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ANNOUNCEMENTS, LINE-UPS AND OPINION
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FUNDING BOOST FOR DISABLED ARTS PROJECTS NEW HOME FOR EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS?
A performance art work on what it means to be a dancer, and a frank sex comedy using BSL and animated surtitles are two Scottish projects to be commissioned following a £400,000 grant from the Unlimited project to support disabled artists across the UK. The funding comes from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Creative Scotland, and Scottish artists commissioned include Robert Softley Gale (above), Ian Johnston and Gary Gardiner. More details at weareunlimited.org.uk Castle Mills, the industrial former HQ of the North British Rubber Company in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge, looks set to become a world- class contemporary arts space following an application from Edinburgh Printmakers. The organisation, currently housed in Union Street, has received a Heritage Lottery Fund round-one pass for an award of £5m to redevelop the site as a cutting-edge arts space centred around printmaking, including 3D printing, an education facility and artists studios.
NOMINATE YOUR SCOTTISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR BIG DANCE MOVES ANNOUNCED FOR SCOTLAND
There’s still time for you to have your say in the Scottish Album of the Year Award. Public nominations are currently open at sayaward.com and the long list of 20 i nalists will be announced on Thursday 24 April. Those albums will be streamed on the SAY website from Sunday 27 April. Find out more and check out our SAY playlist at list.co.uk U-TURN ON DEMOLITION OF GLASGOW’S RED ROAD FLATS
Glasgow 2014 organisers have dropped the controversial blowing-up of the Red Road l ats from the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, citing concerns over ‘safety and had emerged since the demolition was announced. An online petition opposing the demolition being part of the opening ceremony had gathered more than 17,000 signatures. The demolition will now be rescheduled. security’
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A 24-hour ceilidh, dance-along movies and dance trails in parks, shopping centres and even graveyards are among the events announced for Get Scotland Dancing, a national celebration that runs until November. There’s also a new dance piece for young people set to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and free taster classes across Scotland. More details at getscotlanddancing.org
FAGEN TO REPRESENT SCOTLAND AT VENICE BIENNALE Glasgow-born visual artist Graham Fagen has been selected to represent Scotland at the 2015 Venice Biennale. He will present a solo exhibition at the art world’s most prestigious international event, which will be commissioned and curated by Hospitali eld Arts, an artists’ centre based near Arbroath.
ADRIAN HOWELLS 1962–2014
Gareth K Vile rel ects on Howells’ unexpected death at the age of 51
As educator, mentor, friend and performer, Adrian Howells has been an inspiration to generations of Glasgow artists. His own pioneering work in intimate theatre insisted on communicating directly with the audience, breaking down emotional barriers and transforming mundane experiences into profound meditations. His unexpected passing, at 51, is a sad loss for both Scotland and the international community. From his early work as an actor at
the Citz, to his most recent pieces through The Arches, Howells used the theatre to explore ideas of identity, intimacy and acceptance. Feeling that traditional theatre gave too little space to express his experience, he embarked on a journey that took in drag, spiritual rituals and broad comedy. In the past decade, his close association with both the RCS and Glasgow Uni gave him the opportunity to act as a mentor to many of the young theatre-makers who have made Glasgow such a dynamic hub.
Yet his calm presence belied his artistic restlessness: having been a member of the bold Citz company during the 1990s, he worked with physical theatre innovators DV8, before i nding a place in the emerging experimental cabaret scene. Troubled by the lack of audience engagement, he sought out one-to-one theatre, dei ning its interest in a personal interaction.
If there were always hints of melancholy in his shows, it was an expression of his unl inching honesty: while it’s too simple to recognise his depression as a driving force, it was his emotional suffering that allowed him to be supportive and appreciative of others. He will be deeply missed by the theatre community both as an imaginative creator and a guide.
17 Apr–15 May 2014 THE LIST 9