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ownership and slavery which merchants in Edinburgh were party to.‘ says Spencer. who intends to ask the Edinburgh public what to do with the resulting tobacco crop.
St Margaret‘s House isn‘t the only local building getting a facelift for the festival. Polarcap (aka local artists Graeme Todd and Liz Adamson) have brought together 14 emergent and established artists. including Graham Fagen. lain Patterson and Norman Shaw. for Eskimo. the inaugural exhibition at the Gallery at Eskmills in Musselburgh. The Victorian mill buildings have been transformed into an art space that commemorates the building‘s past. as will the exhibition.
‘The works will relate to the space in a variety of ways.‘ says Todd. ‘Some will resonate with the physical dimensions of the building and others with its history as an ex-fishing net factory and the subsequent relationship to the sea.’
Other disused spaces being colonised by the festival include the former Infirmary Street Baths. now the new home of the Dovecot Tapestry Studios. which will be celebrating the move with two retrospective exhibitions. and the lngleby Gallery. which has converted the much-
‘IT TAKES NEW ARTISTS WITH FRESH EYES TO USE THE CITY THIS WAY'
missed Venue nightclub into the largest private art gallery outside of London.
Along with internal exhibitions. the advertising hoarding space above the new gallery has been renamed Bill/murdfm' Edinburgh. a piece of art visible from afar. The first artist to show there is Ttrrner Prize-winner Mark Wallinger. although his project is still a secret. 'Not because there's anything contentious or dramatic about it.~ says director Richard lngleby. 'We just like the idea of the new image popping up . . . rather than being trailed.‘
Increasing the reach and accessibility of the festival this year. Brown has also programmed a number of projects which interact directly with the public. rather than waiting for an art-aware audience to come to them.
Spam the Musical. organised by New Media
Visual Art
Clockwise, from left: An artist’s impression of Ettie Spencer’s Tobacco House, one of the venues for Garden Gallery, Edinburgh Up[ Close, refurbishment plans for Dovecot, Eskimo, a scene from Spam, the Musical, Joshua Sofaer preparing for his Scavenger Hunt.
Scotland and an artist who prefers to remain anonymous. brings together two years' worth of collected email spam which he has converted into video pieces. The artist‘s display method is 'guerrilla art'. with videos appearing throughout lidinburgh in a range of as yet unknown locations: like spam mail. they aim to reach people who haven‘t solicited them. 'l‘allin-born artist Mare Tralla‘s l’mrm'rml tracks the movement of (‘(‘TV cameras throughout the city. with live easel painting and performance in Waverly Station. the Bridges and Princes Street.
Performance artist Joshua Sofaer is also taking to the streets; he has organised a Scavenger Hunt for anyone willing to apply. There will be 40 teams. each given a hundred clues and just nine hours to scrabble around the city and fmd hidden objects. Assuming all the objects are found. Sofaer will display them at the (‘ity Art (‘entre from Monday IS August.
This sort of project is traditionally territory of the Anntrale. the artist-run. self-styled ‘bridesmaid‘ to the liAl’. This year. though. the Anntrale is more closely integrated into the programme than ever before. co-presenting projects with the festival proper in and around the belly of the city. Edinburgh Close (/1) will use the gardens and spaces around Advocates (‘lose as backdrop to display sculpture and installation. organised by a group of international artists. By showing work in these outdoor spaces. they hope to attract ‘thc city user rather than the gallery pundit‘.
c a m e r a. a new gallery created by researcher and artist Julia Martin in association with the Museum of lidinburgh is also aimed at the passer by; the ‘gallery' is a glass cabinet set in the wall next to the museum’s entrance. the work visible only from the street with no access inside.
New York artist Sanford Wurmford‘s [2' ('vt‘lummu. a painting on the inside of a huge cylinder made for lidinburgh (‘ollege of Art‘s sculpture court. also has historical links with the city. The first circular painting ever made was by Robert Barker in the l78()s in lidinburgh. demonstrating the view of the top of (‘arlton llill. Wurmford says. ‘In a sense. the panorama is coming "home" when 1 exhibit my 360 degree works here.. Wurmford appears to have got the measure of the city. and of this year‘s liAl" programme. too. ‘The city today is more than its architecture.’ he says. ‘lt is a community of artists. scholars. workers of all kinds.’
For details on where to find all the exhibitions mentioned here, see listings.
THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 71
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