www.list.co.uk/aroundtown
Ethnomedica want to know all those bits of herbal medicine lore your granny told you. FREE Hearing Impaired Tour – Young Vermeer Sat 15 Jan, 11am–noon. National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, 624 6200. A free tour of the exhibition of early works by Johannes Vermeer, with portable loops for the hard of hearing. FREE The OneOak Project Sat 15 & Sun 16 Jan, 12.30–3.30pm. John Hope Gateway Centre, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, 552 7171 . Staff from the Forestry Commission and the Sylva Foundation tell the life story of one oak tree from germination to death, in a show combining film, music and art. Ages 5+. FREE Hot Rocks! Sun 16 Jan, 9am–noon. Holyrood Park, 652 8150. See picture, right. Ten-Week Taiko Drumming Course Tue 18 Jan, 7–9pm. £120. St John’s Church, Princes Street, 01357 522008. A comprehensive course exploring the energetic and disciplined art of taiko drumming taking participants from the rudiments of the practice up to a group performance at the end of the ten weeks. Suitable for both beginners and those with drumming experience, but participants must have a reasonable level of physical fitness. Exhibitions FREE Rebels With A Cause: The Jacobites and the Global Imagination Fri 7 Jan, 10am–4pm. The Scottish Parliament, Queensberry House, Holyrood, 0800 092 7500. Last chance to catch this fascinating display of historical artefacts exploring the international aspect of the Jacobite movement’s legacy. FREE V&A at Dundee Mon 17–Thu 27 Jan. Mon & Fri 10am–4pm; Tue–Thu 9am–6pm; Sat 11am–5pm. Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Road, 348 5000. The six shortlisted designs for Scotland’s new design centre on Dundee waterfront are all on show. Work on the winning design from Kengo Kuma & Associates is scheduled to start work in 2012, but you can still view the other submissions, which came from architects all over the globe keen to be a part of this high-profile project. FREE Asian Wedding Show Scotland Sun 16 Jan, 11am–7pm. Sheraton Grand Hotel, 1 Festival Square, 229 9131. Stalls and fashion shows from a range of exhibitors, including fashion, hair and make-up along with free food and refreshments.
Sport BUPA Great Winter Run Sat 8 Jan, noon. Runners £20; spectators free. Holyrood Park, info@greatrun.org. Get back in shape after the season of indulgence with the 5km Winter Run in the picturesque setting of Holyrood Park. Children aged 7–13 can start 2011 off on the right foot with the 2.4km Junior Great Winter Run at 10am. See Hitlist. Talks FREE Thomas Campbell: Turner’s Other Scottish Poet Fri 7 Jan, 12.45–1.30pm. National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, 624 6200. A talk on the work of Scottish poet Thomas Campbell, for whom JMW Turner painted a set of specially commissioned watercolours to accompany a collection of his poems. FREE Hodgkin and the French Colourist Tradition Mon 10 Jan, 12.45–1.15pm. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. Art historian Belinda Thomson compares the works on show by Howard Hodgkin with those produced by French painters such as Matisse, Derain and Vuillard. Our Place in the Universe Mon 10 Jan, 7.30–8.30pm. £3 (£1.50; season tickets £10 for children and £20 for adults). Royal Observatory Visitor Centre, Blackford Hill, 668 8404. Rita Tojeiro
Hot Rocks! AroundTown
It does, and they are. We freely admit we’re bigging up this ranger-led walk round Holyrood Park mainly on the basis of its great title, but it does sound interesting of itself too – take a journey to the centre of Edinburgh’s own homegrown volcano, touch 350 million-year-old lava flows and marvel at the magma. ■ Holyrood Park, Sun 16 Jan, 9am–noon. Free, but call 0131 652 8150 to book.
explains how cosmic maps can help us to understand and predict the evolution of the universe. FREE Lighthouses: Image and Imagination Tue 11 Jan, 12.45–1.30pm. National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, 624 6200. A talk by Dr Alison Morrison- Low from National Museums Scotland on the depictions of lighthouses held in the national collections. FREE RBGE Show and Tell: Science Team Wed 12 Jan, 1.30–3pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 248 2979. Find out about the work of the RBGE’s resident boffins. FREE Art and the Gaidhealtachd: Rethinking Highland Art Wed 12 Jan, 1.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3963. Dr Murdo Macdonald, Professor of History of Art at the University of Dundee, discusses the pieces in the Centre’s current exhibition in the context of recent research into the Scottish Gàidhealtachd. Booking essential. FREE When Football Met Ballet Thu 13 Jan, 5.30–7pm. Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, 650 2750. A screening of Daniel Warren’s film Mercury, followed by a panel discussion about the parallels between healthcare for dancers and footballers, with the Scottish football team’s official doctor, Dr John McLean and Deputy Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet, Paul Tyers. Booking essential. Illuminating the Dark Universe With Gravitational Lensing Mon 17 Jan, 7.30–8.30pm. £3 (£1.50). Royal Observatory Visitor Centre, Blackford Hill, 668 8404. Emma Grocutt reveals how lensing works and what it is revealing about so-called ‘dark’ matter and energy. FREE The Young Vermeer – Histories, Stories, Questions Tue 18 Jan, 12.45–1.30pm. National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, 624 6200. Dr Tico Seifert, curator of the current Young Vermeer exhibition, discusses three of the works in the exhibition, setting them in their historical context and outlining recent conservation work. Curtain Raiser: A View from the Bridge Tue 18 Jan, 6–7pm. £5 (under 18s free). Royal Lyceum Theatre,
Grindlay Street, 248 4848. Lynn Bains, accent coach for the current production, discusses the challenges for British actors of adopting American accents. FREE RBGE Show and Tell: Arboriculture Wed 19 Jan, 1.30–3pm. John Hope Gateway Centre, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, 552 7171 . Martyn Dixon speaks about the work undertaken by the Botanics’ Arboriculture team. FREE Queen’s Medical Research Institute Public Lecture Series Wed 19 Jan, 5.30pm. Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Little France, Old Dalkeith Road, 242 6162. Talk on new methods of prevention and treatment of heart attacks. Booking essential. Peter Mackay: A Tour Round Two Centuries of Scottish Lighthouses Wed 19 Jan, 2.15pm. £8 (under 18s/students/RSGS members free). Appleton Tower, Crichton Street, 650 8445. Peter Mackay takes the audience on a tour around the coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man visiting many iconic lighthouses and talking about the inspirational men who built them. Workshops FREE Transient Landscapes in Silk Sat 8 Jan, 10am–3.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3993. Scotland’s stunning landscapes and their dramatically changing weather conditions have always presented artists with an irresistible challenge. Learn basic techniques for silk landscape painting with artist Lynda Frame. FREE Craft and Biodiversity Session Sat 8 Jan, 12.30–3.30pm. John Hope Gateway Centre, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, 552 7171. Georgia Crook leads a hands- on craft session inspired by the Conserving Ecologies exhibition. Design Your Own Garden Tuesdays, 11 Jan–22 Mar, 10am–noon. £110 (members £99). Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, 248 2937. Diane Pyper takes this 11-week course on how to create the garden you’ve always wanted. Foliage, Watercolours and Landscape Mondays, 10 Jan–21 Mar, 9.30am–12.30pm & 1.30–4.30pm. £100
(members £90). Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, 248 2937. Award-winning artist David Forster leads an 11-week course in which students learn to paint foliage and flowers using watercolours. The afternoon class (level I) is aimed at beginners, the morning class (level II) for the more experienced. Booking essential. Psychodrama Dream Group Tue 11 & 18 Jan, 6–8pm. £10–£35. Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, commongroundarts@onetel.com. Ten- week drama therapy course. Art for Absolute Beginners Thursdays, 13 Jan–24 Feb, 10.30am–12.30pm & 1.30–3.30pm. £8 for morning sessions; £10 for afternoon sessions. National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, 624 6534. Morning sessions consist of an introduction to and discussion about art with art historian Ola Wojtkiewicz, while in the afternoon you’ll get your own creative hat on for a practical session with artist Louise Fraser. FREE Easel Sketching in the Gallery Thu 13 & Fri 14 Jan, 2–4pm. National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, 624 6200. Sketching session led by artist Damian Callan. Expressive Willow Masterclass Sat 15 Jan, 10am–4pm. £tbc. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3963. Ever felt the need to express yourself through the medium of willow? This masterclass with Lizzie Fairey shows you how. Booking essential. Saturday Life Drawing Class Sat 15 Jan, 10.30am–12.30pm or 2–4pm. £10 (£8). National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, 624 6200. See how others have portrayed the human body, then try it yourself, drawing from a live model. All materials are supplied. No experience necessary.
Save money Subscribe
see page 29 for details
6–20 Jan 2011 THE LIST 33