelling Centre gratefully acknowledge this support.

Celebrate International Dance Day at Scottish Storytelling Centre

Only two weeks to go until we welcome Edinburgh Tradfest to the Storytelling Centre!

On Saturday 30th, we will be playing host to the finale of brand new mini-festival Pomegranates. This celebration of international dance features dancers and storytellers from across the globe, and will culminate in an energetic ceilidh in the Storytelling Court.

This will be absolutely beautiful! Don’t miss out.

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3xt7liY

More Than a Muse: Edinburgh exhibition launching on International Women’s Day

· More Than a Muse launches on Tue 8 March (International Women’s Day) at The Scottish Storytelling Centre’s Exhibition Space in Edinburgh. Launch is free but ticketed.

· Eight contemporary artists will showcase new work that highlights women from art history who have been eclipsed by the title of ‘The Muse’

· The exhibition will run from Tue 8 March – Sun 10 April and is free entry.

More than a Muse, a new exhibition launching tomorrow, Tue 8 March (International Women’s Day) at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh will celebrate the lesser-known narratives of women from art history whilst simultaneously showcasing new work from current women artists.

Eight contemporary artists will showcase new work in celebration of women from art history who have been eclipsed by their title of ‘The Muse’. Artists whose stories deserve to be told and who deserve to have their work celebrated. Who didn’t just inspire great art, but also created it, yet are rarely seen as a creative force in their own right. Not just a face on another artist’s canvas, they are more than that, more than a muse.

This exhibition is an opportunity to tell and reclaim these lesser-known narratives and will spotlight the lives of women such as Stella Cartwright known as ‘The Muse of Rose Street’. Stella was the lover and muse of many Scottish poets including George Mackay Brown. Although her poetry was unpublished, she was an artist and poet in her own right. Stella’s life will be reimagined in a monologue by playwright and performer, Jo Clifford.

Dora Maar was a French photographer, painter, and poet. She is often referred to as lover and muse of Pablo Picasso and is depicted in several of Picasso’s paintings. She was a rising star in the surrealist circle of the 1930s and a great commercial and fashion photographer, but under Picasso’s influence she gave up photography and withdrew from the art scene altogether.

By some accounts, the beginning of Dora Maar’s relationship with Pablo Picasso marked the end of her own artistic career. It wasn’t until her death in 1997 that art historians were finally able to examine Maar’s masterful body of work in full. Maar’s work will be creatively interpreted by photographer, Monchromemaud.

Kitty Garman was muse to Lucian Freud but was an artist in her own right. Their five-year relationship was turbulent and became increasingly unstable due to Freud’s alleged infidelities and womanising, which took their toll on Garman’s health. Her life will be celebrated in a new series of acrylics by artist Harry Mould.

Others in the series are as follows:

The Muse	Backstory	Contemporary Artist and art form
Stella (‘Muse of Rose Street’) Cartwright	Cartwright was a Scottish muse and lover to a number of Scottish poets including George Mackay Brown. She was a poet and painter in her own right.	Jo Clifford, poetry
Dora Maar	Maar was muse to Picasso but was a photographer and painter in her own right.	Monochromemaud, Photography
Kitty Garman	Garman was muse to Lucian Freud but was an artist in her own right.	Harry Mould, acrylic and oil
Julia Warhola	Muse and mother of Andy Warhol but was an artist in her own right	Emma Macleod, sculpture
Lee Miller	Muse to Man Ray but was a photographer in her own right	Maria Poyato, sculpture
Elizabeth Siddal	Pre-Raphaelite muse but poet and artist in her own right.	Geraldine Brennan, illustration
Hannah Höch	Muse to Raul Haussman but artist and photomontagist in her own right.	Lada Wilson,Photomontage
Georgia O’Keeffe	Muse to Alfred Stieglitz, celebrated artist in her own right	Misia-O, photography

The launch is supported by a performance organised by the Scottish Storytelling Forum. Performance poet Imogen Stirling will share spoken word poetry whilst storyteller, Ailsa Dixon will tell inspirational tales of women from folklore to celebrate International Women’s Day and to mark the exhibition launch.

More Than A Muse will be displayed at the Scottish Storytelling Centre from Tue 8 Mar – Sun 10 April. No tickets required. (Please note in March 2022 the Centre is closed on Wednesdays).

Tickets for the launch on Tue 8 March are free or by donation and can be found on the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s website. https://www.scottishstorytellingcentre.com/ 0131 556 9579

Ends

Story Valley: Cities of Literature meet in Edinburgh to forge new ideas for improving literacy skills

Edinburgh, UNESCO’s first City of Literature, last week played host to the first meeting of a unique European partnership group, The Story Valley initiative, to coincide with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott.

The City of Edinburgh Council, together with Edinburgh College, welcomed Story Valley partners from three other European UNESCO Cities of Literature – Leeuwarden, in the Netherlands, Ljubljana, Slovenia’s Capital and Nottingham, UK – as the group came together to create new policy ideas.

This is part of its manifesto to use storytelling to improve literacy skills, while preserving and enriching cultural heritage through collaboration.

As part of the visit, the programme has brought together the city’s literary sector and cultural partners – Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) and Scottish Storytelling Centre – and showcased the exciting work and projects taking place in Edinburgh.

During the three-day programme Story Valley partners visited Edinburgh College to see the project in action, share best practice and explore potential collaborations, visited the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and spoke to representatives from innovative projects happening across the city.

These included: Super Power Agency, a creative writing programme, using writing for confidence building amongst hard to reach 8-18 year olds in Edinburgh; the Creative Words for Well-being project by the Scottish Poetry Library; Street Reads Library, a safe space connecting homeless people with books; the Digital Storytelling project by the Scottish Book Trust; and EIBF’s Citizen Project.

The programme was topped off by a light spectacular on Thursday (28 October) as the Granton Gasholder, recently brought to life in partnership with Edinburgh College, as part of the £1.3billion Granton Waterfront project, was lit up in Story Valley colours.

The Story Valley initiative is funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union.

The City of Edinburgh Council, Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Donald Wilson, said: “As the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, we’re very proud to be hosting the Story Valley partner cities in Edinburgh for the first time, sharing ideas, inspiring one another and working together with the ultimate goal of improving literacy across Europe through the wonders of telling stories of our past.

“Through this visit’s programme our Edinburgh partners have captured our Scottish culture and Edinburgh’s passion for its literary and cultural heritage while also showcasing our world-renowned Storytelling Festival. Everyone has gained a lot from this experience and I’m sure will be taking a lot away with them while planning the next gathering to progress the initiative.”

Ali Bowden from Edinburgh City of Literature, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with Edinburgh College, the Council and our sister Cities of Literature on Story Valley.

“Edinburgh has a strong storytelling tradition and it’s great that the students and organisations working on this project are finding new ways for storytelling to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Edinburgh College Assistant Principal of Curriculum for Creative Industries, Jakki Jeffery, said: “We’re really excited to welcome our partners from Leeuwarden, Ljubljana and Nottingham to Edinburgh as part of the Story Valley project and are looking forward to showcasing the work of Edinburgh College’s Creative Industries faculty and sharing examples of good practice between the VET and further education institutions.

“Partners will have the opportunity to work on each of the Intellectual Outputs face-to-face for the first time and to meet some of our staff and students involved in the project to see first-hand what they have been working on.”

Beyond Words: Scottish International Storytelling Festival

The 31st Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF) celebrates old traditions and new connections, showcasing how music, dance and story communicate shared experiences that are ‘Beyond Words’.

Canada and Scotland have closely interwoven identities and histories, so SISF is delighted to headline ‘Canada-Scotland: Coast to Coast’ for its International Exchange, thanks to Festivals Expo support. Continue reading Beyond Words: Scottish International Storytelling Festival

Hamish Henderson Celebrated: Summer School, Ceilidh & Theatre showcase Scotland’s folk legend

Maker, ye maun sing them …

Tomorrow, songs

Will flow free again, and new voices

Be borne on the carrying stream.”

(Hamish Henderson)

Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS) presents the Hamish Henderson Summer School which reflects the visionary spirit and diversity of the founding father of Scotland’s 20th Century folk renaissance, offering inspiration and enjoyment of the traditional arts against the backdrop of Alexander Moffat’s striking ‘Scotland’s Voices’ canvas. Continue reading Hamish Henderson Celebrated: Summer School, Ceilidh & Theatre showcase Scotland’s folk legend

Edinburgh storytellers explore Scotland’s Suffragette story with students as part of Scotland’s local storytelling campaign

As part of Scotland’s Local Storytelling Campaign and to mark this year’s centenary of the women’s right to vote and The Year of Young People, Edinburgh storytellers Lea Taylor and Nicola Wright have teamed with students from Woodmill High School, Dunfermline and will be looking closely at themes connected to their storytelling performance, ‘The Purple White and Green: The Story of Scottish Suffragettes’. Continue reading Edinburgh storytellers explore Scotland’s Suffragette story with students as part of Scotland’s local storytelling campaign