Noticeboard NewsGossipOpinion Streetland festival will include an interactive spy game on the streets of Govanhill
As Govanhill welcomes its first street festival, The List goes behind the scenes Words: Anna Millar
Street smart A s Scotland’s festival season comes rushing in it can be all too difficult to tell the wheat from the chaff. But Govanhill’s smart new mini festival, Streetland, most certainly falls into the former category, as filmmakers, musicians and artists take over one of Glasgow’s more rundown stomping grounds, with a weekend of inspired arts programming.
A celebration of one of Glasgow’s most historic and multicultural communities, highlights include film screenings on Westmoreland Street tenement blocks, an interactive spy game in the streets by artists Angie Bual and Fergus Dunnet, a large-scale site-specific artwork by Janie Nicoll, and poetry readings by local activist and writer Nick Sims. Govanhill Baths will also play host to a selection of events featuring local musicians and performers. Those interested in the great outdoors can head to the GREAT gardens initiative
event, with music and storytelling, co-ordinated by local councillor Danny Alderslowe. The festival comes at a time in which the area is undergoing some scrutiny for its housing conditions. But Streetland programmer Lucie Potter is keen to emphasise the positives, and told The List: ‘We were keen to do a project that looked at the environment and in this case “the street”. The hope is that Streetland will showcase the positive aspects of the area and get local people, as well as visitors to Glasgow, out on the street. ‘There’s a real diverse culture living there and we want that to be represented in all aspects of the programme, and for there to be a real platform of exchange.’
Streetland runs from 30 Apr–2 May. See www.streetland.ning.com
THE ILLUSIONIST GETS GALA OPENING AT EIFF ■ Sylvain Chomet’s much- anticipated The Illusionist has been announced as the Opening Gala for this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs from 16–27 June. Chomet is best known for critically acclaimed hit Belleville Rendez-Vous. Elsewhere at the EIFF, the capital’s Festival Theatre will be used to host ‘major premieres’, with plans to install Scotland’s largest digital cinema and provide a 1600-seat
film venue already underway. The Scottish Documentary Institute and Initialize Films have also announced their contribution to this year’s EIFF with the launch of Doc Week (15–20 Jun) set to run alongside the festival for the first time, hosting the annual Edinburgh Pitch, Documentary Case Studies, Doc in Progress consultancies, meetings and briefings with documentary experts and more. Full programme details for this year’s EIFF will be announced at the beginning of June.
LIVING 5 Things. . .
GREEN APPS iPhone apps to help you stay eco-friendly
1 Find Recycling (59p) An easy way
to find recycling points. This app provides simple-to- follow recycling maps that can be quickly updated by users.
2 Love Food Hate Waste (free)
App from Waste Aware Scotland offering meal
planners and simple recipes to help save ingredients from the bin.
3 Carbon Tracker (free) Set a carbon footprint target and monitor progress towards it
with this app that calculates CO2 emitted by each journey.
4 Green Meter (£3.49) Pricey
but worth it for an app that calculates your vehicle's power and
fuel consumption, and evaluates your driving to increase efficiency.
5 Edinbus (free) Green your day by leaving the car at home and catching a bus. Includes
comprehensive bus route and stop finders, and regular travel updates. WWW.LIST.CO.UK Visit us daily for arts & entertainment news
GLAMMING IT UP Whether you love ‘im or loath ‘im, Gok Wan is set to take the people of Glasgow under his ridiculously coiffed wing this summer, as consumer fest GLAM in the City rocks up to Glasgow’s George Square from 18–20 Jun, complete with fashion shows, workshops, makeovers and the Gokmeister appearing over the course of the weekend. See glaminthecity.co.uk for tickets and more. 15–29 Apr 2010 THE LIST 7