The HOT
100
Christmas show Zorro. Hill also helmed two sparkling new productions, The Last Witch and The Dark Things. (AR)
61 Numbers CLUB NIGHT
Cutting-edge club night that’s been spinning techno, hip hop, dubstep, house and electro for the last six years, with special guests such as Ghostface Killah and Squarepusher. This year they successfully consolidated their various labels (Wireblock, Dress 2 Sweat and Stuffrecords) into Numbers records, then issued great releases by Lazer Sword and Redinho. (HN)
60 Torsten Lauschmann MULTIMEDIA ARTIST
For his acclaimed solo show at Mary Mary, The Darker Ages, the Glasgow artist presented film works, wall paintings and projections exploring projected light within film and as an object in itself. Lauschmann’s work was also included in two highly regarded group exhibitions: Running Time at Edinburgh’s Dean Gallery, and Votive at the CCA in Glasgow. (AR)
59 Zoey Van Goey INDIE TRIO
Kim Moore, Matt Brennan and Michael John McCarthy are from England, Canada and Ireland respectively, but are now firmly entrenched in their adopted city of Glasgow’s music scene. The debut album The Cage Was Unlocked All Along appeared this year, and was quickly reissued on Chemikal Underground. (DP)
58 Kode9 KING OF DUBSTEP
Steve Goodman was born in Glasgow, spent his formative years as a junglist in Edinburgh and now runs seminal London dubstep label Hyperdub. Cooly G and Joker were among the label’s artists this year, while Goodman’s biggest discovery, Burial, featured on the 5 Years of Hyperdub compilation. (DP)
57 Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival MULTIMEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL WITH A PURPOSE The festival had an exceptionally strong third year, with a massive 200 music, film and art events tackling the stigma around mental health all over Scotland. They worked with the BBC and the National Theatre of Scotland, and had a particularly accessible film programme. (KI)
56 Optimo TRAILBLAZING CLUB NIGHT
With a packed touring schedule around the globe, Optimo are still the ultimate taste makers in the world of Glasgow clubbing with their weekly Sunday shindig of cutting-edge eclectica. Optimo also relaunched their record label, the cannily titled Optimo Music, in January with releases from Big Ned, Den Haan and Dollskabeat. (HN)
55 HMV Picture House REJUVENATED VENUE Edinburgh’s newest venue helped reinvigorate the music scene in the capital with a busy schedule of touring acts (from Franz Ferdinand to Dizzee Rascal), linking up with the Edge Festival as well as scoring some Scottish exclusives, including The Dead Weather and Mudhoney, and not forgetting the relaunch of their club nights in September. (HN)
54 Simon Groom DIRECTOR OF THE
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART
Edinburgh’s modern art maestro has had an excellent second year in the job. He made the most of collector Anthony d’Offay’s generous gift of 725 works through the Artist Rooms series and initiated the exhaustive Running Time exhibition of Scottish video art. A 50-year anniversary exhibition has rounded out a laudable 2009. (JE)
53 Grant Smeaton PLAYWRIGHT AND
PERFORMER
Glasgow-based Smeaton scored the runaway success of this year’s Glasgay! festival with the inspired Bette/Cavett, which re-imagined a 1971 encounter between screen legend Bette Davis (played by Smeaton) and TV interviewer Dick Cavett. Following its short run at the Tron, it is hoped that Smeaton will revive the piece next year. (AR)
52 Al Seed ACTOR AND DIRECTOR
In 2009 Al Seed, one of Scotland’s most interesting physical theatre actors and directors, took the helm at excellent Fringe show The Red Room, and became artistic director of new national street arts and physical theatre project Conflux. They’re in good hands. (KA)
17 Dec 2009–7 Jan 2010 THE LIST 23
67 Gutter Magazine BRAND NEW LITERARY MAG
Edited by Colin Begg and former National Theatre of Scotland communications director Adrian Searle, this new literary magazine has a mandate to publish cutting-edge fiction from Scottish authors, rather than offer (as Searle has said) ‘some romantic shortcake image of times past’. (DP)
66 Catherine Hardy & Jacqueline Fennessy
BAR OWNERS
The pair behind the highly successful Left Bank on Glasgow’s Gibson Street helped revitalise the bedraggled lower end of Byres Road with the summer opening of their new bar, Two Figs, which instantly became a vital part of the West End scene. (DR)
65 Visible Fictions INTELLIGENT KIDS’ THEATRE
Visible Fictions’ smart, well-crafted children’s shows got better and better this year. Curse of the Demeter gave us chills over Hallowe’en and now Zorro at Edinburgh’s Traverse is providing our Christmas kicks. Top marks for unpatronising family theatre. (JE)
64 Jackie Wylie VISIONARY ARTISTIC
DIRECTOR
The Arches’ artistic director really put her stamp on the venue’s output this year, programming excellent international performance work,
particularly during the new Behaviour Festival, and establishing a major presence for Scottish work — including Trilogy — with the Arches’ satellite shows on the Fringe. (KI)
63 Paolo Nutini SINGER/SONGWRITER
Kicking off 2009 with performances at Edinburgh and Glasgow’s Hogmanay parties, Paisley’s Nutini went on to make inroads with the silent majority of heritage rock fans. While accepted rather than lauded critically, the second album Sunny Side Up sold in huge numbers this year. (DP)
62Dominic Hill THEATRE SUPREMO
Traverse artistic director Hill has expanded and developed his vision this year, launching short play initiatives, making exciting uses of the venue’s bar, staging a successful collaboration with Oran Mor’s ‘A Play, a Pie and a Pint’ and bringing in Visible Fictions for