AroundTown
FREE Royal Millinery: The Many Hats of Elizabeth II Tue 30 Aug, 12.45–1.30pm. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. Whatever else you think about Elizabeth II, it can’t be denied that she’s got some pretty fly headgear. The Senior Curator of Fashion at the Museum of London explores. FREE Wednesday Walkabout Wednesdays, 1–1.30pm. Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, South Bridge, 650 2210. Weekly informal half- hour talks. Judging a Book by its Cover: Talwin Morris and Glasgow School Book Design Wed 31 Aug, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Professor Gibbs presents an introduction to a popular period in book design. FREE Artists’ Books in Focus Thu 1 Sep, 11.30am–12.30pm. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Two, 73 Belford Road, 624 6200. Delve into the special collections and see a number of publications featuring the work of Catalan surrealist Joan Miró. FREE Spotlight on . . . Our New Galleries Thursdays, 1, 8 & 15 Sep, 2–3pm. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. Talks from the curators who lovingly and painstakingly put together the new galleries. FREE The Vision after the Sermon by Paul Gauguin Fri 2 Sep, 12.45–1.30pm. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. Art historian Belinda Thomson discusses one of Gauguin’s most complex and mysterious paintings. FREE The Clipperton Project Sat 3 Sep, 11am–12.30pm. Scottish Book Trust, Sandeman House Trunks Close 55 High Street, 524 0160. Clipperton is an isolated French atoll in the Pacific ocean. This event, in association with VAGA, explores the ideas behind a multi-disciplinary project involving 16 artists and scientists that is set to take place there. Booking essential. FREE Botanical Vaudevilles / Urban Rhymes Sat 3 Sep, 2pm. Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place/Inverleith Row, 248 2971. Dr Dominic Paterson examines work by Robert Rauschenberg. Toothpicks or 20-Ton Diggers? What Archaeologists Really Do for a Living . . . Mon 5 Sep, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Find out all you need to know about being a professional archaeologist in 21st century Scotland. Part of Scottish Archaeology Month. FREE Tony Cragg and the New Landscape of Sculpture Mon 5 Sep, 12.45–1.30pm. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One, 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. Art historian and theorist Alison Joy Sleeman contextualises Cragg’s work in the British art and sculpture scene of the 1970s and 80s. The Millionaire Collector: Lord Leith of Fyvie and his Paintings Collection Wed 7 Sep, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Talk examinining art collector Alexander Forbes-Leith’s selection, his mistakes and the difficulties he ran into. The King James Bible in Scotland Thu 8 Sep, 1.30–2.30pm. £5 (£3.50) exhibition admission (talk included). City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 0131 529 3963. Talk on the gradual appearance of the King James Bible in Scotland, the permeation of the text into Scottish culture and the current decline in usage. Medicine to Magic Thu 8 Sep, 7.30pm. £5 (members £3). Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 552 5339. Greg Kenicer lectures on the RBGE’s research into traditional Scottish plant uses. FREE Lochaber to the Cosmos Fri 9 Sep, 8pm. The Augustine Church, 41–43 George IV Bridge, astronomyedinburgh.org The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh holds a talk open to all. 80 THE LIST 25 Aug–22 Sep 2011
FREE Archaeology Top Five Sun 11 Sep, 1.45–2.15pm & 2.45–3.15pm & 3.45–4.15pm. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. Museum curators and archaeologists choose their favourite objects. Part of Scottish Archaeology Month. Ebb and Flow Mon 12 Sep, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. David Patterson examines how Scottish artists have portrayed the sea. Robert Burns and Edinburgh Wed 14 Sep, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. David Purdie examines Burns’ two-year soujourn in Edinburgh. David Mach with Richard Holloway Thu 15 Sep, 7.30–8.30pm. £10. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3963. The former Bishop of Edinburgh converses with the artist about the origins of his current exhibition. Booking essential. Down the Drain: Scottish Heavy Ceramics Tue 20 Sep, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Miles Oglethorpe explores Scotland’s ceramic industries. FREE Cragg’s Art versus our ‘limited utilitarian censored reality’ Tue 20 Sep, 12.45–1.30pm. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. Catherine Lampert, who has curated two previous Tony Cragg exhibitions, discusses the sculptor’s strengthening links to the oblique world of contemporary poetry. Bangers and MASH Thu 22 Sep, 7.30–8.30pm. £3 (£1.50). Royal Observatory Visitor Centre, Blackford Hill, 668 8404. Fred Watson of the Australian Astronomical Observatory gives an illustrated talk about ‘bangers’ (the remnants of exploding stars) and MASH (objects in the Macquarie
Uni/Anglo-Australian Observatory/Strasbourg H-alpha planetary nebula catalogue) – that’s clouds of gas to you and me. Booking essential. Workshops Art for Absolute Beginners: Looking at Art Thursdays, 25 Aug–17 Nov, 10.30am–12.30pm & 1.30–3.30pm. Morning sessions £10 (£8); afternoon sessions £12 (£10). Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. Interested in art, but worried you don’t know enough about it? Art historian Ola Wojtkiewicz gives discussion-based tours (mornings) and hands-on practical sessions (afternoons) for those who want to find a way into the world of art. Places are limited. Movement Workshop Fri 26 Aug, 10am. £6 (£5). Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 554 8092. Physical expression, stretching and relaxation. Part of Leith on the Fringe. Starting With Stories Sat 27 Aug, 10am–1pm. £18 (members £15 (network members)). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Improve your storytelling skills and learn more about the oral art form. Booking essential. Saturday Life Drawing Class Sat 27 Aug, 10.30am–12.30pm & 2–4pm. £12 (£10). Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. Artist-led workshop with a life model. Materials are supplied: suitable for all levels of experience. Scrapbooking! Mon 29 Aug, 10.30am–3pm. £25. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Make a little wooden cupboard to hold all your scrapbooking implements and decorate with bric-a-brac. Sing with Edinburgh Voices! Mondays, 7–9pm. £10 per session. Media Education, 183 Dalry Road, 477 7821. Singing group open to all.
Bob’s Factory Workshop Sat 3 Sep, noon–5pm. £5 (£3). Superclub, 11a Gayfield Square, info@superclubstudios.com Working with Superclub studios, participants in this workshop get the chance to collaborate on art in a variety of media, exploring Robert Rauschenberg’s interest in factory production and the use of specialist production techniques. Mexican Mosaic Class Sun 4 & Mon 5 Sep, 10.30am–3pm. £30 for two day class. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Use fractured glass and mosaic tiles to create a panel. Curator Masterclass: Reconstructing an Iron Age Chariot Sat 10 Sep, 11.30am–1pm. £6 (£5). National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. A fascinating chance to find out how curators deal with the excavation, recreation and display of a delicate piece of history. A chariot found in Newbridge in 2001 forms the case study for this event with Dr Fraser Hunter. Part of Scottish Archaeology Month. Writing for Children with Lee Weatherly Sat 17 Sep, 10am–4pm. £30 (members £20–£27.50). McDonald Road Library, 2–4 McDonald Rd, 529 5644. A workshop with award-winning author Lee Weatherly, telling whole journey of publishing young adult fiction, from characterisation, plot to pitching to agents. Booking essential. Acrylic Canvases Sat 17 Sep, 10.30am–3.30pm. £18. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Suitable for absolute beginners. FREE Discovering Family History at NLS Wed 21 Sep, 10am. National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 623 3918. Practical workshop in research techniques.
Words Per Minute Unbound/Neu! Reekie
It’s the battle of the literary/music/film cabaret nights in Edinburgh on Friday 26 August. In the red corner, we’ve got Neu! Reekie, run by poet and iconoclast Kevin Williamson of Rebel Inc fame; in the blue corner, Glasgow’s legendary Words Per Minute comes through to help the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s final weekend start with a bang. Confusingly, performance poet Ross Sutherland, who has been all over Edinburgh this month, will be appearing at both. At Words Per Minute, as well as Sutherland, you can catch Chemikal Underground’s rising star RM
Hubbert, novelist Alan Bissett promoting new book Pack Men, Chicagoan Adam Levin from the McSweeney’s stable, the Edinburgh groups Swimmer One and Zorras, and poet Ryan Van Winkle, as well as short readings from writers Helen Sedgwick, Kirsty Logan and Kirstin Innes. Neu! Reekie is just as mixed: writer/comedian Des Dillon and artist/filmmaker Torsten Lauschmann are the biggest names on Friday night, with Billy Page and Emelle doing the music. However, as Neu! Reekie also runs into Saturday, with poet Kevin Cadwallander, novelist Ewan Morrison and music from former Josef K-er Paul Haig bringing up the rear, maybe you could do them both? ■ Words Per Minute Unbound: Fri 26 Aug, Edinburgh International Book Festival Spiegeltent, Charlotte Square Gardens, 9–11pm, free. Neu!Reekie, Fri 26 & Sat 27 Aug, Scottish Book Trust, Sandeman House, Edinburgh, 7–10pm, £5 (£4).